How to Use Your Hymnal

God tells us emphatically, “Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises” (Psalm 47:6)! I love that God commands us to do things that are so enjoyable. I love to sing. One practical tool that we have at our disposal is a hymnal. I love hymnals. It’s been a habit of mine to collect hymnals for years. Some are good and some are… well, let’s just say we won’t be singing all of the songs in some hymnals in glory. But there are some great hymnals. It’s amazing to be able to sing songs that the Reformers sang. It’s a privilege to sing songs that have passed the test of time, both the content of the songs and the character of the authors. When we sing these old songs, we are able to confess the truth of God’s Word hand in hand with those who have gone before us. Wonderful stuff. (I love new songs too, but I’m getting to the point).

Often people are intimidated by hymnals. Maybe you think that you have to be able to read music to really enjoy a hymnal. Maybe you think you need to be able to play an instrument (or carry a tune) to sing those songs. I hope to dispel those rumors! I want to give you some practical ways to use a hymnal in personal, family, and corporate worship.

Enjoy the Poetry

Good hymn writers take the beautiful words of God and turn them into beautiful pieces of poetry. Here’s an example: “He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free, His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me” (O For a Thousand Tongues). Or what about this one from John Newton: “Now let us join with hearts and tongues, And emulate the angels’ songs; Yea, sinners may address their King, In songs that angels cannot sing. They praise the Lamb who once was slain; But we can add a higher strain; Not only say, “He suffer’d thus, “But that he suffer’d all for us” (Men Honoured Above Angels). I find reading these hymns to be a wonderful way to meditate on God and His word.

Search the Scriptures

Use your hymnal to stir you up to deeper digging into God’s word. One of my favorite hymns is “We Rest on Thee”. This hymn is taken directly from 2 Chronicles 14:11: “And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, [it is] nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou [art] our God; let not man prevail against thee.” The writer then begins to meditate on each line of the verse. Verse one says, “We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender, We go not forth alone against the foe.” Verse two then digs into what it means to go “in His name”. “Yea, in Thy name, O captain of salvation. In Thy dear name, all other names above.” Verse three discusses our own weakness, and verse four erupts into praise to the God who will deliver. As you read these hymns, search the scriptures to find deep encouragement.

Use the Index of Tunes

Every hymnal has an index of tunes. This is such a simple tool, but if you look to the back of your hymnal, you can read through the names of the songs. Find a song that you haven’t heard of and check it out! Use the index to increase your knowledge of hymns.

Use the Metrical Index

But you might say, “Well I found a hymn that I like, but I can’t read music, and I don’t know the tune.” That’s ok! Almost every hymnal has a Metrical Index. Essentially, this index groups songs by the type of rhyming pattern that is used. This allows you to mix and match words and tunes. For instance, you find a song that you like, but you don’t know how it sounds. Go to the metrical index and you realize that it is in the group labelled “C.M.” (or common meter). In this group you see the song, “Amazing Grace.” Now just sing whatever song you found to the tune of Amazing Grace! You can figure out the tune later, but this tool will help you worship your God!

Look at the Songs by Theme

Also, most hymnals will group the songs by theme. For instance, you want to sing a song about the resurrection. You can look at the themes in the back of the hymnal or at the top of the pages and find whole sections of songs about the resurrection of Christ. Or what about songs about God’s goodness or God’s word? Find that section in your hymnal, and there are almost always multiple songs grouped together underneath that theme.

Worship

Finally, all these things together, you need to worship God! There is nothing magical about good poetry or old songs. They are meant to drive you to worship God! Take the songs and incorporate them into your family worship with your spouse or children. Use those songs to encourage your friends and family. Be encouraged to sing these songs with your church. Dig into the scripture, and worship God for who He is. Sing loudly the praise of your God!

©Jacob Crouch 2022, 2023

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All hymnals are not created equal. Some are definitely better than others. Here is a starting place if you were wanting to find a good hymnal. None of these listed below are perfect, but this is a list of some of my favorite hymnals:

The Trinity Hymnal
The Trinity Psalter
Hymns of Grace
Psalms of Grace
African American Heritage Hymnal
The Baptist Hymnal
Hymns Ancient and Modern