My father’s world
I’m not normally a big fan of old hymns, tending to feel that singing out-dated styles of music for tradition’s sake or to appease a minority of long-time church-goers will probably do more harm than good in terms of alienating members of more recent generations who did not grow up in a church culture. I think as a general rule hymns should be consigned to the history books, although I’ll make an exception for Christmas carols and those few hymns which have some exposure in the wider community, such as Amazing Grace.
Having said that I have to admit that in general, those old hymns often have a lyrical quality and theological depth that is in the most part lacking in our modern worship anthems and ballads. The song excerpted below is a good example - it actually conveys a (perhaps neglected) biblical truth and engages both the mind and the emotions. Too often our modern songs just work on the latter. I guess the challenge here is for the next generation of worship songwriters to learn from those old hymns, not to emulate them in terms of musical style, but to aspire to that same level of deeper truth in the lyrics. Easier said than done though…
This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world: the battle is not done:
Jesus Who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and Heav’n be one.
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