PREFACE✦

The aim of this book is to serve as a companion to the Mennonite Hymnary. It seeks to explain, as far as possible, the origin of the words and music of every hymn in the Hymnary.

The great lyrics of the church, contributed by every age since the days of the apostles, are a precious heritage, and a source of inspiration and power. This work is intended to foster an understanding of and love for our hymns, new and old, and to stimulate the time-honored and blessed practice of congregational singing in the church today.

The Handbook may be found useful as an aid (1) in the private study of hymns or their use in family devotions; (2) in selecting suitable hymns for the many and varied services of public worship; (3) in preparing special music services or hymn sings where such occasions are planned to improve the singing in the church; (4) for study groups in hymnology in churches and schools. The historical development of hymnology may be followed in the brief “Introduction to Our Hymns and Tunes.”

The author has endeavored to make the work as comprehensive as possible without overburdening the reader with too many details. Many hymns have interesting stories connected with their origin and use while others, equally valuable, were just written, without drama or incident, the poet scarcely knowing how or why, except that the Inner Voice spoke. The apocryphal tales which have been circulated concerning some hymns have been studiously avoided. The aim has been to include only such material as seems to bear genuine marks of authenticity. The bibliography of “Principal Works Consulted,” found elsewhere in the book, indicates the main sources.

The original versions of translated hymns are not always readily available and for that reason they are reproduced in the Handbook. Translated hymns are usually selections from a much larger number of stanzas and it is often instructive to be able to study the whole structure of the original work.

Acknowledgements. I wish to acknowledge valuable help received from the following and to express hereby my gratitude to them: to Dr. Robert McCutchan, author of Our Hymnody, who generously responded to my request for information on a dozen or more hymns on which I had no data; to Dr. Henry Wilder Foote, of Harvard University, author of Three Centuries of American Hymnody, for biographical material on several hymn writers, and the use of books from his private library; to Dr. Reginald McAll, Executive Secretary of the Hymn Society of America for helpful material; to Dr. Ruth Messenger, Archivist for the Hymn Society of America, who furnished nearly all the Latin originals, and the Italian original of Savonarola’s hymn, and information concerning these hymns; to Dr. Armin Heussler, author of a forth-coming handbook to the Evangelical hymnal, for material on several of the chorales; to Wm. Runyan of the Hope Publishing Company, and to Dr. John Trowbridge of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, for information concerning several of the gospel songs; to Dr. Cornelius Krahn who made the rich hymnic treasures of the Mennonite Historical Library at Bethel College available to me; to the late Rev. C. E. Krehbiel who loaned me material from his private library for this work but did not live to see its completion; to B. Bargen for help in preparing the manuscript for publication; to Mrs. Beatrice Buller for reading the manuscripts and proofs of the German chorales; to my wife, Charity Steiner Hostetler, who read all the manuscripts and proofs and whose constant interest and assistance were indispensable; and to others, too numerous to mention, who in any way facilitated the completion of the work.

The book, written during spare moments of a busy pastorate, is sent forth with the prayer that, in spite of errors and imperfections, it may inspire all who use it to sing with greater devotion the praises of Him who loved us and redeemed us.

Lester Hostetler

The Parsonage Bethel College Mennonite Church North Newton, Kansas January 20, 1949

EXPLANATORY NOTES

In the interest of brevity and to avoid repetition, certain recurring words are abbreviated:

Hymnary is used for Mennonite Hymnary.

c. (circa) means approximate date.

Tr. is prefixed to the names of all translators.

Anon. (anonymous) means without any name acknowledged, as that of author or composer.

The word “Number” has been omitted: thus Hymn 22 means Hymn No. 22.

Cf. means compare. (Latin: confer).

The original texts of German hymns found throughout the Handbook, especially in the section of Chorales, Book IV, are the versions used in one or more of the following works: Gesangbuch mit Noten, (Berne, Ind., 1890); Gesangbuch der Mennoniten, (Canadian, 1942); The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal, (Concordia Pub. House, 1942); Gesangbuch zum gottesdienstlichen und häuslichen Gebrauch in Evangelischen Mennoniten-Gemeinden, (Konferenz der süddeutschen Mennoniten zu Ludwigshafen a. Rh. 1910); and Knapp, Evangelischer Liederschatz. Many variations occur in the texts as found in these versions, the explanation of which would require a much greater knowledge of German hymnody than the author possesses. An effort has been made to bring the spelling into conformity with the modern German practice of omitting the “h” where it was formerly used with the “th”; the use of “ss” instead of “sz”; and printing the initial letter of the pronouns referring to Deity, in lower case rather than with capitals.

AN INTRODUCTION TO OUR HYMNS AND TUNES

With Illustrations From the Hymnary

1. Definition of a Hymn. 2. The Beginnings of Christian Song. 3. Hymns of the Eastern Church: Greek and Syriac. 4. Hymns of the Western Church: Latin. 5. Hymns of the Bohemian Brethren. 6. Hymns of the Reformation: The German Chorales. 7. Hymns of the Reformation: The Metrical Psalms. 8. Psalm Versions. 9. English Hymnody. 10. American Hymns. 11. The Gospel Songs. 12. Women Hymn Writers. 13. Mennonite Hymnody. 14. Antecedents of the Mennonite Hymnary. 15. The Translation of Hymns. 16. Church Unity in the Hymn Book. 17. Hymn Meters. 18. Hymn Tunes. 19. John Wesley’s Rules for Singing.

1. Definition of a Hymn.

St. Augustine, 354-430, gave a definition of a hymn, which has been widely accepted:

A hymn is the praise of God by singing. A hymn is a song embodying the praise of God. If there is merely praise but not praise of God it is not a hymn. If there be praise, and praise of God, but not sung, it is not a hymn. For it to be a hymn, it is needful, therefore, for it to have three things—praise, praise of God, and these sung.

A recent definition, accepted by the Hymn Society of America, is that of the late Carl F. Price:

A Christian hymn is a lyric poem, reverently and devotionally conceived, which is designed to be sung and which expresses the worshiper’s attitude toward God, or God’s purposes, in human life.

L. F. Benson, America’s foremost hymnologist, defines a hymn in these simple words:

The Christian hymn ... is a form of words appropriate to be sung or chanted in public devotions.

A hymn is to be sung by a congregation. Its message must be simple, not subtle. It must read well and sing well. In modern usage, the hymn is not limited to the praise of God but includes other moods of worship such as resignation and consecration.

2. The Beginnings of Christian Song.

Hymn singing has always been associated with Christian worship. Jesus and the Twelve sang a hymn, presumably a portion of the Hallel (Ps. 115-118), after the Supper was ended. Paul and Silas sang hymns, “songs of the night,” during the midnight hours of their imprisonment in Philippi. The great Apostle recognized the value of song when he exhorted the churches thus:

Be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Eph. 5:18, 19.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Col. 3:16.

I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. I Cor. 14:15.

The Jewish converts who at first composed the church had a rich heritage of song in the Book of Psalms. This was their hymnbook, used in the Temple worship and in the home and probably also in the synagogue services. The use of the Psalms, carried over from the Jewish service, forms to this day an important element in Christian worship.

Besides the Psalms, the early church sang the nativity lyrics that adorn the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke. It also made extensive use of Hallelujah as a part of the people’s praise, adding, in the course of time, the Gloria Patri, the Sanctus, the Te Deum, and other canticles.

The nativity hymns in Luke, five in all, are extensively used in Roman Catholic and Anglican services.

Ave Maria (Hail Mary). 1:28-29, 42-45. The salutation of Gabriel and of Elizabeth.

Magnificat. “My soul doth magnify the Lord....” 1:46-55. Hymn of the Virgin Mary.

Benedictus. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel....” 1:68-79. Song of Zacharias.