Hymns

Amazing love, how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me
--Refrain from the hymn "Amazing Love"
There's just something that I like about some old hymns. I'm not quite sure what it is. Perhaps it's the depth of doctrine contained within the good hymns' lyrics. Perhaps it's just what I was raised on. And perhaps it's because it's such a rich part of our cultural heritage. I'm not sure. All I know is that I think that we do a disservice to ourselves in modern Evangelicalism when we ignore them. Too many churches have abandoned hymns, which I think is sad. We should not abandon hymns because in doing so, we lose much depth of doctrine and our ability to understand God's glory.
A disclaimer is in order, though. I am not saying that we shouldn't sing modern praise music. I think that there are some excellent modern praise songs out there that truly reflect God's glory and majesty in a powerful way. Many, however, do not, instead contenting themselves to repeat the same words over and over (and over and over, ad nauseum). (The worst example of this, in my opinion, is the song "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever," which could as easily be titled "I Keep Singing the Same Words Over" because of how often we sing that same trite chorus.) My concern, then, is that in leaving behind the hymns, we have left behind intellectual depth and traded it for worship that is emotionally stimulating but intellectually devoid.
One complaint about the old hymns is that they are boring. This complaint is, to be honest, valid sometimes. I'm not a huge fan of any song if it's played lugubriously. Too often in the past, especially in the mainline churches, the organist would play hymns at a tempo more appropriate for a dirge than a song of praise. Granted, there are hymns out there that should be played slowly, but slow hymn playing (as if to encourage greater pondering of the lyrics) only allows the minds of the singers to wander. On the other hand, played correctly, a hymn can be intellectually and emotionally powerful. Few songs, for example, have the power to touch me better than the third verse of "Holy, Holy, Holy."
Holy, holy, holy
Though the darkness hide Thee
Though the eye of sinful man
Thy glory may not see
Only Thou art holy
There is none beside Thee
Perfect in power, in love and purity
This verse declares to all that, no matter how bad circumstances become, God is immutable, always holy, even if no one holds Him to be so. Few songs, especially modern, hold such sound doctrine.
Contrarily, many modern songs have very little doctrine in them. Most focus on our relationship with God and sound almost like (or sometimes exactly like) contemporary love songs. While it is good to love God, He is more than simply "a beautiful one [we] love." He is the Creator of the universe. Perfectly approachable, yes, but also perfectly holy. We need to remember that He is both our Father and our King, and treat Him appropriately in our worship.
For that reason, I think it is good to sing both modern praise songs and the traditional hymns. When played appropriately, a good hymn is engaging to the mind and the emotions, stirring the whole of the worshiper into praise of his Creator. So, let us not forget the traditional hymns of the faith, even as contemporary songsmiths craft new songs to express adoration in different ways.