Brooks Leebern: THE LOST ART OF HYMN WRITING

What do you think of when you hear the term “worship” or “gospel” music? 

Perhaps, if you are of my generation—that is Gen Z, the first things that come to mind are artists such as Maverick City Music, Elevation Worship, Hillsong Worship, Brandon Lake or CeCe Winans. These are all excellent and uplifting artists who have created some genuinely inspiring music, but often times I feel like this is the only type of gospel music we are presented with in this day and age. Older and more traditional types of worship music, such as hymns, are now viewed as “for old folks” or “a part of the past.” While this type of music was generally more popular in the past, I believe that it still holds immense value for us today. When I think of the music that has made the largest impression on me, I immediately think of those old, precious hymns. To me, there is just something about those old songs that is able to touch my soul and bring me such peace and comfort, and I don’t want you, reader, to miss out on these priceless gems. 

I am aware that most of you—even if you are not a particularly religious person, know or at least are aware of those great songs such as “How Great Thou Art” or “Amazing Grace,” so, for the sake of this blog, I will not be discussing them. I want to discuss a few hymns that you might not have heard of; to introduce you to those songs that, while well known to older generations, may not be so well known to the modern ones.  

One largely overlooked aspect of hymns of the past are their lyrics. Take, for example, the chorus of the Gaither song, “Because He Lives”: 

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, 

Because He lives, all fear is gone; 

Because I know He holds the future, 

And life is worth the living, 

Just because He lives!” 

These lyrics, in my opinion, are extremely profound and beautiful. They offer a richness that is hard to come by nowadays. Instead of trying to have the perfect rhyme scheme or the best bridge, these lyrics simply proclaim a beautiful message: “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.” It is so encouraging, at least for me, to know that we can face whatever life throws at us because He lives! These lyrics, paired with the great melody of the song, make it a timeless treasure. Another great one is Frederick M. Lehman’s, “The Love of God.” All of the lyrics in this hymn are great, but the lyric that never fails to inspire me is found in the third verse. In this verse, Lehman gives a beautiful, breathtaking example of God’s great love for us. He writes: 

“Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,


Were every stalk on earth a quill,


And every man a scribe by trade;


To write the love of God above


Would drain the ocean dry;


Nor could the scroll contain the whole,


Though stretched from sky to sky” 

This is why I love the old hymns! The writers were able to articulate deep, theological wonders so well, and all these years later, we get to benefit from them. I feel like modern worship music, for the most part, is very repetitive; it’s the same chorus or bridge over and over again, and I have found that there comes a moment when you are no longer meaning the words you are saying. It seems as if modern worship music is all about the “vibes” rather than the message. 

All in all, I don’t dislike modern worship/gospel music, but I do think that my generation needs to be familiar with the hymns of the past. Singing modern songs in church is great, but we must remember and treasure the great songs and songwriters of the past.