Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1901-07-11
METHODIST HYMNAL.
HOW THE COMING BOOK WILL DIFF
FER FROM THE OLD ONE.

There VIII he Fewer Words. but
More Music-NOne of the Favorite
Hymns of the Church VIII &c
Dropped by the Revision Commit-
tee.
There will be about COO hymns instead
Of LOO in the hymnal of the Methodist
Episcopal church in the autumn of next
year. The book used by 5,000,OOO Of
good Americans every Sunday will seem
as much Episcopal as Methodist when
the committee now at work under the
auspices of the general conference has
finished its task Of revision.
Bishop Simpsons son, Matthew Simp-
son; Professor C. n. Winchester Of Wes-
leyan university, Middletown, and Pro-
| fessor G. NJ. Stuart OF Northwestern uni
| versity are among the men from all over
the country, chosen for their especial fit
ness for this duty, who have been n work
| on this matter here during the last week.
Their cutting out Of unfamiliar and little
used hymns Of small poetic or musical
merit and the introduction Of some new
ones of value by modern composers will
leave plenty of room for more of the
ritual in the back of the book
/
been printed in the back of the hymnal,
thus bringing it constantly before the
congregations. whose members did not
see it so much when it was only in the
book of discipline" used more by min
listers than people. -Four years ago an
"Order of Worship" with the Gloria"
an anthem and voluntary (bracketed for
omission if desired, was printed in the
front Of the book preceding the opening
hymn Of Charles Wesley:
Oh, for thousand tongues TO sing
Ny great Redeemers praise
That hymn will remain at the beginning
! of the book. AS matter of fact, nobody
familiar with the old book will miss from
the new any of the hymns endeared by
usage and good music and praycrful
| spirit. There was great mass Of some
what inferior verse, which was seldom
sung and might just as well come out.
1t is nearly quarter Of century since
the book was last revised. At that time
some good new hymns were put in,
whether written by Church of England
or Roman Catholic poets or composers.
The most notable example was that of
the poem by Cardinal Newman. with j.
b. Dykes music, LUX Benigna;"
Lend, kindly light amid the encircing gloom,
Lead thou me
The night is dark. and am far from home;
Lead thou me on.
There are good new hymns by Dykes
and others that must in the nature Of
things go into a complete hymnal in a
church that cherishes as an accepted doc
trine that every person in the congrega-
ton ought TO sing, not one in ten" in or
der to contribute to the spirituality of
worship through the power of sacred song
upon the heart. That is what the COM
mittee Of revision is at work to secure
and is sure to securc-added power in the
spirituality OF worship in the Methodist
Episcopal church. John Wesley would
approve. He would approve, too, OF the
proposed incorporation in the worship Of
the Gloria In Excelsis" with tho old I'M
known worshipful music that accom-.
panied this gloria that begins:
Glory be to God on high and on earth
peace. good will toward men! We praise
thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we
glorify thee, we give thanks for thy great
glory.
paian. His Societies of the People
Called Mcthodists" were organized tC
work in the Episcopal church. to bring
must be saved, church or no church,
Wesley used to say. He never liked the
word Methodist, but accepted it very
much as Yankees have accepted the word
Yankee, especially since the Spanish war
when we all became Yankees.
1t was when Wesley and his brother
Charles and some other devout young
, scholars We're at Oxford that they were
first called Methodists, in dcrision. by O
fellow student because they had Il regu
lar method for their religious duties ant
exercises, even to the visiting OF sick stu
dents or prisoners in Jail. The American
t Methodist Episcopal church was an out
growth Of our national independence o.
England and her church.
Fewer words and more music-this, il
phrase, expresses the intent and mean
ing Of the revision of the hymnal. Musi,
t is of increasing importance in the life O
this country. People know more abou
music everywhere than they used 4
know There have been only provisional
,, decisions in regard to any hymns.
II n list OF hundreds of those to be lef
Q out were given, the most conservativ,
Q Methodist, living in place where the.
8 never sing the Gloria" would miss no fa
vorite hymn that has proved its value b,
long usage. The elasticity of the mod
of worship is one great source of strength
q in the Methodist Episcopal church. Elk
! tempore prayer prevails and will prevail
I No change in church forms is cxpectct
or intended. Extempore expressions ar
o not confined to the Methodist Episcopa
D church. Bishop Potter told Phillip
Brooks how much he liked him from tn
pulpit at the time that the bishop o
@ Massachusetts was ordained. On Ney
Years, at the watch night service YER
short time before he died. Bishop Brook
K made long extempore prayer. Dcal
o Stanley used to say that John Wesle
I founded the broad church.
All creeds are moving toward a TWEEN
: tieth century growth of mutual under
standing and church union, not Of sects
but of union in the universal church
which sings many of the same hymns an
a worships by means Of the same music j
all sects of the church militant.-Ney
: York Mail and Express.