Customer Reviews

Baptist Hymnal 1991

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This 1991 hymnal is meant for Baptists. It you are not a Baptist, especially Southern Baptist, you may not like this hymnal. Yet, this hymnal has retained the best-loved hymns in the Southern Baptist hymnic tradition, but has broadened the repertoire to include well-loved hymns from other denominations. Theologically, the hymnal is a bit contradictory, which I believe shows disagreement within the Baptistic tradition concerning Arminianism ("I Have Decided to Follow Jesus") versus Calvinism ("Not What These Hands Have Done"). The language updates are a bit conservative concerning the "thees" and "thous," yet it does not foist inclusive language at the expense of theology and poetry. The musical arrangements are traditional so they lend themselves well for 4-part harmony. The hymnbook is arranged in an almost church-year format, which is a welcome addition. In short, this hymnal is thoroughly conservative yet modern.

Don't get me wrong... I thoroughly enjoy the selection of songs in this hymnal, both old classics and new contemporary, but it's missing some of my favorites from childhood for some reason or another... such as:

Almost Persuaded,
Another Day is Dawning,
Bring Them In,
Bringing in the Sheaves,
Let the Lower Lights Be Burning,
Every Day With Jesus,
Thanksgiving,
Our Best,
His Way With Thee,
Where We'll Never Grow Old,
Jesus Loves Even Me,
Peace, Be Still!,
Must I Go and Empty-Handed,
The Haven of Rest,
O Holy Night,
The Unclouded Day,
Seal Us O Holy Spirit,
Some Sweet Day,
Take Me As I Am,
That Will Be Glory For Me,
The Light of the World is Jesus,
The Lord Bless Thee and Keep Thee,
Sweet Peace the Gift of God's Love,
We Three Kings,
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks,
Why Do You Wait,
Work for the Night is Coming

All of those listed are MIA (missing in action), and they're GREAT hymns! If not for these exceptions, it would have received a 5 out of 5 from me... Maybe on the next update/version they will add these back in? Who knows?

The Baptist Hymnal contains not only all of the wonderful old standards, but contains many of the more recent hymns or Christian Songs. It also contains an excellent section of responsive reading. This hymnal is by far the most thorough in Christian Music.

This rendition of the Baptist Hymnal, published by the Southern Baptists, is more traditional than most modern hymnals. It does include several spirituals and a lot of songs by Broadman press composers I never have heard of elsewhere. There also are a few contemporary songs and praise choruses.

But for those who like the old hymns, and don't mind some of them missing a verse or two, this is a good book.

One strength -- the Christmas section is larger than most other hymnals.

One comment, though -- the cover picture is wrong! At my church, the covers are supposed to be red! (Though I've seen some with blue covers as well. Maybe I should start a new denomination based on hymnal cover colors, LOL!!!)

The Baptist Hymnal is an impressive collection of top-tier hymns. Comparing the Baptist Hymnal to a 1969 hymnal: Hymns of Glorious Praise, reveals that the Baptist Hymnal doesn't cover many of the Hymns popular in the south as Hymns of Glorious Praise does (I know that because checking many of the hymns included in Hymns of Glorious Praise on the Mp3 soundclips on Amazon.com shows that many southern artist/choirs have recorded a significant proportion of the hymns in that hymnal). The Baptist Hymnal still is very impressive, nonetheless.