Hymn Author of the Year

Lutheranism is arguably the tradition with the strongest hymnody. Many of our finest post-Reformation hymnists were also pastors and/or theologians, great writers and servants of the Word, like Luther, Melanchthon, Gerhardt, Nicolai, Heermann, Selnecker, Kingo, Speratus, Vulpius, Hassler, Crueger, and not to mention Bach, a few offerings by Walther and Loehe, and recent hymnists like Franzmann, Schalk, Starke, Resch, Reinhardt, and Vajda. I’m sure I’m overlooking a slew, but you get the idea.

The electronic edition of the hymnal has more than the standard LSB’s hymns that stop at 966. One of these additional “hymns,” LSB 973, was written by a non-Lutheran contemporary Christian pop star, Amy Grant.

She’s been in the news lately.

Even without the author’s recent theological problems, it seems a stretch to put Amy Grant alongside the best that our tradition has to offer. I mean, here is LSB 978 sung by the author herself.

This is a classic example of a “Jesus, My Boyfriend” song with one line from Scripture penciled in as a refrain. Churches that make use of this “hymn” and others like it simply will not attract men - at least not the kind that will marry, sire, and lead families.

Here are the lyrics:

Thy Word is a Lamp Unto My Feet

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

When I feel afraid
Think I've lost my way
Still you're there right beside me
And nothing will I fear
As long as you are near
Please be near me to the end

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

I will not forget
Your love for me and yet
My heart forever is wandering
Jesus be my guide
And hold me to your side
I will love you to the end

Nothing will I fear as long as you are near
Please be near me to the end

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
And a light unto my path
You're the light unto my path

Now, without even commenting on the weak and embarrassing melody, consider the theological vacuity of the lyrics. Compare them to, say, LSB 352:

Let the Earth Now Praise the Lord

Let the earth now praise the Lord,
Who has truly kept His word
And at last to us did send
Christ, the sinner's help and friend.

What the fathers most desired,
What the prophets' heart inspired,
What they longed for many a year,
Stands fulfilled in glory here.

Abram's promised great reward,
Zion's helper, Jacob's Lord--
Him of twofold race behold--
Truly came, as long foretold.

As Your coming was in peace,
Quiet, full of gentleness,
Let the same mind dwell in me
Which is Yours eternally.

Bruise for me the serpent's head
That, set free from doubt and dread,
I may cling to You in faith,
Safely kept through life and death.

Then when You will come again
As the glorious king to reign,
I with joy will see Your face,
Freely ransomed by Your grace.

Here is an analysis of this hymn.

By contrast, here is an analysis of the Amy Grant “hymn”:

Well, that didn’t age well!

Certainly, there are magnificent hymns from outside of the Lutheran tradition, many of which are in LSB. And for the most part, the hymns in LSB are solid. But in the future, maybe we can insist on setting the bar extremely high regarding which hymns make the cut in our hymnals and in our Divine Services. Pop tunes with pop lyrics by pop stars with flighty theology simply cannot hold their own against our tradition of hymnody, and really ought not be part of a Lutheran Divine Service. If nothing else, the use of something like LSB 973 means denying the congregation something truly great that could have been sung instead - something magnificent that one can indeed find from our Lutheran tradition and within LSB.