What Should We Sing?

Those charged with the glorious task of planning for corporate worship must take seriously their responsibility to think carefully about the words we sing. They must also think critically about the tunes we use. Often, this means vetting newer tunes which have not been proven by the passage of time and may be problematic because of their associations with false teaching or false teachers. Occasionally, important questions are raised about old tunes as well. This is the case with the beloved hymn, “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken,” originally known as “Zion, the City of God.” 

John Newton wrote the text of this hymn. It is based on Psalm 87:3 and Isaiah 33:20-21 and was first published in the Olney Hymnal in 1779. Other than “Amazing Grace,” it may be Newton’s most honored text, both for its beauty and its power.

Seventeen years later, in 1797, the celebrated composer, Joseph Haydn, composed a hymn to be used as the Austrian national anthem. A year later he finished the famous string quartet version, which became known as the Emperor’s Quartet. It was an instant hit and is still regularly played by the finest ensembles in the world. The melody was based on a Croatian folk hymn, which means that it’s difficult to know just how old the basic tune actually is.

Through the years the tune, now usually known as Austrian Hymn, has been used for multiple settings and movements. In addition to “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken,” it has been the setting for a variety of folk songs. It also accompanies the German national anthem. Unfortunately, the Nazis used Haydn’s tune set to different words in their rallies and marches. During the Second World War, some Christians refused to use the melody, and understandably so. So, other tunes were written to accompany Newton’s words.

Most churches, however, still employ Haydn’s older and more stately composition. While we should always be sensitive to those who first learned the song in an evil context (like some who heard it in the 1940s), the abuse of a tune (or text or theologian or book or building) should not render something good unusable for all time. In this case it is evident that the melody pre-existed Haydn, Germany, and even Newton. The fact that the Nazis used it only points to the beauty and power of the tune which preexisted and outlasted those tragic events.

This particular controversy is now almost 100 years old and most people in our churches associate the tune with the hymn text and the writer of “Amazing Grace.” The lyrics are sound and beautiful, and the melody is equally so. For almost 200 years it has been a wonderful pairing of text and tune.

If the issues were more current, associations and reactions were universally negative, or the publishers were openly teaching heresy, the question might have to be answered differently. But in this case, we can sing this melody with a heart that says “in the name of the Lord,” and “praise be to God,” just as Haydn began and ended many of his manuscripts. The movements that used it for evil have failed. The gates of hell will not prevail, and Zion, the city of God, will. 

Note: Thanks to Dr. Kevin DeYoung for several helpful edits.