Where Have All the Wretches Gone?
By President Dr. Timothy Tennent
A few weeks ago, the congregation I am a part of sang the wonderful hymn by Stuart Townend, How Deep the Father’s Love for Us. Townend is one of my favorite contemporary British hymn writers. If you haven’t discovered the hymns of Stuart Townend, Keith Getty, Christopher Idle or Timothy Dudley-Smith, then you have missed some real treasures! These contemporary British hymn writers have put out a body of work which is, for the most part, theologically solid, musically strong, sensitive to the rhythms of the church year, Trinitarian and worshipful.
There is a line in Townend’s How Deep the Father’s Love for Us hymn which says, “How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure; that he should give his only Son to make a wretch his treasure.” Did you notice the modern use of the word “wretch” by Townend? If you have followed the adaptation of older hymns into current usage, you will be aware of the quiet removal of the word “wretch.” The most well known examples are in the well known hymns, Amazing Grace and Victory in Jesus. The phrase, “that saved a wretch like me” in Amazing Grace or “to save a wretch like me” in Victory in Jesus has been rendered in some modern hymnbooks, “to save one just like me.” It seems that we just don’t like the word “wretch” as it is entirely too negative for modern sensibilities. So, there I was singing How Deep the Father’s Love for Us when I noticed that someone had changed the last phrase from, “to make a wretch his treasure” to “to make us all His treasure.” Whereas it took over 200 years for people to start meddling with John Newton’s classic Amazing Grace, Stuart Townend’s hymn is being deconstructed and recast in about only ten years. The problem is, until we really come face to face with our own sinfulness and our naked wretchedness before God, we can never begin to comprehend the holiness of God. There is a direct relationship between the comprehension of our sinfulness and our vision of God’s holiness.
So, I encourage you to think about the theological implications which quietly lay behind changing the words to hymns. Here’s another example. The hymn The Church’s One Foundation was written in 1866 by Samuel Stone. One of the lines goes,
From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her and for her life he died.
In 1983 Laurence Stookey updated it (see current United Methodist hymnal). The result is the following:
From heaven he came and sought us that we may ever be
His loving servant people, by his own death set free.
Think about this change theologically. The updated version eliminates the vision of the church as the bride of Christ as well as the necessity for the shedding of the blood of Christ for our salvation. The new version is more placid and generic. It certainly domesticates the shocking scandal of the cross. I have also noticed this trend with the samples of congregational “affirmations” which have been generated by conferences and sent out to the churches which are often used in place of the traditional “creeds” of the historic church. With very few exceptions they are so weak theologically that they should be rejected for use in public worship. The United Methodist church has even altered the traditional communion liturgy, removing the historic phrase (which comes directly from scripture) which says, “on the night in which he was betrayed” and replacing it with the more generic, “on the night in which he gave himself up for us.” The historic phrase reminds us our sinful participation in the passion, and the latter quietly omits that and only focuses on God’s sovereign plan.
As pastors, we must safeguard the theological content of all aspects of the worship service. It is not enough to preach biblical sermons (though that is greatly needed!). We must also make certain that every hymn, song, liturgy or affirmation resonates with historic faith. If it can be sung or said by a Hindu, a Muslim, or as a love song to your boyfriend or girlfriend, then it is not sufficiently Christian to be used in worship.
One practice which we have followed at Asbury is the creation of an open canon of hymns, contemporary songs and affirmations. It is an “open” canon in the sense that we rejoice in new emerging hymnology and choruses, and we welcome their inclusions in our worship. But, we also insist that whatever hymn, song or affirmation is chosen, it must pass historic, theological muster. It must be biblical, Trinitarian and theologically true. We are not against changing words as long as it makes the song more biblical. Songs can be made more inclusive, or songs which are otherwise strong can be made acceptable by deleting certain objectionable phrases (e.g. ‘heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss’ or he ‘thought of me above all’).
We also regularly insert into our worship many of the classic hymns by Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts and others because we believe they are worthy of passing down to the next generation. It would, indeed, be a tragedy for ancient hymns like Of the Father’s Love Begotten which comes to us from the 4th century, or All Creatures of our God and King from the 13th century were to be lost to the church on our watch! Often these “classics” are sung to contemporary settings. We are moving beyond the days of the “worship wars” and focusing on content, not style.
Asbury’s mission is to “theologically educate men and women” to “spread Scriptural holiness throughout the world.” This is a lofty mission, but it often is tested in the day to day, week in and week out, ministries of alumni/ae like you who are overseeing congregational worship!
How timely and timeless your advice to us all!
I totally agree with you. I am very discouraged about the direction of the worship services. I like the old hymn and not the courses they sing now. In one church in my area this split the church and several left to go to a more contemporary church. People do not respect the services anymore. They bring coffee and snacks to the worship service. Churches are not having evening services. When I was growing up, this was called the Evangelist Service. I have a brother who does not like the contemporary songs or choruses He calls them 7-11’s. They have seven line and they sing them eleven times. I love the old hymns. I was at an ordination service where they sang “And Can It Be” The general superintendent got up during her ordination service and told the people to use this in their devotional but not to sing in their worship services. We need a revival both in the worship service and our theology. I am a graduate of
Asbury Seminary and loved the music snag in Estes Chapel. It had theology and meaning as you write in you article. Thanks for your boldness. God bless your ministry.
Love the article. Love the new modern hymns. We sing them at Trinity Church in Plymouth, Michigan.
I’m an ATS alum (1990 MA Church Music) and I truly resonate with keeping a watchful eye on historical faith and theological content in songs and liturgies in worship. It’s an important support element in the discipleship journey of every believer.
When I lead worship, I move groups to corporate confession as the doorway to intimacy with God (spirit & truth stuff that Jesus tells us about in John 4)
This line from your article I believe to be so true…
“There is a direct relationship between the comprehension of our sinfulness and our vision of God’s holiness. ”
At the point God revealed himself to me, I realized that I was a wretch and a derelict. And what blows me away, every time, is knowing how far He came to rescue me. He loves me. O yes! He loves me!
Thank you, Dr. Tennent, for your encouraging message!
We are so blessed that ours is a singing faith!
Thank you, Dr. Tennent, for your reminder on the importance of sound theology in music. It is surely a time for all Christians to “watch and pray, and on Thyself rely”.
“Wretch” in modern English conveys a picture of someone suffering from misfortune — perhaps in ragged clothes or other signs of poverty, illness, famine or natural disaster. Someone without resource to meet one’s need: “the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” It evokes pity: “Poor wretch.” So it is a good word to use to confess our poverty and helplessness, our misery, apart from God.
However, as a lifelong student of English literature, whenever I see the word “wretch,” I can’t help but have my understanding colored by the Old English word it comes from: “wrecca.” In OE heroic poetry, a wrecca is a wanderer, someone who can’t go home again. Outlawed perhaps, or with an old feud standing in the way of his return. Homesick at times. Hengest as we see him in the Freswael and in Beowulf is a great man, a chief in his own right, but also an exile. He is a wrecca. It’s a reminder that no matter how rich or successful or powerful you are, if you can’t go home, then there’s something bleak about your prospects. In this sense, the “wretch,” the “wrecca,” is the one in exile because of one’s sin. How wonderful to be sought out and pardoned, and invited to return to one’s proper home, by one’s rightful Lord!
Thank you for the article. I, too, have noticed how some hymns have changed since I was a child. It’s hard to sing them as they are now written! Some changes seem to have been done to be politically correct. Not sure why that is needed!
We concur and pray we at West Africa Theological Seminary and other places we teach and have influence, will make this insight part of core values!
I completely endorse your concerns Dr. Timothy. That is why we need to be careful how Churches of today want to throw out the good old hymnals for projected hymns, that most of the times have been modified to reflect a more modern language, which are not theologically correct. Its like “throwing the baby out with the bath water” I vowed under God never to let the theological truths of our hymns be ever lost under my watch. Thanks again for sharing.
I comprehend the holiness of God without considering myself (one of His creations) as wretched. Love the hymn especially with the changed line!