Lord’s Day, Vol. 2 No. 28

Revival Hymns and Choruses

The choice hymnal for many Bible-Presbyterian (B-P) churches and even some non-B-P Churches in Singapore has been and still is the Revival Hymns and Choruses (RHC) compiled by Rev. Dr. Tow Siang Hwa, our Pastoral Advisor.

This hymnal is recommended for continued use in our church for both corporate worship and family and personal devotions. There are 567 hymns in the index with a rich collection of old English and other great hymns. One distinct feature of this hymnal is the compilation of choruses sung during Dr. John Sung’s revival of 1935, the Chinese root of the Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore. This is unique to the RHC. The spiritual richness of these choruses captured the spirit of that revival.

One such chorus is “Only Jesus, Always Jesus” (RHC 494). Only Jesus saves is a message that is increasingly becoming a forbidden message in the world of ecumenical unity. How long can this message “Only Jesus, Always Jesus” be preached before persecution comes, only God knows. The chorus sums up the charge of the Great Commission in this end time.

Only Jesus, Always Jesus

My heart will praise, my song I’ll raise
Saved and healed me, sanctified me
Glorious Lord, soon coming King.

Why do we still sing these “old” hymns? The leader of the 16th century Protestant Reformation Martin Luther who re-introduced congregational singing to the church wrote in 1530, “I am not ashamed to confess publicly that next to theology there is no art which is the equal of music, for she alone, after theology, can do what otherwise only theology can accomplish, namely, quiet and cheer up the soul of man, which is clear evidence that the devil, the originator of depressing worries and troubled thoughts, flees from the voice of music just as he flees from the words of theology. For this very reason the prophets cultivated no art so much as music in that they attached their theology not to geometry, nor to arithmetic, nor to astronomy, but to music, speaking the truth through psalms and hymns.”

Paul Westermeyer in his book, “Te Deum: The Church and Music”, traced the history and development of music within the Christian tradition, observed well, “Luther was not simply fond of music. Luther thought music has a theological reason for being: it is a gift of God, which comes from the “sphere of miraculous audible things,” just like the Word of God. Music is unique in that it can carry words. Since words carry the Word of God, music and the word of God are closely related,” (pp. 144-145).”¹

The hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” that is found in the Revival Hymns and Choruses (RHC 46) was written by Martin Luther to signify the spirit of the Protestant Reformation to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 3b) To hold up the Bible as the infallible, inerrant and preserved Word of God for faith and practice in the Authorised King James Version require a corresponding hymnal that reflect this sanctified choice.

It has been observed by some today that holding a heavy, hardcopy hymnal is old fashion and that we must move with technology to have our hymns conveniently projected on large screen or have them on our little mobile devices. I see some disadvantages in this approach in contrast to holding a copy of the good, old, hymnal in our hands. Holding a hardcopy would not subject us to the battery life limitation of our gadgets, or breakdown of projectors, or failure in connection to the virtual world of the Internet.

Of course, it is subjected to wear and tear with frequent use. One pastor shared how members of his church have personal copies of hymnals that they would bring together with their bibles to church every Lord’s Day. On weekdays, the hymnal is used for personal and family devotions and on the Lord’s Day, for corporate worship.

I made a check with some churches using the RHC. Many copies of the RHC are worn out. Some require re-binding which can be very costly.

As such, BHBPC has undertaken to reprint the RHC with the kind permission from Rev. Dr. Tow Siang Hwa. BHBPC would make available new hardcopies for our members and visitors and for like-minded churches. God willing, new copies would be out of the printing press in a month’s time.

We urge you to get your personal copy for corporate, family and personal spiritual enrichment if you do not already have one.

There is much spiritual benefit in memorizing lyrics of hymns as Apostle Paul taught in Ephesians 5:19, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Having a personal copy would facilitate your spiritual progress.

In addition, we are planning to make available a CD compilation of all the tunes of hymns in the RHC in MIDI and MP3 formats. Spiritual music from RHC would then be readily accessible.

Readers, please pray for God’s help and blessing for this work.

Yours lovingly in Christ,
Pr. Lek Aik Wee

Footnote1: http://gospeldriven.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/martin-luthers-theology-of-music/