I'm a Christian who grew up in a wonderful church in which we sang psalms and solid hymns week after week. I've come to love good, biblical Christian hymns. I'm familiar with many different hymnals and enjoy all sorts of Christian music as long as it reflects the truths of Scripture. So I was excited to get this brand new "Sing" hymnal. I've looked through it extensively and have a few observations. I'll try to keep it short and to the point!
First, the team that put this hymnal together includes many Christians from various denominations. For example, Alistar Begg, Tim Keller, Trip Lee, Andrew Peterson, Ligon Duncan, Kevin DeYoung, Mark Dever, the Gettys, etc., are all on the contributors list.
Second, the hymnal is arranged like this: The worship service, the Christian life, and the Life of Christ. In these three parts, you'll find songs about providence, prayer, the church, thanksgiving, Easter, etc.
Third, the Sing hymnal has a good mix of modern and ancient hymns - and hymns in between. There are hymns from John Newton and John Wesley, as well as a few from the early church, and many from our era. For example, you'll find classic hymns like Holy Holy Holy, Crown Him with Many Crowns, and How Firm a Foundation. And you'll find newer hymns like O Church Arise, Speak O Lord, and All Sufficient Merit.
Fourth, there are various Scripture texts, prayers, confessions, and statements mixed in the hymnal. These bits are meant for the liturgy. To be honest, these inserts seem sort of random to me. Some are useful, some are not. I could do without them.
Fifth, there's a big section of songs for kids. That's not bad, but I think these hymns could just be put elsewhere in the hymnal. Many of the songs for kids are definitely for adults as well (e.g. Jesus Strong and Kind, The Lord's My Shepherd, etc.).
Sixth, there are no baptism songs. At all. I know the contributors of this hymnal have differing views on baptism, but some baptism hymns would have been nice.
Seventh, there are Psalms in this hymnal. Yes! I really like singing the Psalms. However, there aren't a lot of Psalms. I'd say get rid of the little liturgy blurbs and add more Psalms to sing!
Anyway, this really is a great hymnal. No hymnal is ever going to satisfy everyone everywhere. But we can and should be thankful for solid hymnals that reflect the truths of Scripture, focus on the gospel, and are aimed at glorifying our Triune God. The Sing hymnal does those things, and I recommend it!
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