LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University

SAAR: EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN HYMNARY REVIEW 85
Kyrie in the original language in the second setting. A rubric allows the
Gospel to be read or sung. Options are fewer in the Divine Service than in
Lutheran Worship (LW); for example, there are no alternatives offered to the
Gloria in excelsis, the “Create in me”, or the Nunc dimittis. In this, the rites
are conservative and much more reminiscent of the old Common Service
than the modernised versions in Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW) and LW.
ELH is not only a hymnal, a book to be used in the Divine Service; it is
also a book of prayer. The incorporation of Prime and Compline in a simple
straightforward form facilitates prayer throughout the day. These minor
offices could also be used to begin or conclude a church meeting. Matins
and Vespers are the familiar settings from TLH. An order for the confession
of sins has been added to the beginning of these hours, presumably because
many congregations use them in place of the Divine Service. As a further
aid to prayer, the hymnal provides daily and weekly prayers, prayers for the
sick and dying, and prayers for before and after worship. Among the latter is
the beautiful Anglican composition, the Prayer of Humble Access, based on
Matthew 15. A distinctive Norwegian feature in the prayers is the inclusion
of the Veit Dietrich series of collects along with the historic Latin collect of
the day.
Besides being a prayer book and a hymn book, the ELH is also a book
of confession. This unique aspect is exemplified by the inclusion of our
Church’s two leading confessions, the Small Catechism (ELS version) and
the Augsburg Confession. The so-called Athanasian Creed is set to psalm
tones. This permits the old custom of replacing one of the psalms in Matins
on Trinity Sunday with this creed. The church year calendar confesses that
the church is catholic. Confessors of the faith such as Ambrose, Augustine,
and Chrysostom, previously unknown to Lutheran calendars, are
incorporated in the calendar of ELH. The source and norm of our
confessions is the Holy Scriptures. The ELH makes use of the New King
James Version of the Bible. It provides a table of the Sunday pericopes for
the three-year cycle as well as the historic lectionary, which the book’s
editors seem to favour. As is customary in our hymnals, a selection of
psalms is supplied for the Divine Service as well as the Daily Office. The
older forms of the Nicene Creed and Apostles’ Creed are included, though
not within the settings of the Divine Service.
It has been said that all theology is doxology. The hymns of ELH
certainly prove that axiom to be true. In much the same way as the liturgical
section of the hymnal is not characterised by the upbeat optimistic tone of
LBW and LW, so the hymn portion reflects a serious, sturdy faith. This is
illustrated first by the absence of the perennially popular “How Great Thou
Art” (a Norwegian folk hymn!) and “Amazing Grace”, and by the use of a
less than accessible tune for “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”. Secondly,
the editors have resisted the urge to adopt inclusive language or substitute