# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1941_S828
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

828 Publication Matters

° Reduced-Size Tune Edition of Hymnal

Under Memorial 707 there were two requests that Synod
authorize the publishing of a reduced-size tune edition of the
hymnal. ‘

Report of Committee 9

Wuenreas, The suggested tune edition in reduced size is en-
tirely too small for general congregational and family use; there-
fore your Committee .

Recommends, That the publication of the hymnal be limited
to the size of the new tune edition now on the market.

Action of Synod: This recommendation was adopted.

No Changes in Hymns of New Hymnal
(Memorial 708)

We kindly petition Synod to forbid any changes in the text of
the hymns contained in the new hymn-book of 1941.

We are prompted to make this request by the following con-
siderations: ;

In the interest of uniformity it is very desirable that all con-
gregations change over from the hymn-book originally published in
1912 to the new one produced this year. It seems that some congre-
gations are hesitant about making the change because they fear
that after a comparatively short time there will be hymn-books in
use with variant versions of the text, a situation which is most
unpleasant, to say the least. Unfortunately, in the case of the
Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, Synod has permitted such a
situation to develop; for we find that in a number of hymns the
text in later editions is different from that in earlier editions so
that the people assembled as a congregation to worship the Lord
while singing the same tune nevertheless are using different texts.
Thus, when Hymn 1, Stanza 2, Line 1, is being sung, some sing:
“Unseal our lips to sing Thy praise,” while others sing: “Teach
Thou our lips to sing Thy praise.” If the Advent hymn No. 135 is
used, some sing Line 5 of Stanza 1 as follows: “Come in wonted
suavity,” while others sing: “Come, Thy beauty let me see.” On
Easter Sunday practically every congregation sings that joyous
hymn “I Know that My Redeemer Lives” (Hymn 229); but when
it reaches the last two lines of the fourth stanza, some sing: “He
lives to comfort me when faint, He lives to hear my soul’s com-
plaint”; others, however: “He lives to hear my soul’s complaint, He
lives to comfort me when faint.” All this is hardly in keeping with
the apostolic injunction that all things in the service of the con-
gregation be done decently and in order.

The text of the hymns in the new hymnal may not be perfect
in every instance and could perhaps be improved, yet it seems