Hymnals for National Baptists

I know there are three extant hymnals published by National Baptists. There is the ever so popular New National Baptist Hymnal published by Boyd, there is the New National Baptist Hymnal 21st Century also published by Boyd, and there is the Baptist Standard Hymnal published by the Sunday School Publishing Board of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. Out of the three I prefer the Baptist Standard Hymnal because it contains better hymns by better hymn writers like Watts, Toplady, and Bliss. The hymns mostly are Evangelical Protestant hymns that agree with Baptist doctrine.

Outside of these National Baptist hymnals, I would suggest others for National Baptists who are serious about reform. First, Trinity Hymnal (1961 or 1990). This hymnal is used by conservative Presbyterian churches such as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in America. There is a Baptist Edition of the 1961 Trinity Hymnal used by Reformed Baptist churches. The strenght of Trinity Hymnal is in the richness of its psalm settings and psalm paraphrases. For National Baptist churches that have never sung a psalm there are very good psalm settings here. There are also hymns that reflect that doctrines of Protestantism. This is a far cry from what is being sung in National Baptist churches today. The contemporary stuff is largely from a Charismatic-Pentecostal bend. National Baptists need to begin to sing the Bible from a Reformed Protestant perspective, which would be true to the New Hampshire Declaration of Faith. Second, I recommend the Psalter-Hymnal, which the Christian Reformed Church publishes. The strength of this Psalter-Hymnal is just that: it has 150 Psalms plus other psalm settings. The hymns reflect the teachings of Reformed Protestantism.

In the service of song, it is imperative to sing what is true of God, Christ, the Spirit, man, salvation, etc. First, the psalms do this in perfect truth; second, good scripture songs do it as well. We must sing the Bible!

Even though I believe in supporting Boyd Publishing and the Sunday School Publishing Board, National Baptists must support the Scriptural mandate to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Current hymnals lack the wherewithal to carry out the biblical commands. There is a gem published by Boyd. It is the National Baptist Hymnal originally published in 1905 (I believe); it is a words-only hymnal with great old, classic Evangelical hymns. There are plenty of Watts' hymns, which I would sing in a heartbeat compared to Contemporary stuff. If churches refuse to adopt the Trinity Hymnal, or the Psalter-Hymnal, the National Baptist Hymnal would be a better choice than sticking with the New National Baptist Hymnal.