The natural response of faith upon hearing the Gospel is to sing. Scripture gives several examples of this, such as the Song of Moses, sung after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and were delivered from Egypt (Exodus 15), and the Magnificat, which Mary sang upon hearing Elizabeth’s confession of the presence of Christ in Mary’s womb (Luke 1). The command to sing is also found throughout the Scriptures, such as in Psalm 96: “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day.” These three examples also demonstrate the content of our music: we ought to sing about God’s work of salvation for us!
Hymns have been sung in the Divine Service since at least the Middle Ages, but they were primarily sung by the choir in Latin. Many hymns were written in the vernacular, but they were used in home devotional life. When Martin Luther wrote his reforms of the liturgy, he saw an opportunity to proclaim the Gospel even more clearly in both word and song, so he added congregational hymns in German alongside the choral music in Latin. The hymn placed next to the Gospel reading was called the Gradual hymn or de tempore hymn (meaning, “of the time”). As more Lutheran hymns were written in the vernacular, the Reformers developed a schedule of hymns for each Sunday and festival of the Church year. This schedule corresponds with the lectionary readings and elevates the hymn of the day to a similar status as the other appointed Propers since it is appointed for us and used by the whole Church. Much like the lectionary, this calendar developed slowly and organically over many centuries—each generation keeps and passes along what it has received, and adds the best new hymns of its own time. As a result, many of the hymns of the day that we sing today are the same hymns of the day that were used at the time of Bach (18th century), with some extending back to the time of Luther (16thcentury). We also sing many hymns from the Early Church, though they were not yet appointed as a hymn of the day.
The purpose of the hymn of the day is to expound on the theme and Scripture lessons from the day, most often the Gospel reading. It provides an opportunity to meditate on the readings and prepare to hear the sermon. In a sense, the hymn of the day preaches the Gospel to us as we sing to one another. Other hymns in the service are chosen to further reflect on the theme of the day or season, considering the congregation’s specific context. Hymns proclaim Christ crucified and teach the faith as the Word is imprinted on our hearts through music.