First of all, the church hymn must be thoroughly Biblical. It cannot move only in the realm of general religious truth, not only sing the praise of certain abstract ideas about God’s being, about the immortality of the soul, about virtue, etc. Not even such subjects as God’s attributes, the providence of God, Creation, “man’s physical and spiritual attributes, reason, will, conscience, nature and purpose,” have any place in the hymns of the Church, when these subjects are treated in an abstract way, isolated from God’s revelation through Jesus Christ and detached from human life. The subject of the church hymn, provided it possesses sound religious character, is, briefly stated, _Christ for us and Christ in us_; on the one hand the objective saving grace through Jesus Christ, and on the other hand the subjective appropriation of faith, with love and submission and devotion to God. The sphere of the church hymn will not thereby be restricted to an incessant reiteration of the name of Jesus, his wounds and blood, his love, etc. The church hymn sings the praise of God’s entire means of salvation: God’s thoughts and works of love through Christ for humanity; His sure and saving institutions of grace upon earth; the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of men unto repentance, faith and sanctification; the benefits, struggles and victories of His kingdom of grace; the glory of the heavenly bridegroom; death and judgment; the world to come and eternal life. All these subjects become the object of the hymns of the Church. The faithful express through the church hymn their ardent desire for these things; they meditate upon these things, they rejoice in their possession, they describe them and they extol them; they adore, thank, and laud their Saviour, and they give themselves up to God. Since the content of positive Christian faith, or God’s revelation of salvation through Jesus Christ, is the principal subject of the church hymn, it is clear that the church hymn must be in perfect harmony with the Word of God, the Bible, the very source of the revelation of salvation. But this does not mean that the Church should use exclusively the hymns of the Bible, as, for example, the Psalms of David. It is perfectly well to use other hymns, provided they are permeated by the Holy Spirit and constitute a vital reproduction of Biblical truths, grown up out of the soul-experiences of the Church in perfect harmony with Holy Writ. Then the liturgical principles of truth and freedom will come into proper use in congregational hymn singing.