Finally, what would a church service be without singing? The Lutheran Church has historically been known as ``the singing church'' because of our powerful hymns and liturgy. For most of its existence, the Lutheran Church has even sung the Bible readings and the collects in the church service, whenever it was possible. Today, we have a myriad of hymns from lots of sources. The hymns in our Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary were carefully chosen and collected for a number of reasons. Overall, there are two great purposes that these hymns serve in our worship: they teach us the Christian doctrines of the Bible in ways that are easy to grasp and remember, and they aid us in our worshipful response to God's grace: a response of praise, prayer, and thanksgiving. Many churches today have added another purpose to their hymns: entertainment. But the confessional Lutheran Church has resisted this trend, because a focus on entertainment detracts from the main focus of God's service. Besides, there are other, more appropriate settings for musical entertainment -- some of which may also take place in the church building.
Not all the hymns in our services are on their own page with a hymn number. There are a handful that have been treasured over the ages so greatly that they have been placed into the liturgy itself. Each serves a special purpose in its liturgical placement, expressing the Church's responses and prayers during the course of the gracious dialogue between God and man. The Gloria in Excelcis (``Glory in the Highest'') follows the wonderful words of the absolution, echoing the song of the angels at the birth of our Lord. The Sanctus (``Holy'') expresses the awe and wonder of the church as we anticipate the sacramental presence of our Savior in the Sacrament of the Altar. It is based on the words of the angels in Isaiah 6:3. The Agnus Dei (``Lamb of God''), is a special prayer addressed to Christ, identified by John the Baptizer in John 1:29 as ``the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.'' This is sung after the words of institution are spoken over the elements of bread and wine, recognizing the real presence of Christ's body and blood under those elements.
There are other standard hymns as well, used at various times in various liturgies. Three that are included in our orders of Matins and Vespers are the Benedictus, the Nunc Dimittis, and the Magnificat. These are based on the songs of Zechariah, Simeon, and Mary, respectively, recorded in the first two chapters of St. Luke's Gospel. Another hymn in the order of Matins is the Te Deum Laudamus, a very old hymn of praise and prayer to God for all the spiritual blessings of salvation.