Hymn Format

Things I like about how the hymns were formatted in the Lutheran service book are as follows:
1) The doxological or trinitarian verses are marked so you stand to honor the Trinity
2) The hymns are put into keys that can both be played and sung easier
3) The bible verses that the song are based are printed with the hymns. This can help add to the service by looking that up before or after service or be a way to do a bible study by studying what the hymn means and where does it come from.
4) If there are a lot of verses, there are breaks put between the verses to make it easier to follow.


In addition to this, some of the hymns have been down dated (opposite of updated) so they can return to the more familiar wording. As a church musician, and the not the most talented at that, I appreciate how all the steps are made to make singing these hymns easier to sing without cheapening how they sound. Most congregation on the whole are not on the musical par as a trained choir so some of the more complex hymns would not be appropriate on the congregational level. I am not trying to look down on the laity for many of the more complex leave me behind as well. I am just trying to point out that more complex is not always better.