is true, a great change
from Jonasson's proposal, but when it is remembered that the first half
of the work, proposed by himself, contained 136 of his own hymns, and
that he had written an additional number by the request of the committee,
it will be seen that even now less than half of his hymns found a place
in the hymnal.

Aside from this deplorable loss, it must be conceded that the committee
had done an excellent work and that its hymnal was much better suited for
general use than Kingo's proposed hymnal would have been. The committee
also had shown its fairness toward Kingo by commissioning him to print
the hymnal and to enjoy exclusive rights of its distribution for ten
years, so that he might recoup some of the losses he had sustained by the
rejection of his own book. He repaid the favor by turning out a most
excellent piece of work; and the book, both in content and appearance
undoubtedly rated as the finest hymnal the Danish church had so far
produced. It served the church for more than a hundred years, and was
always known as "Kingo's Hymnal", for, after all, his great hymns were
what gave it permanent value.

Chapter Six
Kingo's Church Hymns

Kingo's church hymns naturally differ from his spiritual songs. They are
more objective in form and less fiery in spirit. Most of them follow
their themes quite closely, reproducing in many instances even the words
of their text. Kingo is too vital, however, to confine himself wholly to
an objective presentation. Usually the last stanzas of his hymns are
devoted to a brief and often striking application of their text. He
possessed to a singular degree the ability to express a thought tersely,
as for instance in the following stanza, the last of a hymn on the
baptism of the Lord:

Our Lord is then our brother
In whom we may confide,
The Church of God our mother,
The Holy Ghost our guide;
Our blest baptismal dower
The bands of hell has riven
And opened us God's heaven,
This is our faith each hour.

The hymns may be classed under four headings: Festival Hymns, Sacramental
Hymns, Historical Hymns and Hymns on the Gospels and Epistles.

With the exception of his Easter anthem, his festival hymns cannot
compare with those of later authors. Some of his Pentecost hymns, such as
the hymns given below, are, however, still favorites.