Trinity Hymnal

The Trinity Hymnal is a Christian hymnal written and compiled both by and for those from a Presbyterian background. It has been released in two editions (both of which are used in churches today) and is published by Great Commission Publications.

The 1961 Hymnal

The hymnal was originally compiled by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1961 as a hymnbook that would include traditional hymns as well as musical arrangements of the Psalms suitable for Reformed worship. The original Trinity Hymnal has a blue cover (and is therefore sometimes known as the "Blue Trinity Hymnal") and includes 730 songs, responsive readings of the Psalms (in the King James Version), and the Westminster Confession of Faith and Shorter Catechism as appendices.

The 1990 Hymnal

In the late 1980s, the young Presbyterian Church in America, which had become a partner with the OPC in Great Commission Publications, began talking with the OPC about a revised hymnal. This revised version of the TH was released in 1990. The new TH (sometimes called the "Red Trinity Hymnal" since the original printings had a red cover) has 742 hymns, responsive readings of the Psalms (New International Version), the Westminster Confession of Faith and Shorter Catechism, the Apostles' Creed, and the Nicene Creed. Many (but not all) hymns have had their language modernized, and some hymns were deleted from the original and some new ones were added. Most of the songs are traditional hymns or versified Psalms, but the new TH does include some more contemporary hymns as well. It is official (but not required) in the PCA and OPC, and is also approved by denominations such as the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.

External links

* [http://www.gcp.org/products_b.asp?id=987663333&cat=A GCP Website on the Trinity Hymnal]
* [http://www.opc.org/books/TH/ Searchable 1961 Hymnal] with titles and MIDI tunes of most hymns
* [http://opc.org/books/THrev/ The 1990 Trinity Hymnal] list of titles and hymn number.