Some hymns on occasion seem almost to compel the congregation to rise to their feet. Some hymns seem to demand the sonorous peeling of the organ. And some hymns (and you'll have your own preferences here), like Martin Luther's powerful "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" ("Hymns," No. 68), seem to me to call for punctuation, at the end of each line, by a 21-gun cannonade. Whether in English or in German (where we sing three verses), the lines worship God in simple, straightforward, forceful sentences:
A mighty fortress is our God. (Ein feste Burg ist unser God,)