The historic Hymn of Praise is the Gloria in Excelsis. In response to the fervent plea of the Kyrie, the Gloria announces that the Lord has had mercy: Glory to God in the highest! Peace on earth (Luke 2:14)! The Gloria, while not in its entirety a quotation from Scripture, is nevertheless filled with scriptural allusions. Its content is a clear confession of the holy Trinity and especially of the person and work of Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

In recent years, American Lutheranism has made a unique contribution to the church's liturgy by offering an alternative Hymn of Praise, "This Is the Feast." Based on the heavenly song of Revelation 5 and 19, this hymn is a fitting substitute as it extols the work of Christ on our behalf.

While other hymns can potentially be substituted, it is important to remember the character and function of this part of the service. In a sense, the heading Hymn of Praise has the potential to be misleading since the hymns often substituted at this place in the service are simply generic hymns that praise God. Best are those hymns in which the praise of God is joined with a clear confession of his saving work-hymns that rejoice in the Holy Trinity and specifically in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus who came into this world to save us. In other words, this is a time for a clear confession of the Gospel.