Nostalgia

A friend was relating how comforting it was to sing hymns that she knew so well she didn't need printed words. As she sang, she was also conscious of the other occasions when she had sung that song.
There is nothing new in this. Singing something you know well is a very human act of community and continuity.
But is it worship?
It can be. But we also need to remember there was a time when we didn't know this song, we had to learn it. "Sing to the Lord a new song" helps us to remain open to what the Spirit is saying.
I think we also need to remember that if we only sing the old songs, we isolate ourselves from our context which is constantly changing.
Also, often we don't give ourselves a chance to learn the new songs well enough to know them by heart. New songs need to be introduced well, repeated for probably a month and then used often after that.
Finally, we need to be careful that we don't fall into the trap of worshipping nostalgia, of becoming so attached to the comfortable feeling of familiarity that we become confused about where God is in that feeling.