Generally speaking, the hymnal is theologically within the mainline Protestant tradition, with a slant toward liturgical forms.
The hymnal committee was chaired by James W. Crawford, then pastor of Boston's prestigious Old South Church, and the book was edited by Arthur Clyde.
In addition to the standard UCC edition, the hymnal is available in an "ecumenical" edition (for independent congregations, or those from other denominations) that lacks the United Church of Christ symbol imprint on the cover and some of the liturgical material in the "Orders for Worship" section.
While it is currently the only "official" hymnal of the UCC, some local UCC congregations have officially adopted a variety of other hymnals (including the earlier ones) that are used for reasons outlined below, including the local church's own traditions as well as dissatisfaction with language revisions.
Thus hymns of other ages are presented in ways that seek to maintain the theology and beauty of the original but without some of the biases of the time in which they were written.