Praying Twice
- Reverend Dale Walker
- Sep 27, 2009
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Some reflections on music and worship and entertainment:
From time to time, when it’s a slow news day, one of the TV stations may interview people trying to get tickets for some popular concert at the
And why? Perhaps because Miley Cyrus and Daughtry’s concerts are great entertainment—while entertainment isn’t the purpose of a worship service. Worship is our offering of ourselves to God, in thanks for God’s grace. Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard compared worship to a theatre performance. The prayers and hymns and readings and sermon and anthems and offerings are all parts of the performance—but they’re not for our pleasure and entertainment. In fact, they’re not meant for us at all. We--the minister, the choir, and most of all, you: the members of the congregation—are the actors in this performance. The audience is God. So let us give God pleasure as we Sing #1 “Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty”
Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Rock concerts and worship services both use spoken word and music to communicate. However, the content of what they communicate is vastly different--like the difference between a hearty meal that nourishes us, and a yummy dessert—a nice treat, but without any nutritional value. Our praying and our singing have solid content, and they have the double blessing of giving God praise and nourishing us spiritually.
The Psalms—the hymn book of the Jewish people and of early Christians as well--have a song for every emotion and eventuality: fear, sorrow, grief, joy, anger, vengeance, thanksgiving.
Music is important in scripture, not only in the Psalms, but as early as the 4th chapter of Genesis, where one of Cain’s descendants, Jubal, is noted as the ancestor of all who play the lyre and pipe. (v.21)
In Exodus, music is used to praise God for helping the Hebrew people escape from
n the passage we read from James, we see that praying and singing belong together. Indeed, many of the hymns we sing are prayers that have been set to music, such as the one we are about to sing: Sing #2 “Spirit of the Living God
Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on me;
Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on me;
Melt me, mold me, Fill me, use me,
Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on me.
We find ourselves buoyed up with hope when we sing joyfully about God’s creation and God’s gift of salvation. Sing #3 “Joyful, Joyful”
Mortals, join the happy chorus Which the morning stars began;
Love divine is reigning o’er us, Joining all in heaven’s plan.
Ever singing, march we onward, Victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us sunward In the triumph song of life.
But singing is equally appropriate in the hard times. At the end of their last meal together, when everything seemed terribly confused for the disciples, when the situation was desperate for Jesus, they sang a hymn on the way to the
Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, help me stand;
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light;
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
Consider the assumptions James makes about church: it’s a faith community in which people suffer and pray, become sick and get well, sin and are forgiven. This could be any congregation, any time. But at times, people who aren’t members or may not even be believers look to the church for help. Sing # 5 “Church in the Wildwood”
How sweet on a clear Sabbath morning, To list to the clear ringing bell;
Its tones so sweetly are calling, Oh, come to the church in the vale.
Come to the church in the wildwood,
O come to the church in the vale, No spot is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the vale.
Eight years ago, on September 11, people flocked to sanctuaries, desperate for a word of hope and comfort in a troubled time. They went wherever they found a church door open, sensing that they needed to be in a place of worship—a place of refuge--where they could be with other worshipers, hearing and singing God’s word. The church is uniquely qualified to offer help with praying and singing. Sing #6 “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
In suffering and in sickness, when life looks bleak, songs of praise remind us that God is with us, and that God wants something better for us than we’re now experiencing. Singing hymns and psalms often helps us acknowledge our anguish, and express ourselves to God at a deeper level than we can do in speech. They prepare us to go out into the world where sadness and terror lurk--prepare us to face, with faith, an uncertain future. Sing #7 “Our God, Our Help in Ages Past”
Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home.
Listening to blues singers, I have wondered, “why do the blues make me feel so good?” Blues and feeling good seems contradictory. And yet they do go together, because blues music has to do with being whole-hearted—putting body and soul into the expression of pain or love or praise or wonder. The minor key that is characteristic of the blues pierces our hearts in some of our hymns that express a plaintive longing, lifting us out of ourselves and making us more appreciative of God—and more open to God working in us. Sing #8 “What Child Is This”
What child is this, who, laid to rest, On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring Him laud, the Babe, the Son of Mary!
Being wholehearted is just what worship should be about. Psalm 100 reflects body and soul worship of God. The entire congregation is singing and praying—to God and for God. Lots of singing—enthusiastic, wholehearted, sincere singing, by every member of the worshiping community.
Congregational participation is a hallmark of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformers opposed the Catholic practice of worship conducted in Latin, while most of the people—whose language was English or French or German—didn’t understand any of it. The Reformers wanted to return to a kind of worship more like the early church. This idea gave life to a major theme of the Reformation--“the priesthood of all believers”—that is, each Christian has the right and responsibility of carrying forth the faith, including participating in worship. Sing # 9 “Called As Partners”
Called as partners in Christ’s service, Called to ministries of grace,
We respond with deep commitment, Fresh new lines of faith to trace.
May we learn the art of sharing, Side by side and friend with friend,
Equal partners in our caring To fulfill God’s chosen end.
Singing is work for our feelings, of course; for, as we are touched by God, we can express our joy and thankfulness, our grief, our hope through song. John Calvin wrote that congregational song has “a secret and almost incredible power to move hearts.” A visitor to Calvin’s church in
Joy to the world! the Savior reigns; Let us our songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hill, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
Singing is also the work of our minds. A bumper sticker declares, “Jesus came to take away our sins—not our minds.” Ministers choose hymns that help expound the message of the scripture and sermon, and so, I encourage you to pay attention to the words of the hymns as much as to the sermon. John Wesley wrote, “Above all, sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this, attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.” (Preface to Sacred Melody, 1761) Hymns express our theology—our understanding of God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Sing #11 “There’s a Wideness”
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in His justice Which is more than liberty.
Hymns help define our relationship to God and one another--teach us what God does for us--what God says in the scriptures--and encourage us to tell others about God in convincing ways. Sing #12 “Wonderful Words of Life”
Sweetly echo the gospel call, Wonderful words of Life;
Offer pardon and peace to all, Wonderful words of Life;
Jesus, only Saviour, Sanctify forever,
Beautiful words, wonderful words, Wonderful words of Life.
Beautiful words, wonderful words, Wonderful words of Life.
Our denomination produced the blue hymnal several years ago, choosing hymns carefully to reflect our Reformed theology, and to include hymns from many countries, reflecting the wide ethnic diversity of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
When we sing out, giving it everything we’ve got, our spirits follow our bodies into the words and emotions of the music. Singing this way allows the words and music to work on our spirits to change our attitudes and revitalize our faith. As the Apostle Paul said, Sing with the Spirit…and with the mind also. Music is a bridge between our hearts and our minds—from emotion to reason and back again. Sing #13 “Be Thou My Vision”
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art—
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
The Preface to the Presbyterian hymnal of 1955 states, “The Christian faith is a singing faith…. From the dawn of creation, when ‘the morning stars sang together and all the [children] of God shouted for joy’ (Job 38:7), psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs have been vehicles for the faith, the aspiration, and the joy of God’s people.”
Anyone can sing. [OK, OK—not everyone can carry a tune, but everyone can sing!] Auditions aren’t necessary for congregational singers. Perfect pitch and a great voice aren’t necessary for congregational singers. If you do have those things, please join the choir and help lead the rest of us. The rest of us need only the desire to serve God with singing—and the willingness to do it!
That may be what Psalm 100 is getting at when it insists, Make a joyful noise—come into God’s presence with singing. Actors must project their voices so they can be heard by folks on the last row. So, too, with the actors in God’s theatre. Sing out loud. May our worship always be a generous offering of ourselves—body, soul, mind, and voice, singing out unashamedly in praise of our God.
