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Commentary on "Worship and Song and Praise"
Day 6: Thursday, August 4, 2011 – "Sing a New Song to the Lord!"
Overview
“Music in our worship services should have a balance of spiritual, intellectual, and emotional elements. The lyrics, in harmony with the music itself, should uplift us, elevate our thoughts, and make us long more for the Lord who has done so much for us. Music that can bring us to the foot of the cross, that can help us to realize what we have been given in Christ, is the kind we need for our worship.” (Teacher’s Quarterly, Page 74)
Problems
Although I agree with the paragraph quoted above, I still think it is too formulaic, to behavioral.
I go by two rules in the music I choose for our church. First, the lyrics must be true to the Bible. The themes expressed must echo God’s word. For example, it does no good to be singing about being hungry all the time when Jesus promised that in Him, the Bread of Life, we would be filled. It does no good to sing songs begging for forgiveness when, in Him, we are forgiven. And so on. This rule constrains me to reject thousands of otherwise good songs, some of them very well known.
Second, the songs chosen must fit the audience who will be singing them. This is a little trickier, because congregations like to learn, so stretching them is a positive thing. What I’m really talking about is matching the style to the age group (within limits), picking a key that is comfortable, working up an arrangement that is interesting without detracting from the lyrics, and the like.
And then I throw out Rule #2 sometimes, because picking songs that remind people of Jesus’ complete victory is more important than style, or genre, or key, or notes. Another way of saying this is the relative importance of Rule #1 is 98 and that of Rule #2 is 2.
Truth within the lyrics allows me to select songs from nearly any period of history. “Fit” allows me to match the lyrics with the pastor’s sermon in order to drive home the truth being verbalized in a way that only music can accomplish.
I concur with the author’s lament that so much of church music these days is derivative of the current Top 40. I hate that regular folks are forbidden from participating with the band or choir; that performance has grown to be so much more important than a heart for God. (It is not that way at our church. I refuse to hold auditions. Anyone who is willing to show up for rehearsals and who can sing or play at all is welcome. There is no pressure to perform, but there is an ongoing call for an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ that expresses itself to our congregation.)
As pointed out in Wednesday’s study, if we would spend more time on our faces before Almighty God the music would take care of itself. It’s time to do music by faith, not by sight!
Copyright 2011 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised July 26, 2011. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
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Official Adventist Resources
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