Muzical Musings III

And now for the third posting in this incomplete series - when will this madness end ? Who knows !

In part I, I outlined some presuppositions about Worship in general and Sung Worship in particular. In part II I proposed that a good way to analyse and discuss Worship was to identify some 'outputs' that might indicate that it was Worship Done Well - Most of the outputs related to Sung Worship Done Well, but some would apply to all attempts at bringing our praise and adoration etc. to our Heavenly Father.

Given those outputs are reasonable, what actions should we do to assist one another in sung worship, so that the sheep truly adore the shepherd they love ?


Lets start with the material itself. What should we sing to worship well ?  Clearly Frosty the Snowman is a poor Christmas Carol, just as My Way sits uncomfortably during the Lord's Supper.  So what should we sing ?

I think that the answer is similar to the one given to 'what shall we preach ?'; we must select compositions and arrangements that are 'biblical', in that they are fully compatible with scripture's breadth, depth, and content.  Of course, few people will jump up and say 'hey I've got this new heretical song, let's sing it!', but for sung worship to be biblical, just as for a sermon to be 'biblical', it must be in harmony with the melodies of scripture (pun intended).  That harmony and compatibility can be summarised as :

a) Accurate : that is, with lyrics that are biblical, ie. actually true, balanced, and understandable.
b) Comprehensive : compositions that, taken with others, range broad and deep across the full range of biblical truth.
c) Expressive : pieces that cover the range of responses of the Bible's own examples:
i.e. Extolling, Praising, Blessing, Lament, Repenting, Sorrow, Celebration, Wonder, Awe etc.

Those cover the truth content, but the musical, melodic component must be in harmony too, so I think there are a further three notes that must be struck :

d) Appropriate : The melodies and arrangements must properly and adequately carry the lyric's truth content.
e) Merit : Lyric and music should really have artistic merit in and of themselves.
f) Singable : Yes, normal humans must be able to sing the compositions!



Of those six, accurate needs some expansion. For sung lyric to be accurately conveying biblical truth, it must not also convey or imply contradictory un-truth in such a way as to endorse un-truth. (Phew that was a sentence)  Accuracy means balance as well, no single truth or group of truths under-emphasised, or conversely over stated, such that another truth is hidden in its shadow. But, accuracy does not preclude focus, that's where 'c' above, comes in; Carols have focus, but every Carol does not have to mention Christ's return, Hymns about the cross have focus, but need not refer to the incarnation. But the poetic confuses these nice distinctions....

What's to be done with poetic expression ? The bible is full of it - metaphor, simile, allusion, juxtaposition, forward and backward references, and more..Should our Sung Worship go and do likewise ? I think the answer is yes and no. Or yes, but only if ...

Yes, if the song is based upon a biblical idea, verse or passage, but no if its a song based on a song about a biblical idea or passage.  In other words, one level of indirection only, please.  Thus a song based on Psalm 23 or John 10 can wax poetical and be richly evocative, yet stay solidly biblical even as it lifts the singer's spirit heavenward.  Whereas a song based on a song about Psalm 23 is likely to move into flights of fancy that blur into the un-true, even when allowed plenty of poetic licence.


And what of Merit - should the music have artistic merit really ?  I think we all vote with out feet on that - or, we vote with our Youtube clicks and mp3 downloads.  We're more likely to listen to In Christ Alone in the Car, than Prayer is like a Telephone, unless you have some six year olds in the back.  We always vote with out feet.  Or using another example, read down the track list of one of your favourite Christian songwriters, and ask which of these do we sing in worship. Like as not you'll find six tracks on one album, and just one on another - the six probably have merit, the others... well .. just leave 'em, don't choose 'em, don't ask us to sing 'em next Sunday.  Please.