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.

The 1st Century in the 21st Century.

The speaker stood on a makeshift platform barely twelve inches above his roaring, boisterous audience. "Who is a Prophet ?" he called out. Back came the reply : "Mohamed !, Jesus !, Marx !" . "Well I'll tell you", he continued, "Only Someone who knows the name of God can be a prophet of God", "Liar !" they shouted back in response. "Look, see, the Muslim's are afraid of hearing who is a prophet. That's why they want to drown me out". The crowed roared "Yes" and "No!", and "Jesus" with gusto. "Look, nowhere in the Q'ran does Mohamed use the real personal name of God", "Liar" they shouted again, followed by "Allah, Allah, Allah". "No Allah is not God's name, it simply means 'the God', that's not Gods personal name. Only in the Bible do we read prophets using God's personal name". "Liar!" they shouted again. Then he turned to crowd and called "What is God's real name ?" "Yahweh! Yahweh! Yahweh!" they chanted back.

And so it went on, with claim and assertion, banter, interruption, questions, chanting, good humour. Suddenly from in the crowd a woman in a headscarf reached out and touched the speaker. He stoped, looked directly at her. "Don't touch me, I am a Christian. You, a Muslim woman, you cannot touch me" Her Face fell. "Hey, don't look angry, relax, you don't have to be angry, we can relax here. Smile.. yeah that's better, you look much prettier when you smile" She turned away confused, disarmed by the speakers manner.

Speaker's Corner, Hyde Park, London. A unique place.

I was there ! (but it was a long time ago)

I was present to hear what I believe was his last public sermon.  I've preached just once from that same pulpit.  I know of him, but never knew him.  Those I've known that did know him revered him and valued his counsel greatly.  In his later years, to agree with him was to assert ones own orthodoxy, and to disagree caused eyebrows to rise.

Who am I talking about ?  I'm talking about 'the Doctor', Dr Martyn LLoyd-Jones.

And now I find I am using his volume of sermons on Philippians I&II, entitled The Life of Joy. Clearly, the cover designer was engaging in a little gentle irony.  The stern-faced man in the top corner cannot possibly be living a Life of Joy can he ?  Pity.  The testimony of those who knew him well, and that of his biographer Iain Murray, would indicate that while the Doctor had gravitas, he also had plenty of Joy too.  Poor choice there Mr Cover Designer.

Look not only to your own interests.

I've been asked to preach another sermon.  Nothing surprising there I suppose, but the passage is a little more difficult than usual.  Its from Paul's letter to the Philippians, Chapter 2 and the last dozen verses.  Paul is telling his Philippian readers that fairly soon he will be sending his trusted friend Timothy to see them, so that he (Paul) may have first hand news of how they're getting along, and be encouraged thereby.  But first, immediately, Paul is sending back their own man Epaphroditus, (probably the one who carried Paul's letter to the Philippians), because Epaphroditus, in Paul's words "longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill". 

But Paul doesn't then move on to other topics, rather, he urges them to welcome Epahroditus and adds a remarkable commendation; "Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ".

Imagine being commended by perhaps the greatest hero of the Christian Faith. Imagine having the approval of the mighty Apostle and have him say of you 'honor men like him'.  But Paul is only doing what Jesus did.  Jesus called his disciples 'friends', and when he spoke of Saints long dead, he didn't call them by their failures, indeed he doesn't really name their failures, for example Jonah is not called Jonah the Nationalist or Jonah the Racist, but Jonah's preaching is compared to the Saviour's own preaching.

So one question is, how do we view one another ?  Do we see each other's labour for Christ, or do we see each others faults and failures, and build hierarchies of value among the people of God ?

And of course, Paul's commendation of Timothy and Epaphroditus serves to illustrate not only their relationship with the Apostle and the esteem he held them in, but exemplifies the principle he has laid out earlier in the letter ; "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus..."

Now, to preach that without sinking into mere 'thou shalt' moralising, that is my difficulty.