Leading music in a corporate gathering can quickly become something that we “just do”. We can spend the majority of our time preparing for it; picking music, planning the structure and flow of the service, arranging the songs to fit our people and that specific service, practicing, rehearsing, setting up, media production, fixing the problems that will come up. And in the middle of it all we can lose sight of what it is we are doing.
Time and time again the psalms exhort us to “Sing to the Lord”,
Psalm 33 “Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. “
Psalm 40 “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.”
So what are we doing when we sing?
Looking at the psalms again, in a broader view, can give us great insight. There are songs of praise, songs of thanks, songs of lament, and songs of battle(imprecation). All of these are in response to something. We praise because we see Gods glory, We give thanks because of what He has done, We lament because we have/are fallen, We call for help in battle because we are being warred against.
For me the first three are easy to understand. They are natural reactions to things we see and experience regularly. But it’s always been harder for me to connect with the Imprecatory(cursing/battle) psalms. But the truth is that as followers of Christ we are constantly in battle. We are not in a war for our souls, that was decided by Christ on the Cross and through the Holy Spirit in our sanctification and justification. But we are warring for obedience, for the glory of our Lord. Since we are secure as the children of God we are targets to be made lame, spiritually. Singing songs is a rally cry, it’s raising the standard for the soldiers of Christ to regroup and bolster up.
This puts so much weight on the songs we choose. There needs to be solid doctrinal truth that is communicated simply and effectively. Otherwise, we are merely tickling ears. The truths that we sing together are the things that will follow us throughout the week.
I really like the idea of worship songs as a battle cry. There’s something very primal that rouses within me when I watch movies where men have a legitimate reason to sing before war. Framing worship gatherings in this light is an interesting shift.
i appreciate your blog, thanks for writing!
Jared,
Interesting post.
I contend we are indeed in a battle — for the souls of the lost — those who know not our Savior Jesus Christ..
Some of our songs and hymns should be directed toward their understanding of God’s immeasurable Grace, Mercy and Salvation, even preparing their minds to hear the Gospel, reasoning and pleading with them to trust the Savior, Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Christ eternally,
ExP(Jack)
You’re on the mark, Jared. Excellent perspective.
To these ends, the first thing when I sit down to officially “decide” if a song will be added to our repertoire or play-list is to sit down and read the lyrics with a critical eye.
Is this song biblical?
Does it speak truth or review truth for the group of people who will be singing it? (Does it fit their walk with God thus far, or call them to Christ if they’ve not yet stepped across the line of faith?)
The four roles of music above are real and vital. The latter category may never be the majority in your music files, but I’ll bet you find a handful of them that God uses to bolster your confidence and faith as a congregation when times are hard, when prayer is critical to making it through the day as a church. A few will be songs Calvary’s people say “That song kept replaying in my mind this week, and it encouraged me; urged me on in my faith.”
It’s one of the ways good music fulfills the directive in Hebrews 10.23-25, and as a worship leader/pastor you’ll smile when you see it happening in your congregation.
GREAT thoughts. Love the way you look at life and ministry!
Phil/Dad