As the minister stepped down from many years of service at the church, one of the speakers made an unusual observation. Knowing that the minister had a keen interest in congregational worship, she said: ‘Listening to the congregation today, you have clearly taught us all to sing!’
It’s a strange compliment, but after a moment’s thought, an insightful thing to say, for you can tell a lot by the singing of a congregation. There’s an old story of a king who asked his stewards to go round the towns and villages and listen to the singing of the people. If the singing was healthy and joyful, so was the town. If the singing was feeble or mournful, then the king knew there was a serious malaise within the community.
Worship the Lord with gladness
Congregational singing enables the local church to express one of the key marks and fruit of the Christian life – and that is joy. ‘Joy’, said CS Lewis, ‘is the serious business of heaven’. Joy – that is, rejoicing, exulting, and praise – is the proper expression of the human heart when it knows with clarity the magnitude, certainty and permanence of our salvation.
In Romans 5:1-11 Paul speaks of the outworking of being justified by faith. He talks of access into this grace, and says that we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Indeed he goes on to talk about rejoicing in our suffering; not for our suffering, for that would be masochism, but knowing that our joy is not determined by our circumstances, but by something and someone far bigger than that!
Now here’s the question. Does your church sound that note of gospel joy through its congregational music? Are we being led in singing, with such melodies, lyrics, and rhythm that everyone wants to join in to sing the glories of the Lord?
A fitting frame
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not over-claiming the benefits of good music and congregational worship. We know the preaching of the word of God comes first. By His word, the world and the church were called into being. That is powerful, and it is why we should never invite the Lord into our presence in our songs. It was always the other way around! But we know there is also a proper response: to delight in the Lord and His grace and obey His commands with a moral response to His truth.
Think of the gospel message as a beautiful and powerful painting. The painting can be enhanced by the right frame. Or conversely, the colour could be drained from the painting by the wrong frame, or the wrong setting. So too with congregational music. The songs and hymns we sing, and the melodies, keys, pitch and rhythm in which we sing them, either strengthen the power of the gospel message, or drain it of its glory.
My plea in this article is that there is a wisdom to be learned with regard to congregational music and worship. The wisdom literature in the Bible describes it as ‘competency in the daily realities of life’, and such wisdom is seen when it comes to choices. We exercise it when thinking where to live, or what job to take. Even with limited resources, we must work wisely with what we have. To take a ‘trifling’ example from the Great British Bake Off, all the contestants have the same ingredients, but the results are very different!
Hitting the right notes
So too, there is wisdom in choosing which songs to sing, and where to place them. There is a right way to play them, and a right speed. And if we are to encourage the congregation to ‘gospel each other with the gospel’, then choose a key that suits the congregation rather than the vocalists. The ‘right’ hymn or song can be like a sharp arrow that penetrates the heart with life-changing truth.
Most of all, sound the note of gospel joy! Think of a person coming to your church. They’ve had a challenging week; perhaps the couple arriving have been arguing in the car on the way there. What song will you put on their lips? Something on the sovereignty of God and His glorious grace would surely help them. And, as they leave, what will strengthen them to live for Christ in a secular world? The Christian church is the only organisation that can still sing the Lord’s song with joy, despite all the challenging circumstances of life. So choose wisely!
