HYMNS
The great hymns of the
church are on the way out. They are not gone entirely, but they are going and
in their place have come trite jingles that have more in common with
contemporary advertising ditties than the psalms. The problem here is not so
much the style of the music, though trite words fit best with trite tunes and
harmonies. Rather it is with the content of the songs. The old hymns expressed
the theology of the Bible in profound and perceptive ways and with winsome
memorable language. Today’s songs are focused on ourselves. They reflect our
shallow or nonexistent theology and do almost nothing to elevate our thoughts
about God. Worst of all are songs that
merely repeat a trite idea, word, or phrase over and over again. Songs like
this are not worship, though they may give the church-goer a religious feeling.
They are mantras, which belong more in a gathering of New Agers than among the
worshiping people of God.
Above all sing spiritually.
Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than
yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the
sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the
sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the
Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.
John Wesley