“He who does not find the great and perfect wisdom of God in His wonderful work of music is truly a clod and is not worthy to be considered a man!” — Martin Luther
Want to know a simple way to tell what a church believes and what it values? Take a close look at the hymns and/or praise songs they sing. What a congregation sings is a window into its soul.
Does the church take the Bible’s theology seriously? It will be reflected — one way or the other — in the words the congregation sings. What does it think about God and man? Sin and grace? Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Are the lyrics worldly, shallow, and unbiblical? Charles Spurgeon humorously quipped that “sermonettes produce Christianettes.” The same could be said for shallow hymnody and unhealthy churches. They tend to travel together.
Four somewhat random observations about hymns and church music:
1. Solid Christian hymns/praise songs must communicate biblical and theological truths clearly and accurately.
Good hymns and praise songs sing the Bible. Period. Nothing more, nothing less.
2. Hymns present an opportunity to teach sound (or unsound) doctrine.
I was in high school and college every year in the 1980s, and we had the best pop/rock music in the history of those genres. If you grew up in that era and your music ranged from Hall and Oates to Michael Jackson, Journey to Van Halen, you know it’s not even debatable.
I did not study ’80s music. Not once did I sit down and attempt to memorize the lyrics to “Freebird” or “Africa” or “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” I didn’t have to. Yet, four decades later, I can recite those songs and hundreds more from that era (for better or worse) with near perfect recollection of the lyrics.
Why?
Because words set to music lodge easily in the human mind. Thankfully, I’ve also been in church all my life and have hundreds of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs stored away beside Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Eagles, and Johnny Cash. Those hymns have filled my mind with glorious biblical truth — truth I can recall because it’s all set to music.
Therefore, the theology you’re storing up in church should be fully biblical and robust. A few diagnostic questions here: What do the words say about God? Do they depict Him as sovereign, holy and good? What does the song say about man? Does it portray him as giddy and hunky-dory because of the subjective feelings about some undefined man named Jesus? Or does the song make it clear that man is a helpless sinner in need of grace, overjoyed that grace has come down from heaven completely from outside himself? What does the hymn say about Jesus? Could I sing the Jesus love song to my wife, and it be similarly relevant?
What allegedly biblical truths are you storing in your mind?
3. Some songs — even some hymns — do not portray biblical truth accurately and are not fit for corporate worship.
This is particularly true of secular songs that mention God or Jesus or something that seems at least remotely Christian. I once attended an evangelical worship service that featured Bette Midler’s schmaltzy tearjerker, “From a Distance.” The ostensibly evangelical line here is: “God is watching us from a distance.” Problem: That ain’t our God. Yes, He is holy and other and transcendent — but He is also relational and immanent, meaning, he’s intimately involved in the details of our lives. Midler’s song? It’s sentimental ’60s hippie-dreamy deism at best — a man-made god who’s non-judgmental, of course, at worst. Never, ever should it be sung in an evangelical worship service.
In the same vein, I attended another large church that featured Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” as a solo. Slowhand’s guitar work is almost supernatural, and I’ve read he was converted after the tragic death of his young son years ago, which was the inspiration for “Tears in Heaven.” But we have a promise that there’ll be no tears in heaven, else would it be very different from this fallen earth. Late CCM rocker Dana Key (a direct descendant of Francis Scott Key, author of our national anthem) wrote a moving, grace-filled response to that song, titled “Dear Mr. Clapton.” Tears flow every time I hear it.
Some songs are incomplete. For a seminary class assignment, I once attended a service at a megachurch that broadcast its services on a national cable TV network. For more than 15 minutes the choir sang (and danced) to a song composed of two words, repeated ecstatically again and again, “Yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord — oh yes.” Not a single clue was evident as to what they were saying yes to besides some nebulous “god.”
Some songs are man-centered. The subject of every line is a personal pronoun: “We” or “I” or “me” — all the things we’re going to do for God — untethered from biblical truth. A Mormon could sing these songs. I could sing them to Lisa on our anniversary. That’s a problem.
4. A solid hymnal can be a powerful weapon in your daily devotional arsenal.
In addition to the Bible and good devotional helps, consider adding in a solid hymnal such as the brand-new resource The Sing! Hymnal from Crossway. (See the interview with that hymnal’s editor in this edition of The Courier.) Other good ones include the tried-and-true Broadman Hymnal, the Trinity Hymnal, or Hymns of Grace from Master’s Seminary.
The best of these hymnals includes catechism questions, classic creeds, and confessions. Both Sing! and the Trinity Hymnal include those items. Meditate on the profound biblical truths contained in those hymns. This has been a regular part of my daily devotions for years and has benefitted me profoundly.
In this month’s edition of the magazine, we’ve asked numerous writers to identify and riff briefly on their favorite hymn. After giving it some thought, I’ve concluded that choosing my favorite hymn would be a little like choosing a favorite from among my four children. My favorite hymns (in no particular order):
Favorite Classic Hymns
• “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” the great anthem of the Reformation by Martin Luther. The great reformer of Germany knew by experience a God who is “a bulwark never failing.” I love how Luther confronted Satan boldly with Christ in this hymn.
• “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” by Charles Wesley. One of the most earth-shaking lines in all of hymnody: “… peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.”
• “And Can It Be” by Charles Wesley. Get a load of verse 3: “Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night. Thine eye diffused a quick-’ning ray; I woke — the dungeon flamed with light! My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth, and followed thee.” It doesn’t get any more glorious than that.”
• “It Is Well with My Soul.” Written in 1876 by Horatio Spafford after his daughters drowned in a tragic accident at sea. I can never sing the third stanza without welling up in tears: “My sin — oh the bliss of this glorious thought — my sin, not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more.”
• “There Is a Fountain” by William Cowper. See Walter Johnson’s excellent exposition of this glorious old hymn in this edition of The Courier.
• “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts. “See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down!”
• “God Moves in a Mysterious Way” by William Cowper.
See an article I wrote on this hymn on God’s providence a few years ago here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/god-moves-in-a-mysterious-way/.
Favorite Modern Hymns
• “Before the Throne of God Above,” originally penned by Charitie Lee Smith in 1863, brought into prominence lately by Sovereign Grace Music. Has there been a more glorious line written in recent hymnody than verse 2? “When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see him there who made an end to all my sin. Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free; for God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me.” Wow.
• “See, What a Morning” co-written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. “Death is dead, love has won, Christ has conquered.”
• “All I Have Is Christ” by Jordan Kauflin. This is my story (verse 2): “But as I ran my hell-bound race, indifferent to the cost, you looked upon my helpless state and led me to the cross. And I beheld God’s love displayed; you suffered in my place. You bore the wrath reserved for me; now all I know is grace.” Hallelujah!
• “Is He Worthy?” by Andrew Peterson and Ben Shive. Singing it in church blows me away. Every single time.
• “How Great Is Our God” by Chris Tomlin. Name above all names, worthy of all praise.