Tag: singing

Waiting Patiently For God (Psalm 40:1-11)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
    and put their trust in the Lord.

Happy are those who make
    the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
    to those who go astray after false gods.
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
    they would be more than can be counted.

Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
    but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
Then I said, “Here I am;
    in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is within my heart.”

I have told the glad news of deliverance
    in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
    as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your saving help within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

Do not, O Lord, withhold
    your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    keep me safe forever. (New Revised Standard Version)

Some of the greatest gifts any of us could ever receive are God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, and mercy. These are no problem for the Lord to bestow, because they are all a part of God’s very character.

Since, according to Holy Scripture, people are created in the image and likeness of God, every single one of us contains a divine reflection of faith, love, and mercy inside our very souls.

So, why aren’t these gifts and character virtues more evident in humanity?

Why does it seem to so many that love, faith, and mercy are in short supply today?

I believe today’s psalm gives us a clue to the answer. Virtuous character only really arises out of us through the practices of patience and gratitude. Another way of looking at this is: Our waiting and our thanksgiving help us become aware and in-touch with love, faith, and mercy.

Waiting Patiently

The Psalter is replete with encouragements to wait. The ability to be patient is connected to our character’s integrity.

May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
    for I wait for you. (Psalm 25:21, NRSV)

Our patience is an expression of our trust and reliance upon God.

Wait for the Lord;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:14, NRSV)

Throughout the psalms, faithful and patient waiting leads to God’s deliverance.

Wait for the Lord and keep to his way,
    and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
    you will look on the destruction of the wicked. (Psalm 37:34, NRSV)

We can wait because we have the hope that God is good for promises given.

And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
    My hope is in you. (Psalm 39:7, NRSV)

It would be great if love and mercy were always right there, embedded clearly within every human community, family, group of people, and nation. But, as you well know, virtuous character is not always there for us.

This is why there are times in life in which we must wait for others’ love and faithfulness. We can do that through active patience, that is, by purposely loving others and being committed to them despite their unloving and uncommitted behaviors.

I’m not saying this is easy. In fact, it is downright hard. Yet, our persevering patience, expressed in mercy, will eventually win the day. What’s more, the Lord Jesus made it plain that we are to love others whether they are nice to us, or mean to us. (Matthew 5:43-48)

Giving Praise and Thanks

When God gives us deliverance from whatever or whomever is oppressing us, a new song arises in our hearts. The song declares and testifies to God’s goodness toward us. A song provides witness to our experience of God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, and divine mercy. Through singing, we show others the path toward deliverance.

O sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord; bless his name;
    tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples. (Psalm 96:1-3, NRSV)

I admit that there are many times I don’t feel like singing. Yet, even using my voice to sing a lament is a way of expressing thanks to God for being present with me in my grief, and for what God will do in my life.

For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up
    above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
    sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me! (Psalm 27:5-7, NRSV)

Monetary sacrificial giving and offering is needed, yet this is not so much what God truly desires from us. God delights in our delight to do God’s will. So then, our sacrifice can look more like the exhortation of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2, NIV)

Petitioning God For Mercy

In today’s psalm, the psalmist makes a shift from offering thanks to asking God for mercy. Mercy in the form of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness is what the psalmist needed. And it is likely what you and I need, as well.

Any sort of deliverance we experience in this mortal life seems to have a temporary element to it. There is really no final deliverance until Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead. In the meantime, we need a lot of mercy.

I don’t know if you have ever had that feeling of deliverance from a slimy pit, and having your feet set on firm solid ground. Thankfully, I have.

My own deliverance(s) were never experienced because of any superior character on my part. No, deliverance is realized through asking. And asking requires some humility which admits need, and knows how much we cannot simply save ourselves from trouble.

But we must brace ourselves for the reality that we might do a lot asking over a seemingly long period of time. It’s one thing to ask; it’s another to keep asking day in and day out, week after week, month after month, even year after year, or decade after decade.

Yet this is the nature of patient waiting. There is no deliverance apart from perseverance in prayer. I’m not talking about a vain repetition of trying to get God’s attention – that’s because you and I already have it. I’m talking about the reality that we ourselves are not in control of anything except ourselves. And even our own self-control doesn’t often go so well.

A song of thanksgiving to God always understands that there will be ongoing trouble in this old world; and a continual need for deliverance.

I humbly ask that you join me in getting on your knees every day and asking for deliverance from the injustice and unrighteousness of our current world and national troubles. They are legion.

It isn’t easy watching friends live in fear, and neighbors becoming victims of oppression and abuse. But here we are, all of us in need of seeing God’s kingdom come to earth and God’s will be done on this planet, as it is always done in God’s heaven.

Soli Deo Gloria

May it be so, to the glory of God.

Sing Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs to One Another (Ephesians 5:15-20)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
By Bible Art

Be careful, then, how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (New Revised Standard Version)

It’s unlikely I need to tell anyone that the days are evil. The world is upside-down and topsy-turvy with injustice, waywardness, and narrow partisanship. In fact, there is a lot of similarity to the Apostle Paul’s time. Maybe that’s why Paul exhorted the church not to drown their sorrows in a bottle of spirits, but to be filled with the Spirit.

Perhaps, because of the times we live in, you don’t feel much like singing. You might not be finding much in your life right now to sing about. Yet, maybe singing is the very thing we need.

An inebriated person says and does things that they would not typically say or do when they’re sober. The Apostle’s point about being filled with the Spirit is that, instead of doing and saying foolishness, we are to be so filled with God that we do and say wisdom that we wouldn’t typically do and say, if not filled with God. 

Without the fullness of God’s Spirit, we end up mumbling, not singing; worrying, not making music in our hearts; complaining and arguing, not giving thanks. Half-filled Christians can only practice a half-hearted Christianity. And they’re only half-baked in their service and devotion to Christ.

Why sing? 

Because singing is part of being filled with the Spirit of God. Singing happens when we experience God’s overflowing grace in our lives through the blessings of being chosen, adopted, and redeemed into God’s new community. (Ephesians 1:3-11)

Music is powerful. It’s not only a means of expressing praise and commitment to Christ and each other, it is also a powerful means of remembering.

For example, when we first teach kids the alphabet, we teach it in a song. Trying to teach letters in a rote fashion doesn’t work well for pre-school kids. But words set to music is why we can still remember words from old TV shows, because those words were set to a catchy tune (alas, the lyrical theme from Gilligan’s Island will forever be in my head).  Music is why an Alzheimer’s patient doesn’t remember her daughter’s name, yet can flawlessly sing all four verses of Amazing Grace.

Singing is an offering and a sacrifice of praise to God (Hebrews 13:15). And singing is also a vehicle whereby we are taught, encouraged, and built up in the community of believers. We sing to God, one another, and even to ourselves.

Christian music, then, is to be both a means of praising God and a practice of encouraging each other. We accomplish this through singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

Sing Psalms

The word “psalm” helps us rightly think of the biblical book of Psalms. Singing the psalms is an ancient practice, going all the way back to the Israelites singing psalms in the temple and synagogue. The early church maintained this practice, especially as a means of being faithful to praying without ceasing. 

However, over time, medieval congregations began neglecting the practice. In fact, European congregations eventually gave up most singing altogether. Almost all the singing was done by church choirs and professional musicians employed by the king (there was no separation of church and state) to write, compose, and perform in worship services. 

Five-hundred years ago, during the Reformation, Martin Luther reinstituted congregational singing. He gave music back to the people. One of the results of this change was putting the book of psalms to song – the Psalter.  For many Protestant denominations, the Psalter became the primary means of singing. The Psalter chiefly set prayers to song. It was both a means of expressing prayer to God and learning Scripture.

Singing Hymns

There have always been hymns in the church. Yet, it was not until the Reformation that hymns began to be written and sung by congregations. For the Reformers, hymns were used to teach sound doctrine and theology, as well as a means of confessing the faith together

A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he, amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal. (Martin Luther, 1529)

Singing Spiritual Songs

Spiritual songs are the present day equivalent of praise and worship choruses, or what some refer to as contemporary songs. These are songs purposefully designed to be emotional expressions of praise to God and to give powerful testimony for what God has done or is doing.

Remember When You Sing…

  • Psalms are used to pray and learn Scripture.
  • Hymns are used to teach us sound doctrine and confess the faith together.  
  • Spiritual songs are an important way of expressing praise to God and being encouraged in the faith. 

Therefore, church music is to serve as both a revelation from God, and as a response from God’s people.

There are two important deductions from the Apostle Paul’s exhortation:

  1. A variety of songs is inferred and expected
  2. Their use is commanded

The reason worship style seems always to be a controversial topic is because everyone has their personal preferences. And yet, if we are to be faithful to today’s New Testament lesson, we will do more than focus on what I want. 

Truth be told, we are selfish people when it comes to music. We want what we want, and we don’t care what somebody else wants. And we’ll persist in that self-absorbed spirit until somebody calls us on it… That somebody is the Apostle Paul. Scripture calls us to encompass psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs – all three of them – in our worship.

I have an old friend who is an accomplished church musician and worship pastor. I once asked him how I can lead a worship service among such a variety of preferences concerning music. He answered my question with a question:

“How highly do people, including and especially your musicians, value the unity of the church? Do they love each other so much that they can allow for a wider range of style, and do so without vocally complaining about it?”

My friend went on to say, “When I arrived at one church as their pastor, some people were in a rather bad habit of saying very openly, ‘Oh I hate that song,’ or, ‘If I hear this song one more time I’m walking out.’ What I tried to do was teach people that this is not the most loving or mature approach; and it does little to build up the rest of the Body of Christ.”

If a group of people are being faithful to Scripture, and doing their best musically, then – if the music seems lifeless, dull, or strange to us – the real issue isn’t style but our hearts.    

A heart filled with the Spirit of God will speak to others using the Psalter, time-honored hymns, and fresh new contemporary songs. The result is believers built up in the faith.

Gracious God, give us grace to take to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions about all kinds of things, including music. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and harmony, so that as there is but one body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, we may from this time forward be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of peace; and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sing a New Song (Psalm 98:1-5)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
The Lord has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm, (New King James Version)

I still remember, years ago when I was in college, a guy with a pony tail and wearing flip-flops, walking up with a guitar on his back in front of a gathering of fellow students who were Christians.

Yet, most evident, was his broad smile which seemed to engulf his entire face. He talked about his life before Christ – which was all of his life up until the week before – and what Jesus had done for him.

Then, he took his guitar and announced that he wrote a song to this very text, the first few verses of Psalm 98. I wish I had a recording of it, especially because of how he sang it with such volume and exuberance, as if the words had just been crafted yesterday.

Even though the psalm is ancient, the psalmist himself was inviting people to sing a song infused with a new perception of life on this earth.

There is always plenty of room to reflect on what God has done, and is doing, in this very big world. Not only can we consider the immensity and intricacy of the created order, but we can also declare all the things we cannot detect with our five senses.

And perhaps those are the things which impact us the most, when we sense and feel the reality of God’s work in the world, and in our lives. At least that’s what my pony-tailed smiling friend was so excited about.

The things which exist beyond our normal human experience are no less real than our daily mundane activities. This is the realm where the Lord makes the greatest impact of all. God hasn’t only done great things, but has done great things for me.

We have to use metaphors and personifications in order to even begin understanding the wonder and awe of God’s saving power in our very real here-and-now lives. God’s mighty right hand and holy arm of power speak to the incredible strength and authority which can reach into the thickest and nastiest of garbage dumpsters to pull out the pearl of great price, that is, you and me.

Consider God, the One who puts all things right, and is just and good in all things – paying attention to the least of us, and lifting up with divine deliverance from the most dire and awful of circumstances.

Indeed, the Lord has made God’s salvation known, and revealed God’s righteousness to the nations.

Sometimes it takes someone with a fresh new song to wake us up to the reality that we can discern the activity of God every day, in all the ordinary and myriad ways of our lives. Along with all of creation, and pony-tail guy, we join the chorus of those who are already singing with the unique voice God provided for us.

And those many songs all include, at their center, the reality that before I chose God, God chose me; that when I forget, God remembers; that with my waxing and waning of love, God is consistently steadfast and faithful with love; and that God provides salvation, and judges the people with equity, even when I show favoritism.

With each new testimony of God’s saving work, it becomes harder and harder for others to insist that God is absent, hidden, or negligent. God is there. God is here. God is everywhere.

We can get so wrapped up in our own small worlds, and our own little safe places, where everyone looks like me, acts like me, and thinks like me. But the world is much bigger than our contrived spaces in which we can set ourselves up as master and commander.

The Lord mercifully breaks through all of our puny posturing and petulance, and saves us from ourselves. God pushes and cajoles us to see beyond the end of our noses. We are moved to see a new perspective we haven’t noticed before.

And once we make out what God is doing, and does for me, then bursting into song with shouting and volume is the organic response to our experience. If you think about it, there is really no other way to respond, once you have gotten a glimpse of God’s activity, and discerned something that was previously undiscernible.

Even the rocks will cry out in the face of such love and grace.

It’s okay to open your mouth, once your eyes have been opened, and let a new song come tumbling out. Because joy is the response of being delivered from what once bound us.

Gracious and Loving God, you have filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all these works; that, rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Who Is In Control? (Psalm 47)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Ascension, by Angela Taylor Perry

Clap your hands, all you peoples;
    shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome,
    a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us
    and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us,
    the pride of Jacob whom he loves.

God has gone up with a shout,
    the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
    sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the king of all the earth;
    sing praises with a psalm.

God is king over the nations;
    God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather
    as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
    he is highly exalted. (New Revised Standard Version)

Who is in control? This is really a big question. We humans seem almost obsessed with the issue of control.

Some people want to be in charge of regulating everything. Others want to exert force over nothing at all. And there are those who continually want to know the clear lines of authority and who is in control, at all times.

Control, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a good thing. Taking charge of a situation – and especially of oneself – is often needed. Leadership that is informed, decisive, humble, true, and right, is a must.

The problem comes whenever we try to exert domination over another person, or attempt to command an organization when it isn’t our responsibility to do so.

Ultimate control of all things belongs to God, and not to you or me. The psalmist is insistent that God is the Ruler of the universe; and that all things belong to the Lord. God’s commands are good.

The Lord’s dominion is known as the kingdom of God. Whenever people are in sync with this reality, then they are able to be joyful and celebrate the good, right, and just Being who is in control.

Yet, if people have problems trusting another; desire to always call the shots on everything; and command everyone; there you will find a host of miserable people – with the one trying to exert control as the most miserable of all.

People, instead, are called to self-control. We are to have charge over our own thoughts and actions. It’s important to have sobriety in our lives in which we can use proper restraint, as well as needed initiative.

Be alert and be of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8, NIV)

In order to get our lines of authority in the proper places, and to participate in the established rhythms of control in the universe, we are commanded to clap, shout, and sing. Because God has ultimate control, divine initiatives are grounded in goodness, justice, righteousness, and deliverance from evil. The Lord has mercifully acted on behalf of people.

The Lord only asks of us to do things that he himself has done. The psalm states that “God has gone up with a shout.” We shout because God shouts. God rules over the nations, and was not simply some local deity that the ancient Israelites served and worshiped. The divine presence is with those who acknowledge God; they will hear the Lord’s shout.

“No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
    no misery observed in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
    the shout of the King is among them.
God brought them out of Egypt;
    they have the strength of a wild ox.” (Numbers 23:20-22, NIV)

We are also told to sing. The reason we do so is because the Lord is high above all people, and is king over the nations. This is something we need to say out loud and to sing, and to not only read silently in our heads. Our ears need to listen to the psalm, to hear the praises of God reverberating on our ear drums.

My people, hear my teaching;
    listen to the words of my mouth. (Psalm 78:1, NIV)

It is perfectly appropriate for Christians to use today’s psalm in reflection upon Ascension Day. Jesus has been lifted up into the sky; God has gone up with a shout. The Lord has equipped us for citizenship in the kingdom of God. We have solid grounds for celebration, shouting, and singing. Jesus is our King.

God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church. (Ephesians 1:20-22, NRSV)

Because of Christ’s ascension, believers in Jesus have the memory of the past, the experience of the present, and a hope for the future. With Jesus in control, there is no need for fear, or for trying to gain control for oneself.

Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into heaven, so we may also in heart and mind there ascend, and with him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.