This morning I was reminded of why I have always loved hymns so much. They speak of God's goodness, love, and so many other attributes. Even if they are not speaking directly TO Him, they are wonderful testimonies of who He really is. And that's okay..to sing these indoctrinated songs, because we learn about the Lord. People who sing them that may not know much about God will see glimpses of why they should. There are powerful stories behind so many of the hymns, as well. I know that for sure (I have a book that describes dozens of these stories, in every detail).
The song I opened up to directly, with no real looking, just the first thing that I saw, was "Jesus Calls Us O'er the Tumult." Now, we've song this at church, but it never really struck me until this morning.
Jesus calls us o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea; Day by day I hear Him saying, "Christian, come and follow me."
As, of old, disciples heard it by the Galilean lake, Turned from home and work and leisrue, leaving all for His dear sake.
In our joys and in our sorrows, days of toil and hours of ease, still He calls in cares and pleasures, "Christian, love me more than these."
Jesus calls us: by Thy mercies, Savior, may we hear Thy call, give our hearts to Thine obedience, serve and love Thee best of all.
I just love those words...I think God would delight when we sing OF Him, because His people are ministered to. But, we should never cease to use song to glorify his name by speaking to him personally through choruses. These two go hand in hand...and I am blessed to be in a church that values both genres of hymns and choruses. I could not go without either one.
I forgot to mention that this post is some of my response to the issue brought up here. For those who don't know, Sam is someone my brother grew up with at our first church we ever went to. Well, I grew up with Sam too and as he mentioned, it is nice to reconnect with people through this medium. He brings up "hot" topics in the Christian faith, and I really like that about his blogging. If it hadn't been for Kimmy, I wouldn't have started this. She has helped me get back to writing, and I so appreciate it! I never could keep a diary, but I can do this!
1 comments:
I am so glad I was able to reconnect with you after all these years using this wonderful medium.
Thank you for posting your thoughts. I agree wholeheartedly that the songs about the wonderful works of God are beneficial to us. What I find interesting about the song you shared is that it actually blends the horizontal with the vertical. It starts with a glimpse into the things Jesus did for us and the calling He has for us, and then the song finishes with our praise directly to Him.
(Modern english) May we hear your call, give our hearts in obediance to You, serve and love You best.
That is a direct statement to our Savior.
I agree that God delights when we sing OF Him, and is ministered to when we sing TO Him. I guess my only question is when do we do each? I have to reinforce my thoughts that when we meet together as a corporate body, since we only have that time once a week, our goal should be to worship TO Him. The weird part, like I posted, is that I've done both for so long I never questioned that our time together could be better spent in complete and utter reverence TO Him, not just ABOUT Him. Maybe the compromise would be for us to search out the hymns and choruses like the one you shared that do both.
This is good stuff. I enjoy finding my Faith strengthened by new thoughts and ideas that turn out to only be old thoughts and ideas! Who knew being a Christian could be so much fun? Thanks again for sharing Amy.
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