Unlike the growing religions of the world, Christians sing. Our singing was born out of the psalter, the hymnal of Old Testament saints and carried into the worship of the gathered Christians, the church, as modeled by our Lord (Matthew 26:30). We Christians sing in our homes and cars, but the greatest expression of our singing is when we gather for corporate worship.
Nothing replaces or imitates the sound of combined voices singing in a live setting the songs of the redeemed.
Singing in the gathered church has apostolic authority (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16), and the singing of the church is a vehicle of praise, prayer, and training. A hymn or spiritual song may provide one or all in its lyrics. So, Be Thou My Vision is the praise of God, a prayer to God, and the training of the mind about God.
Samuel J. Stone’s classic hymn, The Church’s One Foundation is primarily a teaching text we do well to sing. In 1866 England, Stone penned the text at time of significant controversy in the Church of England and the Church of South Africa. Once again the battle lines were drawn over the inerrancy of the Scriptures and the role of Jesus in God’s plan of salvation. In response and in aid to local churches, Stone writes his deep convictions in hymn form that serves to train our minds about fundamental Bible truths.
The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation by water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her and for her life He died.
I miss our singing and look forward with great anticipation to our singing together again. When? I don’t know, but I do know we will sing again.
As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.
Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision