There is no "i" in c-o-r-p-o-r-a-t-e.
Please note, this entry is simply to relay my own personal thoughts…it is not meant to be critical in any way.
Over the past several years, the Spirit has been gracious to us at Heritage and impressed upon us through the Holy Word that we must value one another in the Body of Christ. I am quite grateful for this and my eyes have been opened to see the great frequency in which the Scriptures deal with this issue.
Recently, I have developed a keen sense of hearing when it comes to congregational singing. (Don’t worry Matt, I’m not talking about hearing those who sit behind me!) I am speaking of a sense of hearing the words of the hymns which we sing, and the focus, or lack thereof, in these words concerning the Body vs. the individual. This development has been the result of hymns that felt incredibly gripping compared with other hymns that seemed to be good and solid, but lacked something.
I have found that the difference to me in many cases was found in pronouns. There are hymns that we sing that speak of “me” and then there are hymns that speak of “we”. The “we” hymns have seemed to resonate in my heart as we sing them much more than the “me” hymns.
Please don’t take my words as a condemnation of hymns that focus upon self-reflection. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with them. I especially enjoy meditating upon these “personal” hymns and other such songs in private, and I am not against singing them in corporate settings. I also am not saying at all that we should not be self-focused in the proper manner and degree in corporate worship.
All I want to bring up is that, to me, it does take something away when we corporately sing about “Me” such as:
And my song shall ever be:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!
and I have realized that there is something very special when we corporately sing of “Us” such as:
Savior may we hear Thy call,
Give our hearts to Thine obedience,
Serve and love Thee best of all.
Both hymns quoted above are wonderful. I just really love the way Corporate Hymns are crafted for public worship, calling us to consider our faith in light of the great work of God in the Body of Christ.
Let us (no matter what we sing) be built up by the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in our corporate heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for each other in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ! (Ephesians 5:18-21)
JAZDaddy
Tue 17th Jun 2008 at 10:57 pm
Steve, I appreciate the clarification! I’d be saddened to think how having our clan piled in right behind yours as we run roughshod all over the scales could ruin an otherwise wonderful hymn….
There’s a beauty in the “we” hymns that is all the more sweet as we join our voices together in corporate song to the Lord. When much of contemporary worship attempts to manufacture individual feelings of transport and reverence, there is a deep satisfaction to reflecting upon and celebrating the countless excellencies of Christ, particularly when the congregational lyrics match the moment in congregational singing. In this we genuinely experience what can be counterfeit in the planned “worship experience”: the foretaste of the unity of the saints in worship in heaven as we regularly gather before His throne on the Lord’s Day.
Steve Ward
Wed 18th Jun 2008 at 7:55 am
Jaime made a good point during our discussions last night that many of these “hymns” in our hymnal were not purposefully written for public worship, but were written as personal reflections, poems, or even as songs for children to learn of basic doctrines.