Can't stop singing - Choir Sunday
Psalm 98
Revelation 15
“Can’t stop singing!”
That is precisely how it has often been for many of the followers of Jesus Christ.
Think back to the Middle Ages with a richness of Gregorian chants in the monasteries and abbeys of our land, complimented by the songs of travelling troubadours.
Think on to the period of awakening of interest in true religion - first the hymns of Isaac Watts and then a new array of great hymn writers such as John Newton and of course Charles Wesley.
Look around today and we find that vital Christian life is so often accompanied by a urge to produce new hymnody. See it in charismatic revival. See it also in communities such as Taize and Iona. And of course, it is becoming clear to us today that this is a worldwide phenomena. For modern communications mean that we are increasingly being enriched by the hymnody of other continents.
Of course, there is nothing new in singing our faith. The ancient peoples of Israel did precisely that. The book of Psalms is often seen as the hymn book of ancient Israel. And within it, we find an emphasis on singing in praise to God. The 98th Psalm which we have heard this morning is full of exhortation to make music and to sing to God. Why? Because the Psalmist whose Psalm is the basis for our hymn “Joy to the World”, sees God as having done wonderful things, so wonderful that even creation itself is drawn into the great song of praise.
Such an emphasis on singing does not die out with the ancients. Look at the stories of the early church. Turn to that wonderful story of how Paul and Silas, having been unjustly flogged and imprisoned, still sing to God from their prison cell. Why? Because at the very moment when their earthly fortunes were at their lowest, they can not but still celebrate the greatness of God and express it in song.
And if we sing to God in this world, the Revelation granted to St John, suggests that there will also be singing in heaven. For as we have heard from the Scriptures this morning, John is granted a vision in which angels sing songs that celebrate the greatness and justness of God’s deeds in history whilst daring to see in them the glimpse of a wonderful future.
Oh yes, it is true that God’s people have always been singing. But why? This morning In want to put before you just 3 reasons.
The first reason is that to sing to God is a part of our being in relationship with God. Richard and Ivor Jones put it so well in the Preface to Hymns and Psalms when they write;
“George Herbert might have described hymns as he did prayer, as ‘God’s breath in man returning to its birth.’ “
A beautiful thought that sets the singing of hymns within the context of worship.
The second reason is the empowerment that singing hymns gives. Back in 1735, the Wesley brothers were caught in a dreadful storm off Georgia. They felt within themselves great terror but at the same time they were moved as they saw German Moravian Christians singing with confidence. They wanted some of that for themselves and it is no surprise that when they received just such an assurance three years later, their very first response was to sing of the joys of their new born faith
And the third reason is that the singing of hymns is a valuable aid to our learning the faith in which we are caught up. Two an a half centuries ago, ancestors of mine would have gathered at Gwennap Pit to hear John Wesley. But wonderful as his preaching doubtless was, I am convinced that they learnt far more about the Gospel from singing the hymns of brother, Charles. Learning through singing, the wonders of the Gospel, those same hymns would have given vent to their newly transformed emotions and understandings.
Of course, singing isn’t just about joy. The psalms contain the full range of emotions, some of them rather unworthy. The better and more mature hymn books are not just about joy but about the darker times of life as well. They bring the whole range of human experience into the very presence of God. And we should cherish them for that.
An old saying is that “you are what you eat.” There is some truth in that but there is even more truth that “you are what you sing.” As we travel through the varied experiences and awarenesses of life, we are brought into ever closer relationship with God as we sing the songs that bring us into relationship with God. And so it is that on mountain top as well as in valley, we reach out to the wonder that is God by singing through all things.
Can we as followers of Jesus stop singing? No! For it is a spiritual need as great as our need for the very air that we breath. Stop singing? We can’t and we won't even try!
This sermon is for Choir Sunday at Bideford Methodist Church on Sunday July 1st 2007
Revelation 15
“Can’t stop singing!”
That is precisely how it has often been for many of the followers of Jesus Christ.
Think back to the Middle Ages with a richness of Gregorian chants in the monasteries and abbeys of our land, complimented by the songs of travelling troubadours.
Think on to the period of awakening of interest in true religion - first the hymns of Isaac Watts and then a new array of great hymn writers such as John Newton and of course Charles Wesley.
Look around today and we find that vital Christian life is so often accompanied by a urge to produce new hymnody. See it in charismatic revival. See it also in communities such as Taize and Iona. And of course, it is becoming clear to us today that this is a worldwide phenomena. For modern communications mean that we are increasingly being enriched by the hymnody of other continents.
Of course, there is nothing new in singing our faith. The ancient peoples of Israel did precisely that. The book of Psalms is often seen as the hymn book of ancient Israel. And within it, we find an emphasis on singing in praise to God. The 98th Psalm which we have heard this morning is full of exhortation to make music and to sing to God. Why? Because the Psalmist whose Psalm is the basis for our hymn “Joy to the World”, sees God as having done wonderful things, so wonderful that even creation itself is drawn into the great song of praise.
Such an emphasis on singing does not die out with the ancients. Look at the stories of the early church. Turn to that wonderful story of how Paul and Silas, having been unjustly flogged and imprisoned, still sing to God from their prison cell. Why? Because at the very moment when their earthly fortunes were at their lowest, they can not but still celebrate the greatness of God and express it in song.
And if we sing to God in this world, the Revelation granted to St John, suggests that there will also be singing in heaven. For as we have heard from the Scriptures this morning, John is granted a vision in which angels sing songs that celebrate the greatness and justness of God’s deeds in history whilst daring to see in them the glimpse of a wonderful future.
Oh yes, it is true that God’s people have always been singing. But why? This morning In want to put before you just 3 reasons.
The first reason is that to sing to God is a part of our being in relationship with God. Richard and Ivor Jones put it so well in the Preface to Hymns and Psalms when they write;
“George Herbert might have described hymns as he did prayer, as ‘God’s breath in man returning to its birth.’ “
A beautiful thought that sets the singing of hymns within the context of worship.
The second reason is the empowerment that singing hymns gives. Back in 1735, the Wesley brothers were caught in a dreadful storm off Georgia. They felt within themselves great terror but at the same time they were moved as they saw German Moravian Christians singing with confidence. They wanted some of that for themselves and it is no surprise that when they received just such an assurance three years later, their very first response was to sing of the joys of their new born faith
And the third reason is that the singing of hymns is a valuable aid to our learning the faith in which we are caught up. Two an a half centuries ago, ancestors of mine would have gathered at Gwennap Pit to hear John Wesley. But wonderful as his preaching doubtless was, I am convinced that they learnt far more about the Gospel from singing the hymns of brother, Charles. Learning through singing, the wonders of the Gospel, those same hymns would have given vent to their newly transformed emotions and understandings.
Of course, singing isn’t just about joy. The psalms contain the full range of emotions, some of them rather unworthy. The better and more mature hymn books are not just about joy but about the darker times of life as well. They bring the whole range of human experience into the very presence of God. And we should cherish them for that.
An old saying is that “you are what you eat.” There is some truth in that but there is even more truth that “you are what you sing.” As we travel through the varied experiences and awarenesses of life, we are brought into ever closer relationship with God as we sing the songs that bring us into relationship with God. And so it is that on mountain top as well as in valley, we reach out to the wonder that is God by singing through all things.
Can we as followers of Jesus stop singing? No! For it is a spiritual need as great as our need for the very air that we breath. Stop singing? We can’t and we won't even try!
This sermon is for Choir Sunday at Bideford Methodist Church on Sunday July 1st 2007
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