Pastor’s Point: Food for thought

The wisest of kings once wrote: “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” Solomon recorded his thoughts in the Old Testament book of Proverbs, and even a cursory reading of its contents gives evidence of their timeless value. What we say matters, and as those who sing a lot of words over the course of time, we would do well to weigh their importance in our song selection for corporate worship.

Here’s a question: Generally speaking, what draws you to a piece of vocal music first—the lyrics or the musical content? For some, it is a provocative melody or a funky or driving beat. For others, it is the turn of a phrase, an expressed thought that seems to resonate with one’s reality at the moment. I remember years ago hearing a tune by Billy Joel called Honesty. It contained a cryptic chorus:

“Honesty is such a lonely word.

Everyone is so untrue.

Honesty is hardly ever heard.

And mostly what I need from you.”

I recall the song really “grabbing” me at the time, because it was part of my experience at that moment.

By contrast, I can remember songs that I used to love to listen to or even dance to (yes, they danced during the Cro-Magnon age!) because of their beat, only to be surprised later to realize I was moving to some pretty raunchy or dubious lyrics.

What’s the point? Music has the power to engage us on a very visceral and emotional level, sometimes because of the message it communicates and other times simply by how it makes us feel. Put in the wrong hands, it can be a very manipulative and even destructive influence. But used judiciously and for a higher purpose, it can lift us, inspire us, comfort us. Look at the lyrics to this simple praise song:

This is the Day

Father, I am weary; I am pleading for your mercy

I am waiting for Your answer,

And I’m struggling with surrender.

But I’m trusting through the darkness that surrounds:

This is the day the Lord has made

I will rejoice I will give thanks

And live my life to bring you praise

This is the day the Lord has made.

Father, through the shadows, I will seek you, I will follow for your glory, for Your Kingdom;

For redemption, and for freedom,

In my weakness, through the power of the cross:

This is the day…

I will carry my cross, carry my cross,

And You will carry me

I will carry my cross, carry my cross,

And You will carry me. This is the day…

What initially drew me to this song was the fact that the worshiper appears to be “singing through” his circumstances, bleak though they might be. He confesses to being “weary, needing mercy, looking for answers…through the darkness.” The words to Psalms 42 and 40 come quickly to mind:

As a deer gets thirsty for streams of water, I truly am thirsty for you, my God. In my heart, I am thirsty for you, the living God. When will I see your face?

Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless? I trust you! And I will praise you again because you help me, and you are my God.

Every day, you are kind, and at night you give me a song as my prayer to you, the living LORD God. You are my mighty rock. Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless? I trust you! And I will praise you again because you help me, and you are my God.

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

For those in the worship ministry to stand before the Church week after week and sing truth through our pain, doubts or fear, it is a powerful way of reaching out to God and encouraging the saints. The psalmist says that through the public proclamation of praise, “many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.”

In conclusion, love your favorite kinds of music for personal recreation—it’s what makes you unique! But when it comes to music ministry, give me a powerful, truth-filled lyric any day, one which nourishes my soul and “drives the dark of doubt away.” Long after the initial feeling created by the music itself, the words will refresh like ‘apples of gold.’

                                                                                                                             tad