Category Archives: Worship

Song of the Week

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I’d meant to post this earlier in the week—it’s perhaps my favorite Pentecost hymn; a former colleague of mine in Denver, the Rev. Dr. Tom Troeger, wrote the text.

Wind Who Makes All Winds that BlowWind who makes all winds that blow—
Gusts that bend the saplings low,
Gales that heave the sea in waves,
Stirrings in the mind’s deep caves—
Aim your breath with steady power
On your church this day, this hour.
Raise, renew the life we’ve lost,
Spirit God of Pentecost!

Fire who fuels all fires that burn—
Suns around which planets turn,
Beacons marking reefs and shoals,
Shining truth to guide our souls—
Come to us as once you came;
Burst in tongues of sacred flame!
Light and Power, Might and Strength,
Fill your church, its breadth and length!

Holy Spirit, Wind and Flame,
Move within our mortal frame.
Make our hearts an altar pyre;
Kindle them with your own fire.
Breathe and blow upon that blaze
Till our lives, our deeds, and ways
Speak that tongue which every land
By your grace shall understand!Words: Thomas H. Troeger
Music: Carol Doran
FALCONE, 7.7.7.7.D
© 1983, 1985 Oxford University Press, Inc.

The relevance of liturgy

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I argued yesterday that rather than trying to stop being alien to the world and start looking normal on its terms, we need to be forthright about our alienness; rather than trying to tame the strange language of Christian faith, we need to actively teach it to those who don’t know it. This afternoon, I sat down to read Mark Galli’s article in the latest Christianity Today, “A Deeper Relevance,” and found this:

A closer look suggests that something more profound and paradoxical is going on in liturgy than the search for contemporary relevance. “The liturgy begins . . . as a real separation from the world,” writes Orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann. He continues by saying that in the attempt to “make Christianity understandable to this mythical ‘modern’ man on the street,” we have forgotten this necessary separation.It is precisely the point of the liturgy to take people out of their worlds and usher them into a strange new world—to show them that, despite appearances, the last thing in the world they need is more of the world out of which they’ve come. The world the liturgy reveals does not seem relevant at first glance, but it turns out that the world it reveals is more real than the one we inhabit day by day. . . .In what’s now an old essay, F. H. Brabant put it this way: “All liturgical acts . . . have a double function: one directed Godwards, expressing in outward form the thoughts and feelings of the worshippers, the other directed manwards, teaching worshippers how they ought to think and feel by setting before them the Church’s standard of worship.”We have to pay attention to cultural context, no question. The history of liturgy has been in part about finding words and ritual that help people in a given culture express their thoughts and feelings to God in ways that make sense. The liturgy has always had freedom and variety within its basic structure.But it has steadfastly refused to let the culture determine its shape or meaning. Liturgical churches know that as profound a reality as is the surrounding culture, there is an even more profound reality waiting to be discovered. The liturgy gently and calmly gets us to open our eyes to the new reality, showing us the “necessary separation” from the old. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, we find our gaze directed away from ourselves and toward God and his kingdom. When we return to our homes, we are never the same.

That’s thick stuff, and profoundly important for the health of the church. I look forward to the article going up; what’s more, I look forward to reading the book from which the article was adapted, Beyond Smells & Bells: The Wonder and Power of Christian Liturgy. This is a message the American church needs to hear—and not only the “contemporary” churches that have stripped their liturgy down to the bare minimum, but also those churches being told they have to abandon their liturgy to be “relevant.” Relevance is not about coming to the world on its own terms; to the contrary, we are most relevant when we tell the world what it needs to know and does not, and when we give it what it needs to have and does not. May we have the courage to stick to that mission.

Worship as orientation

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“The worship God is seeking relies completely on His initiative, knowing that the only true expression of worship is through the abandonment of all our agendas for His, as we trust in His sovereign power and unlimited grace. It is from this heart posture that true liturgy flows, that music and arts find their highest calling and that the light of a worshipping community shines as a beacon of hope to a suffering and searching world.”—David RuisMy thanks to Jared for posting this quote from one of my favorite worship leaders (and also for the excellent post in which the quote is contained). This is why any worship service, whether “traditional” or “contemporary” (two labels which usually bear little or no resemblance to descriptions of reality), should begin with a call to worship: we gather to worship because God summons us. The initiative is his, not ours. Failure to remember that fact and take it seriously is, I’m convinced, the root of most of our squabbles over “worship style.” We fall into the trap of thinking that worship is all about music and how we do things and other matters of style and preference, and forget that all those things, while not incidental, are secondary. Worship, at its core, is an orientation: specifically, toward God, flat on our faces. The rest should develop accordingly, as Ruis says.This is, I think, the most important thing to remember for those of us whom God has called to lead his people in worship; what we are about is to lead people in precisely this. It’s the reason I believe in liturgy, whatever specific content we may put in it (such as whether the songs were written three centuries ago or three weeks ago), because the ancient form of the Christian service was designed to serve this purpose; but at the same time, if we begin to value the form for its own sake, we make an idol of it and thus defeat that purpose. What matters is that we teach people to trust God’s “sovereign power and unlimited grace” enough that they will be willing to abandon their agendas for his—that we teach them to come to worship out of that attitude, as an expression of that trust—and that we lead them in that by living and worshiping that way ourselves. Put simply, the most important qualification for a worship leader isn’t skill or talent or charisma: it’s a heart and life oriented in this way to the worship of God.

Song of the Week

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In his weekly links post yesterday, Jared quoted a hymn that I’ll have to look up, because I love these lines (thanks to Sinclair Ferguson for quoting them):

O Jesus! full of pardoning grace,—
More full of grace than I of sin.

That’s perfectly put, and well worth remembering. It reminded me, though, of a hymn I haven’t thought about in ages, one which Dr. Packer used to quote us from time to time in class; so I decided to post it.

I Sought the LordI sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me;
It was not I that found, O Savior true;
No, I was found of Thee.

Thou didst reach forth Thy hand and mine enfold;
I walked and sank not on the storm-vexed sea;
‘Twas not so much that I on Thee took hold,
As Thou, dear Lord, on me.

I find, I walk, I love; but O the whole
Of love is but my answer, Lord, to Thee!
For Thou were long beforehand with my soul;
Always Thou lovedst me.Words: The Pilgrim Hymnal, 1904
Music: George W. Chadwick
PEACE, 10.10.10.6

Song of the Week

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I’m preaching a series on the Ascension this Easter season, inspired by the Rev. Gerrit Scott Dawson of First Presbyterian Church (EPC) in Baton Rouge and his work on the subject; this hymn is one we’ll be singing this morning as we begin the series. It’s a text by my RCA colleague James L. H. Brumm, and I appreciate it because it captures the significance of Jesus’ ascension for us.

God Has Gone Up with Shouts of Joy!God has gone up with shouts of joy!
Christ claims the throne of glory:
Immortal Word in mortal flesh
To share with God our story
Of humans lost to death and sin
Who ache to be invited in
To Love’s eternal blessing.

Christ has gone up, still bearing wounds,
Still bound to race and gender;
His royal robe all crimson blood;
His triumph all surrender.
Now we, though bound to who we are,
Can follow, with our pain and scars,
To Love’s eternal blessing.

Christ has gone up! Now Christ in us
Leads all the world to glory.
The Word finds voice on Fiery Breath;
Our lives relate the story
Of how God went through death and Hell
That we might have Immanuel
And Love’s eternal blessing!Words: James L. H. Brumm
Music: Bohemian Brethren’s Kirchengesänge, 1566
MIT FREUDEN ZART , 8.7.8.7.8.8.7.

Hymn for Easter

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Alleluia, Alleluia!Alleluia, alleluia! Hearts to heaven and voices raise:
Sing to God a hymn of gladness, sing to God a hymn of praise;
He who on the cross a victim for the world’s salvation bled—
Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, now is risen from the dead.

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Death at last has met defeat:
See the ancient powers of evil in confusion and retreat;
Once he died, and once was buried: now he lives forever more,
Jesus Christ, the world’s Redeemer, whom we worship and adore.

Christ is risen, we are risen! Set your hearts on things above;
There in all the Father’s glory lives and reigns our King of love;
Hear the word of peace he brings us, see his wounded hands and side!
Now let every wrong be ended, every sin be crucified.

Alleluia, alleluia! Glory be to God on high:
Alleluia to the Savior who has gained the victory;
Alleluia to the Spirit, fount of love and sanctity!
Alleluia, alleluia to the Triune Majesty!Words: Christopher Wordsworth; vv. 2-3 alt. Jubilate Hymns
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven, adapt. Edward Hodges
HYMN TO JOY, 8.7.8.7.D

Hymn for Good Friday

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Go to Dark GethsemaneGo to dark Gethsemane,
You that feel the tempter’s power;
Your Redeemer’s conflict see,
Watch with him one bitter hour:
Turn not from his griefs away—
Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.

Follow to the judgment hall;
View the Lord of life arraigned.
O the wormwood and the gall!
O the pangs his soul sustained!
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss—
Learn of him to bear the cross.

Calvary’s mournful mountain climb;
There, adoring, at his feet,
Mark that miracle of time,
God’s own sacrifice complete:
“It is finished!” hear him cry;
Learn of Jesus Christ to die.Words: James Montgomery, alt.
Music: Richard Redhead
REDHEAD, 7.7.7.7.7.7.

Hymn for Palm Sunday

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Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty GatesLift up your heads, ye mighty gates;
Behold, the King of glory waits!
The King of kings is drawing near;
The Savior of the world is here.

O blest the land, the city blest,
Where Christ the ruler is confessed!
O happy hearts and happy homes
To whom this King of triumph comes!

Fling wide the portals of your heart;
Make it a temple, set apart
From earthly use for heaven’s employ,
Adorned with prayer and love and joy.

Redeemer, come, with us abide;
Our hearts to thee we open wide;
Let us thy inner presence feel;
Thy grace and love in us reveal.

Thy Holy Spirit lead us on
Until the glorious crown is won;
Eternal praise, eternal fame
Be offered, Savior, to thy Name!Words: Georg Weissel, translated by Catherine Winkworth
Music: Thomas Williams
TRURO, LM

Lenten Song of the Week

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This hymn isn’t one of the best-known cross hymns, but I’ve always been very fond of it.

In the Cross of Christ I GloryIn the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time.
All the light of sacred story
Gathers ’round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me.
Lo! it glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds more luster to the day.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure
By the cross are sanctified.
Peace is there that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.Words: John Bowring
Music: Ithamar Conkey
RATHBUN, 8.7.8.7

Lenten Song of the Week

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This isn’t a hymn that’s commonly associated with Lent, at least in my experience, but I think it fits this season; I also think it’s a magnificent text that benefits from one of the most beautiful melodies the human heart has ever produced (at least in this life).

I Cannot TellI cannot tell why He whom angels worship
Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wanderers
To bring them back, they know not how our when.
But this I know, that He was born of Mary
When Bethlehem’s manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and labored,
And so the Savior, Savior of the world, is come.

I cannot tell how silently He suffered
As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the cross was broken,
The crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, He heals the broken-hearted
And stays our sin and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy-laden,
For yet the Savior, Savior of the world, is here.

I cannot tell how He will win the nations,
How He will claim His earthly heritage,
Or satisfy the needs and aspirations
Of East and West, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory,
And He shall reap the harvest He has sown,
And some glad day His sun will shine in splendor
When He the Savior, Savior of the world, is known.

I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship
When at His bidding every storm is stilled,
Or who can say how great the jubilation
When all the hearts of men with love are filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
And myriad, myriad voices sing,
And earth to heaven, and heaven to earth will answer:
“At last the Savior, Savior of the world, is King!”Words: William Y. Fullerton
Music: Traditional Irish melody
LONDONDERRY AIR, 11.10.11.10.11.10.11.12