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With All Wisdom

Colossians 3:16 – Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with grace in your hearts unto God. (ASV)

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit… (NIV)

Introduction

When the music faded from our lives in 2020, when we were forced to keep our distance and not engage in communal singing of any kind – it was only in the silence that we understood the true value, purpose and power of congregational declaration.

Research has shown that community singing can improve physical and mental health, as well as promote social bonding. Physiologically, singing is particularly beneficial for improving breathing, posture and muscle tension. Singing releases neurochemicals that are responsible for a natural ‘high’ or ‘buzz’. Psychologically, singing improves our sense of wellbeing. Singing also leads to a greater sense of belonging. Spiritually, singing connects us with a God who loves to sing over His creation. A God who has gifted the ability to sing to many aspects of His creation – including creating stars that sing: science has recently verified this.

Some of us are afraid of getting too emotional when we sing. Emotions are not the problem – emotionalism is. Emotionalism pursues feelings as ends in themselves. It disregards how or why that emotion is produced. It can also assume that heightened emotions MUST mean that God is present. They do not.

John Wesley said: “Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half-dead, or half-asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan”.

Vibrant singing enables us to connect truth about God seamlessly with passion. Thus we combine doctrine and devotion; edification and expression; heart and mind.

Lyrics Matter:

I was born in 1968, so my earliest musical memories come from the 1970s.

On the one hand, there was the Scripture in Song tapes that were played in the car and at home. Literally phrases of the Bible set to music. Real soul food. This was how I learned Scripture as a child before I could read it for myself. I couldn’t tell you where the verses were found but I knew with certainty that they were in the Bible. ‘Because He Lives’ by Bill and Gloria Gaither was another track from my childhood.

On the other hand, there were some of the songs sung in the multi-church youth group that my parents hosted in our home. One that sticks in my memory had the following lyrics:

“Smile a while and give your face a rest. Raise your hands to the One you love the best. Then shake hands with those nearby and greet them with a smile.”

WHAT!!! Even as a small child of 4/5 years old, I remember being embarrassed by the sentiments expressed and confused as to how this was a worship song. The song implies that Christians don’t often smile. It also suggests that we should all be outgoing types who love shaking hands with strangers and smiling at them. What foundations was this song – and many others like it – laying for my understanding of God and my connection to him to be built on?

Weak, wishy-washy, worthless lyrics are not confined to the Christian culture of the 1970s. A lot of the lyrics of songs written and sung in churches since then, up to and including this current day, are no more than ‘churchified’ love songs. They are inward focused on us, our needs, our desires. They are selfish and self-obsessed. They have an appearance of Godliness – but are without true substance.

Gordon Fee said: “Show me a church’s songs and I’ll show you their theology”. Words should be the first thing we consider when we think about what song to sing when we gather as the body of Christ. Mark Noll phrased it as “We are what we sing”. I would add that “We become what we sing” too.

Where have you got your understanding of God from? How have you formed your worldview? I am certain that most of us can’t recall word for word any sermons we have heard that have impacted us. However, I am certain that we can all recall the words of songs that we have heard and sung.

Psalms

150 psalms that cover every topic and situation known to mankind. The psalms themselves range in mood and expression of faith from joyous celebration to solemn eulogy and bitter protest. Being a ‘word-nerd’, I have an acrostic for the word Psalm: Poetry Sharing All Life’s Moments.

Often, when we know of someone who is experiencing a trauma in their life, we don’t know what to say. When my first husband was seriously ill, I received a couple of cards from Christian people who knew us, telling me to ‘hang in there’. Those words did not help. I could no more ‘hang in there’ than I could fly. I did not have the strength – physically, emotionally or spiritually – to hang on to anything. What did help me was the words from Psalm 23: “even when I walk through the darkest valley, you are with me…” God reminded me of a scene in the original Superman movie. Superman takes Lois flying. He starts off by holding her tightly in his arms. As she relaxes and trusts him more, he loosens his hold of her. They end up flying side by side, with their arms outstretched and holding hands. Superman did not tell Lois to ‘hang in there’. Instead, he held on to her and didn’t let her go. Lois was not flying by her own strength and ability. She was flying because Superman was sharing his strength and ability to fly with her. God reassured me that I didn’t have to ‘hang in there’ at all. He knew how exhausted I was. All I had to do was to relax and trust him because He was holding on to me.

Hymns

In the culture and time that Paul was writing his letters, hymns were a common feature of life. They were songs written to be sung by groups of people in praise of their many gods and deities. These songs paid tribute to the gods, as well as to leading figures and heroes.

When morning gilds the skies, my heart awakening cries (O) Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven (who is) Immortal, Invisible, God only wise (Remember) What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear (Because) In Christ alone my hope is found (So I ask) Breathe on me, breath of God Be Thou my vision – Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.

We ignore and reject the treasure trove of theology expressed in hymns both Ancient & Modern at our peril. We are all the weaker for it.

Spiritual Songs

By definition, these are more informal in their structure than hymns.

I have always struggled with the line: “Like a rose trampled on the ground, you took the fall and thought of me, above all”. It’s the image of a thrown away rose that firstly bothers me. Jesus was rejected – yes - BUT he chose to offer his life. Jesus was NOT murdered – his life was not taken without his permission. The rose, once it is cut from the bush, has no control over where it goes. Jesus had total control AT ALL TIMES as to where he was taken, by whom and when. I also struggle with the selfish implication that Jesus was only thinking of me when he hung on the cross.

Spiritual songs are not meant to be pleasant platitudes put to music. They are valuable tools for reinforcing biblical principles. If you want to sing phrases that tickle the tongue and ears without challenging the heart, learn nursery rhymes.

Don’t sing in ignorant bliss. Be discerning. Take responsibility for the words you declare.

Conclusion

If we are truly going to be able to admonish and teach each other with all wisdom through Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs, then the greater portion of our lyrical diet should be the objective truths of God’s Word; His character; His works. We need a broader range in the songs we sing. We need songs of reverence; awe; repentance; grief; as well as the constants of joy, celebration and freedom.

Singing has such a unique way of bringing your heart, soul, mind and strength together to focus entirely and completely on God. Remember that science is now proving that music stimulates emotional processing.

When we address one another with God’s Word, through using psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, we release encouragement and edification.

Ephesians 2:16 “Christ brought us together through his death on the cross”. (MSG)

It is the Gospel and not musical genre that unites us. Christ has broken down the dividing walls of musical preference. Worshipping God together is part of our overheard and observed witness to the world. We should desire to pursue a creativity that unites the church around gospel-centred truth rather than dividing the church over musical innovation. The sound of the church should be the sound of voices, blended in glorious harmony and declaring eternal truths.