"A Whole Lot of Noise" -- Tim Phillips

It was with great interest that I read recent blog posts by my esteemed ARP pastor-friends Benjamin Glaser and James McManus. Benjamin made a great case for the singing of psalms in worship (commenting specifically the "new song" of Psalm 98), and James drew our attention to the glory of God in the opening chapters of Luke's Gospel (even if he did have a few anachronisms sprinkled in. Coffee and notepads?!?  Bah! Humbug!). It is with both of these blog posts in mind that I submit my humble observations on each of these two issues, along with an appeal to my fellow ministers.

The first observation deals with Christmas music. Admittedly, James' post dealt (right so) with the actual Scriptural songs that we find in Luke 1 and 2. They are the inspired words of Scripture, and regardless of our position on all things Christmas, we must not shy away from them. We may want to read them and preach from them in March or July instead of a week or two in December, but they demand our full attention. And James points out a fact that also must not escape our attention: these songs (from Mary's Magnificat in Luke 1 to the song of the angels in Luke 2) emphasize the glory of God. This simple fact should teach us a lesson about the substance of our own worship music (so-called). Just as there is a significant difference between the songs played in stores beginning in late October (or earlier!) and what we might find in the Trinity Hymnal, there is a significant difference between what might be popular to sing and what we should actually be singing.

For instance, we might find it personally pleasing to singing "Jesus, we just want to thank You, Jesus, we just want to thank You, Jesus, we just want to thank You, Thank You for being so good" (yes, those are the lyrics of an actual song), but that is about as musically and aesthetically satisfying as eating a McRib sandwich on Thanksgiving Day. I'm sure some people enjoy that, but there is a better way.  Or take these lyrics:

In the secret, in the quiet place

In the stillness, you are there

In the secret, in the quiet hour I wait only for you

‘Cause I want to know you more

I want to touch you, I want to see your face

I want to know you more

Those are some cringe-worthy words, no doubt, but again they are words to an actual Christian praise song. When I was courting my wife (who is of Scottish descent on her mother's side), I memorized and recited the words to Robert Burns' "Red, Red Rose" to her. Although my wife might like to hear that she can be compared to a beautiful flower or a sweet-sounding song, it would be height of awkwardness to turn the focus of those lyrics to Jesus and insist that they be sung in corporate worship.

On the other hand, some traditional Christmas songs are full of rich theology. We often miss out on this if we only sing the first verse, but consider the words to verse 3 of "Joy to the World," written by Isaac Watts (my apologies, Rev. Glaser; please don't put me on your naughty list):

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make his blessings flow

Far as the curse is found.

Our attention is drawn, of course, to Genesis 3, the fall into sin, the curse which was pronounced, and the promised Redeemer who would come to reverse that curse (see Genesis 3:15). Paul tells us that "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13), which is a central truth of the gospel that we never want to forget. Instead of having our attention draw near-exclusively to a baby in a manger, we are now pointed to the cross, where the God-man Jesus atoned for sin.

Or, consider this part of the second verse of "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing":

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Here, the wonderful truth of the Incarnation is set on full display. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). I have noted to others that Matthew's Gospel begins with the promise that the Lord is with us and ends in the same way. "Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which translated means, 'God with us" (Matthew 1:22-23). "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). Indeed, Jesus is our Emmanuel.

What is there to say about the psalms (my second observation)? Well, since they are part of the inspired text of Scripture, they are superior to the words of men found in hymnals. Furthermore, they are commanded to be sung (e.g., Psalm 47:7; Psalm 95:2; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). The ARP's Directory of Public Worship indicates they have a priority over hymns in our worship (DPW V.B.5.d), and they are to be a part of every worship service. How is it then that they are so rarely sung in our churches? In a recent survey conducted by Synod's Committee on Worship indicated that fewer that 50% of ARP churches responding sang psalms as part of worship (or at least used a recommended psalter). How can this be? Brothers, we must be singing psalms. The problem in this area is not a disagreement over exclusive psalmody; too many of our churches are exclusive hymnody, and that's a problem. And I would suspect this doesn't get any better during the month of December.

Here, at least in my thinking, is the great danger of Christmas music and this time of the year. It is that such music and such celebrations become "extra special" in the eyes of many, particularly those in our congregations. Attendance at special Christmas services is considered to be more important that regular attendance in our churches on the Lord's Day (which has become even more of a concern in 2020). Singing Christmas songs is more pleasing to us than singing from God's own word. If this is our attitude, our churches are poorer for it, and not richer.

So what's my point in all this? Make sure the songs you sing in worship are theologically sound, regardless of where you fall on the hymns v. psalms debate. Give priority to the psalms, because they are always theologically sound (and you really don't have an excuse for not singing them). Otherwise, it's just a whole lot of noise.