SING TO THE LORD

SING TO THE LORD

"Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise His holy name." Psalm 30:4

I am in the process of preparing our February hymnsing. This month we are singing the hymns of Charles and John Wesley. They have given us some of our greatest hymns. Charles actually wrote more hymns than John, but both have made significant contributions to our hymnals.

Today is the Lord's day, and a significant part of worship is singing praises to our great and mighty God. As a song leader, I find myself baffled when I look out across and see the "looks" on the faces of the people. Now I realize that God is the only one that can judge the heart, but so many times the "look" is see is off people singing on "auto-pilot" -- not really thinking or contemplating the words. So seem to be off in another world rather than focusing in on the One we are singing about.

John Wesley wrote some interesting directions to his congregation about singing. I think that they should be plastered in every hymnbook (and some of you have no idea what a hymnbook is !!!):

I. Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please.

II. Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can.

III. Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a single degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing.

IV. 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, then when you sung the songs of Satan.

V. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.

VI. Sing in time. Whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it. Do not run before nor stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can; and take care not to sing to slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.

VII. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.

John Wesley was right on the mark! I would encourage you to put those principles of singing into practice starting today. You are worshipping the God of the universe!!! He is indeed our AUDIENCE OF ONE! -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

DIGGING DEEPER: Today you have ended the first month of the "Digging Deeper" Challenge. I would love to hear from you. What has God been teaching you? If you have slacked off on the challenge, get back on track. Let's keep at it as we dig together into God's WORD!

Proverbs 31; Exodus 25-26; Matthew 20:17-34

DIG THIS QUOTE: There are no new sins – we just keep returning to the old ones. -- Dr. Jerry Bridges

DETERMINED DIGGING: Level 1 -- Psalm 16:8; Level 2 -- Psalm 23