Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Hymns: A Gift from God to His People

What a wonderful gift from God that we can sing. God did not have to make it this way. Singing did not have to be part of His creation at all. However, God is a God of beauty. I believe He created music because it reflects His infinite splendor and majesty. It provides insignificant us with a means (among others) to voice His praises.

Hymns are by no means the only type of songs. Like you - I'm guessing - I enjoy a variety. What I enjoy best about hymns in particular is the deep theology. The wording of the best hymns is simply wonderful. Most of the hymns on my top ten list are stunning in their depth and grandeur.

Hymns connect us with church history since so many of the best ones were written over 100 years ago. I admit to having a sort of "love-hate" relationship with church history. However, my relationship with the great hymns is simply love. They stir my soul like no other form of music. They often voice what I'm feeling but cannot adequately put into words.

As for the music itself, some hymns are great, some are adequate, and others are stinkers. I suppose this is true of any type of music. It is the great ones that contain both deep theology and wonderful music. I'm saddened that so much of the church in this country is abandoning hymns. Many folks my age and younger have little to no knowledge of hymns. I'd like to see all churches embrace both high quality hymns and high quality modern choruses. My opinion is that churches miss out when their music is lop-sided in any one direction (including those that sing only hymns).

When we look in scripture, we see singing throughout. God has implanted in His people a desire to praise Him in song. He has provided us with gifted song writers to help with this. Amazingly, God enjoys listening to His church sing. His gift brings joy to us and praise to Him. I thank Him for it.

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