Music
has always been a vital part of worshiping God. Long before Israel was even a
nation, Miriam stood on the banks of the Red Sea and led the people in praise
of the God who had just saved them from the Egyptians. In what is thought to be
some of the oldest poetry in the Bible, Exodus 15:21 tells us what she sang:
“Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted; the horse and rider he has hurled
into the sea!” Many years later, the psalms continued her chorus of praise,
telling us to “sing to the Lord!” From that day to this, we have done just
that. Songs
are one way to give voice to our human emotions; and God invites us to express
all of them in worship. If we are joyful, we can sing praise; if we are
sorrowful, we can pour out our grief in a lament; if we are tempted to despair,
we can sing our hope. This morning, we will express some of those emotions as
we sing to God using a variety of familiar hymns.
What
better place to begin than with the awe that we feel when we encounter the holy
God that we worship. The prophet Isaiah had a vision of God in the Temple. When
he saw the seraphim flying around the heavenly throne singing, “Holy, holy,
holy, Lord God almighty!” he was awestruck at the sight. God is our friend; but
God is also the ruler of the universe! The familiar hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy”
expresses the awe that we feel when we encounter God.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to
thee!
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons: blessed trinity.
This
awesome God who reigns from heaven is the same one who created us; and the one
who created the beautiful world that surrounds us. Most of the time, we take it
for granted. But sometimes, on a early morning when the grass is covered with
dew and the birds are warbling their songs, we are struck with wonder at what
God has done. On those days, we really do realize that “Morning Has Broken.”
Morning has broken like the
first morning.
Blackbird has spoken like the
first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise
for the morning!
Praise for them springing
fresh from the Word!
But
does this almighty creator care about us? Some people find it hard to believe
that the One with enough power to create the universe keeps a loving eye on his
creation. But Jesus assures us that he does. You remember what Jesus told his
disciples: God knows when even a sparrow falls. If God cares about a sparrow,
surely he cares about us, too! That is a powerful reassurance of God’s care for
us. The beloved hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” offers us that kind of
reassurance.
Why should I feel discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely
and long for heaven and home
When Jesus is my portion? My
constant friend is he!
His eye is on the sparrow, and
I know he watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow, and
I know he watches me.
I sing because I’m happy, I
sing because I’m free,
For his eye is on the sparrow,
and I know he watches me.
The
reassurance of God’s care offers us a kind of peace that we can’t get anywhere
else! We call it the peace “that passes all understanding.” We usually feel it
most deeply on Christmas Eve, when we celebrate the birth of our savior. He was
born in a barn full of animals, far from the centers of earthly power; but he
came to offer us the peace that the world can’t give us. I hope that you feel
some of that peace when you sing “Silent Night.”
Silent night, holy night. All
is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and
child.
Holy infant so tender and
mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep
in heavenly peace.
The
peace that Christ offers us is deep and profound. But sometimes the world
shatters that peace. Hate, revenge, and violence all do their best to take away
our peace. And when we fall victim to the cares of the world, the peace of
Christ is often replaced by grief. Jesus knew what that feels like. He
experienced it, too, on Good Friday. On that day, we pour out our grief in
songs that recall Jesus’ crucifixion, and the suffering that all of us feel now
and then. The spiritual “Were You There” is a deep expression of that grief.
Were you there when they
crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they
crucified my Lord?
Oh… sometimes it causes me to
tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they
crucified my Lord?
But
grief isn’t the last word, is it? The pain of Good Friday gives way to the joy
of Easter Sunday just as surely as sunrise follows the night! That joy isn’t
just the temporary happiness that we feel when everything goes right. It is far
deeper than that. Nothing in the world can erase Easter joy; because on Easter
morning, Jesus has triumphed even over death! When we join in singing a chorus
of “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” nothing can dampen that joy!
Christ the Lord is risen
today, alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say,
alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs
high, alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth
reply, alleluia!
And
our joy doesn’t end there. Joy expands into thanksgiving when we realize that
Jesus died and was raised so that we might experience eternal life! Most of us
have had at least one moment in our lives when that eternal life became very
real to us. At that moment, we realized beyond a shadow of a doubt that we nothing
can separate us from God’s love. “Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ?” Paul asks in the book of Romans (8:35). Then he answers his own
question: “Nothing… in all creation will be able to separate us from the love
of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (8:39) Maybe you will be reminded of
the moment that God’s love became real to you through the hymn “Heaven Came
Down and Glory Filled My Soul.”
Oh, what a wonderful,
wonderful day, day I will never forget:
After I’d wandered in darkness
away, Jesus my savior I met.
Oh, what a tender,
compassionate friend! He met the needs of my heart!
Shadows dispelling, with joy I
am telling, he made all the darkness depart!
Heaven came down and glory
filled my soul,
When at the cross the Savior
made me whole.
My sins were washed away, and
my night was turned to day –
Heaven came down and glory
filled my soul!
Peace
and joy certainly give us reasons for thanksgiving. But even stronger than
peace and joy is hope. When the world threatens to overwhelm us, and we are
tempted to despair, the certainty that we will one day live in God’s kingdom
where there is no sorrow, pain, or suffering can help us through even the
darkest night. We anticipate that kingdom when we imagine going to our heavenly
home. “I’ll Fly Away” envisions what that day will be like.
Some glad morning when my life
is o’er, I’ll fly away.
To a home on God’s celestial
shore, I’ll fly away.
I’ll fly away, oh glory, I’ll
fly away!
When I die, hallelujah, by and
by, I’ll fly away!
So…
what else is left? We have sung to God with awe and wonder. We have been
reassured of God’s care for us, and experienced some of God’s peace. We have
expressed both grief and joy, given thanks for our realization of God’s love,
and sung of the hope that we have in Christ. What else is there? Why – triumph!
In the gospel of John, Jesus assures his disciples, “In this world you will
have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33) We sing
to celebrate that Jesus Christ is our ruler; and he will be forever and ever!
1.
Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his
throne!
Hark! How the heavenly anthem
drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of
him who died for thee,
And hail him as thy matchless
king throughout eternity!
2.
Crown him the lord of life, who triumphed o’er
the grave,
Who rose victorious to the
strife for those he came to save.
His glories now we sing, who
died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to
bring, and lives that death may die!
3.
Crown him the lord of years, the potentate of
time,
Creator of the rolling
spheres, ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail, for
thou hast died for me!
Thy praise and glory shall not
fail throughout eternity!
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