Look at Me, Believing

Two days ago, I posted the lyrics to an anthem-ish praise chorus that does me a world of good when I sing it. Modern worship music has become the subject of so many angry rants that it's almost a wonder anybody ventures into the arena with new songs. So I like to give credit where credit is due.

That isn't to say that there aren't problems with a lot of songs today, though. Here's something I've noticed, and the best way to talk about it is probably just to start with some of the lyrics in which it appears.

I heard a story just the other day

About a man who gave His life away for me

Complicated yet it seems so clear

If I open up my heart You'll be so near to me

I believe in You

I believe in You

I believe in You

I believe Your Word has set me free

With all that I am I will live my life for You

I believe

I read a story just the other day

About the way You healed a blind man, made him see

Here I stand I'm crying out to You

All I need is faith to see a miracle in me

I believe in You

I believe in You

That was I Believe by Henry Seeley, and it has gotten a fair amount of "air time" in my congregation and, no doubt, in thousands of others. Not bad, in some ways: it never actually gives the name of Jesus, but it really cannot be talking about anyone else, and it alludes to His work on the Cross. And here the composer, and thus the congregation, asks for more faith, which is a pretty on-target request.

In the singing of it, though, something else comes out. And I'm not talking about the cute new trend in pop-Christian hymnody of cramming too many syllables into too few beats. You know, like in the first stanza of this song where "If I open up my heart" is to be sung in the same space allotted to "About a man" two lines previous. (Try it, it's nearly impossible)

No, instead do a pronoun count. And while you're at it, imagine a congregation repeating, "I beliiiiiiiiiiiiiieve in You [rest, rest], I beliiiiiiiiiiiieve in You [rest, rest], I beliiiiiiiiiiiieve ..." several times over. It's a bit monotonous, for sure, like the joke where the congregation gets tired of repeating "I could sing of Your love forever," and substitutes, "We've been singing this song forever." But where's the emphasis? Is it not on the believer, believing? After all, what is the purpose of saying "I believe, I believe," again and again? And then there's the way the song begins: not, "This Man gave His life for me" -- an affirmation of the central truth of the Gospel -- but "I heard a story" ... about this Man. (And I beliiiiiiiieve it, too) The effect is that the song is actually less a straightforward glorification of the Man who gave His life for me, as it is a song about me, hearing and experiencing the story of the Man who gave His life for me. See the difference?

This odd occurrence, of lyrics purportedly exalting Jesus as Lord and Christ, while actually placing at least as much focus on the worshiper doing the exalting, seems to run through many modern choruses -- some of which really do not work as choruses, anyway. Consider Matt Redman's The Heart of Worship (complete lyrics here).

I think this song is supposed to be penitential: "I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it ["it" being the act of worship, apparently] When it's all about You ... For a song in itself Is not what You have required ...And it's all about You, All about You, Jesus ... " Here we have a contrite worshiper of the Triune God who realizes that he has made some sort of a mess of the act and work of worship. He has made a "thing" of worship. We are never really told what that "thing" is, but it isn't right and he's sorry about it, and he pledges that from now on he'll bring "more than a song." He will return to the "heart of worship."

OK. Well, whatever his problems were before, he vows that with the Lord's help he will now worship in spirit and in truth. Amen to that. But here's the thing: again, "I" am prominent. Is a chorus of "I'm coming back to the heart of worship!" and, "It's all about You!" really a self-emptying exultation of the Lord Who is worthy of all worship? Or is it more about the songwriter's journey as a worshiper? Chronicling one's path from darkness to light may be personally useful, and may also edify others, but such qualities do not necessarily a God-honoring praise chorus make -- for it is really more "my story" than "The story."

Redman's "It's all about You!" finds its complement in another Passion song, Jesus, Lover of My Soul:

It’s all about you, Jesus.

And all this is for you.

For your glory and your fame.

It’s not about me, as if you should do things my way.

You alone are God, and I surrender to your ways.

There's nothing doctrinally false about these words. There is something about them that is doctrinally lazy, however. Reading them, a great big "No s***, Sherlock!" rises unbidden from me. "Of course it's not about you! When was it ever? This just in: cavities can be bad for your teeth." And so on. Far from a mature insight into the Word of God, this lazy lyric comes off more like an attempt to work into a song the snowclone "It's not about [blank]." Clever. Relevant. Weak is the new Strong. That sort of thing. And once again, we are invited to focus not so much on Christ, as we are on the composer's experience of worshiping Christ, which is not quite the same thing.

Songs like these increase my sympathies -- at least a little -- for the exclusive-Psalmnody crowd. It's hard to go down this self-referential road when you allow yourself nothing but metrical psalms and a pitchpipe. Seriously, though, I believe that the Church has much more to see of unfolding grace, and thus that she should continue to find her voice in new songs. Which is why I am also quite thankful for the Holy Spirit's sovereignty over hymnbooks. The cream continues to rise to the top, and more lousy songs are being left behind every year. I just hope these "Look at Me! I'm on a Journey of Belief!" songs will go the same way. We have far, far better words to sing.

[note: the paragraph-formatting thing is continuing to REALLY annoy me. Everything looked perfect in Preview, with nice spaces between paragraphs, until I right-and-left-justified. The spaces disappeared, and no amount of reformatting brought them back. Aaarrrgghh...]

Then Bursting Forth in Glorious Day

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Brought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Singing in the bass section, I noticed how all the singers perked up and sang with greater fervor this morning, beginning with the third line of the third stanza. And me too. Somehow the glory of these Ketty Getty/Stuart Townsend lyrics had eluded me before.

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

I Guess You'll Do

Love, Marriage, Parenthood, Grandparenthood, Death, in four minutes and thirty-nine seconds.

With stick figures.

Discuss.

Mary's Faith and Zechariah's Unbelief

As part of my daily Bible reading, I began Luke's gospel today. Chapter One includes the angel Gabriel's well-known visits to Zechariah and to Mary, to announce the miraculous births of their sons. As no doubt with countless students of Scripture, I have wondered why Zechariah is judged to have refused to believe God's Word, when he reacts in virtually the same way as Mary. Zechariah asks, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." Mary asks, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" (ESV)

Of course God is the ultimate Discerner of heart attitudes, and it may be that Zechariah's doubting heart is laid bare and censured without any help from Luke's narrative, perhaps in the same way that the angel pronounces judgment on Sarah in Genesis 18. This time through the chapter, however, I noticed a couple of things about the way the story is told.

I noticed first that both Zechariah and Mary are given thorough explanations of who their sons will be and what purposes they will fulfill. John will have a prophetic ministry that hearkens back to the roles and messages of Samson, Elijah, and Malachi, going before the Lord to turn many Israelites to Him. Jesus will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. Given the throne of his father David, he will have never-ending rule over the house of Jacob.

So it cannot be said that Zechariah is not given enough information; he has plenty. And yet, no less than Mary, who responds in faith.

There are, I believe, a couple of differences, however. While both conceptions will be miraculous, only one is unprecedented. Gabriel explains in verse 13 that Zechariah's perseverence in prayer for his wife has been rewarded; the implication of "Elizabeth will bear" -- Elizabeth was known by all to be barren -- is that what is wrong with her body shall be set right, and her barrenness removed. She will join a long line of formerly-barren women -- Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah, and so forth -- healed according to God's redemptive purposes. Any Jew could recognize the pattern. Mary, on the other hand, is placed in a situation that is completely new, with no precedents to guide her. And then add in the fact that Zechariah is a middle-aged priest -- a resident of Jerusalem who has no doubt attended all the best schools -- while Mary is a teenaged peasant girl from the boondocks.

And so we're actually provided quite a bit of information about both people. Neither is shorted on explanation of what's about to happen and why, but one is, or ought to be, better prepared for such news by virtue of age, education, experience, and precedent. Mary's, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord" becomes all the more poignant and praiseworthy given this background. Ditto for her observation that the Lord "has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts," while "fill[ing] the hungry with good things."

My thoughts here are as poorly constructed as my written English is cumbersome. Just trying to get somewhere by attempting to write it out, you know. I'm no New Testament scholar, and make no claims. I would like to hear from anyone who stumbles across this and has something worthwhile to add, though.

[I would also love to hear from any visitor who can help me understand why my paragraphs appear without spacing between them. I gave 'em two -- two! -- carriage returns between paragraphs, and I still get this unreadable mess...]

Christian Contentment, Part II

Chapter Two: The Mystery of Contentment

Christian contentment is not impossible, for all who learn the art of it – which is to say, to apprehend the mystery of it. This mystery is a mixture of a full awareness of the affliction (and in fact endeavoring to remove it by all lawful means) with joyful contentment.

To open up this mystery:

1. The contented Christian is also the most unsatisfied person in the world – unsatisfied, that is, with the enjoyment of all the world. Those things that will satisfy the world will not satisfy him. Though he is contented with God in a little, yet those things that would content other men will not content him. “Lord, do with me what You will for my passage through this world; I will be content with that, but I cannot be content with all the world for my portion.” And, “the peace of God is not enough to a gracious heart except it may have the God of that peace.” “I must have the Cause as well as the effect.” Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you and there is none upon the earth that I desire beside You.
   
2. The Christian comes to contentment not by addition but by subtraction – from his desires, so that his desires and his circumstances are equal. For the carnal heart, contentment means the having of all possessions and comforts now lacking. For the Christian, getting up to what he wants is related to getting his desires down to what he has. Whether richer or poorer, “let God but fashion and suit his heart to those circumstances and he will be content.” As an illustration, consider the lengths of one's legs and the commensurate ease with which he walks. A great, powerful, wealthy man with an even prouder heart is like a man with one long leg and one short one. Another man whose circumstances are low and whose heart is, too, walks with much more ease than the first.
   
3. The Christian comes to contentment not so much by getting rid of the burden he now has, than by adding another burden – i.e., by getting his heart more burdened by his sin of abusing those mercies God has now taken away from him, he will be less burdened by his afflictions.
   
4. The mystery of Christian contentment involves not so much the removing of the affliction as the changing of it, as the water of affliction to the wine of heavenly consolation. Luther: “...out of heaviness, joy, out of terror, comfort, out of sin, righteousness, and out of death, life.”
   
5. The Christian comes to contentment not by making up the wants of his circumstances, but by the performance of the work of his circumstances. The carnal heart: “I must have my wants made up in order to be content.” The gracious heart: “What is the duty of the circumstances God has put me into? ... It is the counsel of God that has brought me into these circumstances ... and I desire to serve the counsel of God in these circumstances.”
   
6. A gracious heart is contented by the melting of his will and desires into God's will and desires; by this he gets contentment. The carnal heart thinks contentment is achieved by the satisfaction of desires. The gracious heart still comes to have his desires fulfilled, though he doesn't obtain the thing he desired before. Beyond merely submitting to God's will is making God's will and his own the same. “O what God would have, I would have, too; I will not only yield to it, but I would have it, too.” The gracious heart has learned to make not just God's commanding will his own -- in other words, doing what He commands – but to make God's providential will and operative will his own as well.
   
7. The mystery consists not in bringing in anything from outside to make one's situation more comfortable, but in purging something that is within – one's lusts and bitterness. Cf. James 4:1.