As I may (or may not) have mentioned before, I grew up in a very conservative, traditional Lutheran church. I didn't hate it, but I definitely did not love it. One of the reasons I would give for not liking it very much was the fact that the music was (and is still) very old-fashioned: hymns accompanied by organs. And I'm not here to give a defense of organ-playing in churches; that's not the issue. I don't think it's a "dead instrument" by any means, but that is not what I'm writing about. I cannot tell you now whether it was the hymns or the instruments they were played on that I disliked, but regardless, I did not see the beauty in any of it.
How foolish I was!
It may take a certain amount of maturity to see the beauty in hymns, I acknowledge that. The same way one does not expect a seven-year-old child to see the beauty of the language of Shakespeare, one cannot expect that same seven-year-old child to see the beauty of the following gorgeous hymn we sang just yesterday at Grace Chapel:
Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and NeedyThe song is a wonderful reminder of our brokenness and God's call. The second verse brings me to tears. There are a few different contemporary praise songs that I could think to compare it to (as far as content is concerned), but none that even approach the majesty or poetry of the language. But this is a song of another era, an era that put more emphasis on the life of the mind. And that, I think, is the key.
by Joseph Hart, 1759
Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus, ready, stands to save you,
Full of pity, joined with power.
He is able, He is able;
He is willing; doubt no more.
Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Bruised and broken by the fall;
If you tarry 'til you're better,
You will never come at all.
Not the righteous, not the righteous;
Sinners Jesus came to call.
Lo! The Incarnate God, ascended;
Pleads the merit of His blood.
Venture on Him; venture wholly,
Let no other trust intrude.
None but Jesus, none but Jesus
Can do helpless sinners good.
Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.
In mid-April, the Apologetics.com crew tackled the relationship between Christianity and Aesthetics. It's a great listen (as are the majority of their shows), and somewhere in the last hour (maybe even the last half-hour), a caller suggests that the reason the Church in general has fled from the richer, more beautiful expressions of the faith found in hymns is that our superficial culture simply cannot handle the depth presented in them. Initially, my reaction was "that can't be it!" -- however, as I thought about it, I have come to the conclusion that they were, in fact, correct. Most observers of culture (be they Christian or secular) are of the opinion that American culture as a whole is becoming more and more vacuous. The church, in particular, suffers from this. Is the answer, then, to encourage it by eschewing the singing of songs of theological content and poetic beauty? It seems to me that doing so only exacerbates the problem. The last church I was a member of (while I love it very much and would generally make the case that they are a bastion of thinking Christians) frustrated me on this point by allowing only one hymn per Sunday service. I understand that they aim to be seeker-friendly (though I don't think that is necessarily a good quality in a church), but I never, never understood that rule.
Does it take more effort to find the beauty in a hymn? Absolutely. Although it is generally pretty apparent, it can take some quality thought (especially by today's standards) to follow the verses and see their meaning. However, it is so, so worth it that to cut out hymns simply so we don't have to think so hard is embarrassing.
More later, if I think of something.
-Mike
I'm going to have to disagree with the idea that it may take more effort to find beauty in a hymn(though maybe for the unsaved), however, I may be biased because I've come down a similar hymn-byway than you. In the church I grew up falling asleep to the sing-song droning of the organ and hymns; combined with a rebellious attitude toward church it was a lethal combination.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm back in church because I want to be and I'm wondering how I missed all the great stuff about hymns particularly the ones with great theology. I think that's where the hymns have an edge compared to "contemporary Christian" music. The hymn writers seemed to put great or greater intensity on what we sing to God, whereas I think much of today's music puts the emphasis on how it makes one feel while singing to God. Look closely at today's music and you'll find it's more about 'ME', but the hymns have a different attitude. I also like hymns because even though I'm a terrible singer I can keep up and actually sound okay singing them.
p.s. can you update the link "My brothers blog" to my new blog "resistanttochange.blogspot.com" if you get the chance.
thanks dude,
Matt,
aka Oscar
Done. And I changed the text of the link to more accurately describe who you are.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I may have misspoke when I said it takes more effort to find the beauty in a hymn. But I think, for a culture that is like contemporary American culture (which generally finds more "value" in things like football, the lives of Hollywood folks, and suchlike as opposed to great works of poetry, which hymns obviously are), it is more true than false.
"for a culture that is like contemporary American culture (which generally finds more "value" in things like football, the lives of Hollywood folks, and suchlike as opposed to great works of poetry, which hymns obviously are), it is more true than false."
ReplyDeletewell said.
It's interesting that the hymn doesn't have any "I"'s or "me"'s or the such in it.
ReplyDeleteAll glory to God Most High.
Amen, brother.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how many of our modern worship songs either 1) focus on us or 2) continually say things like "glory to God! glory to God!" without ever saying much about exactly why we should be glorifying God, or what that means, or other things of that nature.
But this hymn very clearly lays out our situation, Christ's position as Savior and Redeemer, and pleads for the sinner to turn himself over to the one who can actually do something about the predicament we're in.
And it does so in such beautiful, poetic language. Wonderful.
Honestly, if I was still in Vermillion, I'd think long and hard on whether or not I could continue to lead Vespers as it has been.