“O let our joy be unconfined. Let us sing with freedom unrestrained.”

Hymn: “Sometimes Alleluia” – Chuck Girard (1943-    )
Tune: SOMETIMES ALLELUIA

Unlike many of my choices, this is not from Crosby, Wesley or Watts. This one is more like something from Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Written by a member of Love Song, the first Christian rock band to achieve success, this quiet, calming early chorus-style hymn is one many us remember singing at camps and rallies in the late 70’s and early 80’s. This hymnline is an admonition to worshipers, encouraging a freed-up response to the Presence.

You all know by now that I’m pretty straight-laced when it comes to congregational singing, preferring the sturdy to the slight. Over the years of exposure, I realize that bits and pieces of some of the less-than-sturdy texts and tunes have invaded my memory bank, and that these – like the hymn fragments upon which this blog is based – come to the forefront at times when I need their self-contained brief messages. THIS is one of them.

Generally speaking, we traditionalists are a timid people when it comes to our worship. We are likely to be more constrained than we are to be uninhibited… more guarded than outwardly expressive. This text calls us to release ourselves and speak/sing our truest feelings about God and to God as we worship privately and corporately.

My attempts to “maintain” during worship may disallow me from releasing my praise.

We – you and I – need to be sure we don’t allow the spiritual straight-jacket of our upbringing or our style preference to hold us back from letting God see and hear our real self.

This doesn’t necessarily mean we have to dance about the room and cast off our clothing a la David in the Old Testament (2 Samuel 6) – nor does it mean we have to raise our hands or sway back and forth like the audiences on AMERICAN IDOL. It does mean that our best worship happens when we don’t hold back from God the best expression of our truest feelings.The person next to us need not know how immersed we are in the experience, and we certainly shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves, whatever form our expression takes.

For me, you may not see it on the outside with raised hands or dancing feet, but I just may be “letting myself go” on the inside. After all, if my worship is truly for God, what he sees and knows is more important than what YOU see and know!

In our worship, we have to some extent built up prison walls around ourselves, punctuated by razor-wire that insures our security. It may be time to step out of our confinement… to put our San Quinten behind us. This could become a break-out experience for us. Willing to give it a try?


Hear This Song