Hymn: “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” – Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (384-413)
Translated
by John Mason Neale and Henry W. Baker
Music: DIVINUM MYSTERIUM
“Oh boy,” I hear you saying. “It’s time for an ancient
plainsong! This hymn has no meter – no beat – no possibility for underscoring
by a set-drummer! How can it still be relevant?”
I’ll remove my tongue from my cheek and deal with today’s
hymn-line the same way I try to do with all the ones from your favorite hymns
and gospel songs.
I managed to survive most of the worship wars during my
music ministry. The congregations I served after the war broke out were pretty
much committed to staying in the middle of the road; all were traditional in their
worship style with some leanings toward the blended – which is so undefinable,
I wish it had never been applied to worship! I had to fight a few battles along
the way… minor skirmishes, you might say… but I escaped the ravages of war by which
so many of my peers have been wounded and/or have had their ministries killed
off.
I think this text penned within five hundred years of the
birth of the Christian church speaks to this in a round-about way, saying that
wherever our musical preferences may take us, our praises should be unwearied…fresh, not tired, energized,
with sustained enthusiasm, done with vitality.
Some worshipers are ‘worn out’ by the singing of those old
songs their grandmother enjoyed, with too many words and too much deep
theology. Some of the rest of us are ‘worn down’ by trying to keep up with
complicated rhythmic songs set to shallow texts projected on screens. Worn out and worn down are the opposite of energized unweariness. Lord, deliver
us all!
I am quite sure that God never meant for us to create
schisms over musical styles… quite definitely sure. And none of us truly knows
what kind of music God prefers in our worship of his Son. What if Gregorian
chant is the only one he will accept… or some very ancient Hebrew musical form
of which we have no record? Or does he rock out with a driving beat and the screaming
of somewhat sacred lyrics? Or is it only when the congregation holds a hymnal
and follows the lead of the organ? Does that sound absurd to you? It certainly
does to me!
God is listening to our heart-song – There’s within my heart a melody from a few days ago! And all of us have
to find a congregation whose musical style allows our heart-song to come
through with genuine authenticity… not forced, but free… unwearied.
It’s obvious from the title of my blog where I would fall in
most of this if I had to take sides in the worship wars. I’ve tried really hard
to keep my mouth shut and be accepting of all the extremes, while landing
somewhere in the middle-- hopefully not ‘on the fence’ or waffling. I’m pretty firm in where I stand, but I accept
that the heart-song of others may require a different outward musical
expression.
When you worship – whether it be with a stately hymn, un-metered chant, or high-powered amplified
thanksgiving – don’t let the praise
be overshadowed by the music.
Unwearied, vital, energized, fresh, un-encumbered praise of
the Most High God. Let it be so!
The artwork is from the cover of a book on hymn singing; you can find more information and/or order the book at: http://books.google.com/books/about/Unwearied_Praises.html?id=7D-xdhZ8SmEC
