GOD'S BREATH PUBLICATONS

It’s the Hearts, Not the Hymns!

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© 2000

“Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;

worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.”

Psalms 29:2

I believe that there is a worship movement occurring in our country in regards to our Christian music. We are experiencing a great change in how we worship our God in song. Songs of worship are being written at an amazing rate. These are songs of praise to our King. These are personal songs that tug at the heart and move us to tears. These are songs that stir us to action and draw us closer to our Lord. I believe God will use these songs to bring revival to our nation. I believe God is honored and glorified to have such moving songs written for Him, to Him, and about Him.

While I am thankful for the privilege of living in a time such as this, I am concerned over what is sometimes said about our legacy of hymns in the Christian faith. Some judgments are being made occasionally, that hymns are no longer a useful style of musical worship. I won’t pretend to know all there is to know about worship music and what God’s preferences are, but I do believe that God uses many, many ways to reach people. I also believe that God does not care as much about the style of worship, as much as He does about the hearts of the people who worship Him. John 4:23 describes the type of worshiper that God seeks when it says, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” I believe God doesn’t care necessarily how we worship, only that we worship in spirit and in truth. God desires our hearts, minds and soul when we worship in song. He desires we worship truthfully, not in any attempt to please or impress men or those around us. This worship may at times be loud celebration music as spoken of in Psalms 100:2, “Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” At other times, our worship may be solemn and sober as we are convicted of our sin or overwhelmed by the powerful God we serve as indicated by Hebrews 12:28‑29, ATherefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

It is true that hymns are usually associated with monotonous, dreary, and boring worship. I have been in church services where I was amazed at how even the Preacher or Worship Leader, managed to stay awake. But, I am convinced that this is only true, if the hearts of the people singing the hymns are monotonous, dreary and boring. If your heart longs for your savior how can you not sing with emotion and conviction such hymns as How Great Thou Art, Nearer My God To Thee, I Need Thee Every Hour, More About Jesus, Where He Leads Me, Be Thou My Vision and My Jesus, I Love Thee.

I believe if we degrade and discard the legacy of hymns that have been sung in the past, we are throwing the baby out with the bath water. It is true that many hymns, no longer tug at our hearts, but is this a problem of the hymns or of our hearts? Possibly we need balance in our musical worship rather than just what we desire. We may desire a dramatic and exciting experience in singing, but possibly sometimes, we need the stability and meat of a good hymn to convict us of sin. Often a hymn will bring a sense of awe for the mighty God we serve more than a worship chorus. I’m not saying contemporary music cannot accomplish the same thing in our worship experience. I am saying to forget and criticize hymns, is to miss out on a vast amount of wisdom and Christian experiences in ages past. When you research the history behind hymns and their authors, or study the words contained in the verses of hymns, you come away with a respect for how God has worked in people’s lives in the past.

As Christians we still read and study the Old Testament. Why? Because it is an important part of God’s word. While we are no longer under the law but under God’s grace, we still study the law and enjoy and learn from how God worked in people’s lives during that time. Romans 3:20 tells us that the Old Testament law convicts us of sin. We can still learn a lot about how to live our Christian lives when we read and study the Old Testament. The New Testament shows us how Jesus fulfills the law (Matthew 5:17) and provides a way of salvation we could never have in the law. So the analogy is that hymns, like the Old Testament, are of value to our Christian experience. While hymns may not always move us the same way a contemporary chorus does, they do serve a purpose and can be just as effective in bringing us into the presence of God. Again, it is our hearts that lead us to the throne, as the Holy Spirit ministers to us.

If we rely on a technique or a style of worship to bring us to God, I believe we have missed something in our relationship with our Lord. We should, as lifestyle worshippers, be able to worship God in any situation and any environment. We should be able to feel God’s presence in whatever circumstance we are in. I would agree we may sense God stronger in some situations than others, but we should sense His presence wherever we go. If we rely on only one form of worship to stir our hearts, possibly we have become dependent on a method rather than God’s Spirit to move us to worship Him.

I have grown up in church all my life. I have experienced many types of worship both in conservative Baptist churches and cutting edge Pentecostal ones. In all of them, I have seen dead and stony hearts, and I have seen hearts aflame with love for God. The styles of worship have at times, been extremely different, but you can tell when someone loves their Lord. I really believe God is glorified more by the response of the worshipper’s heart, not by the style of music.

So what is the answer when facing the issue of what style of music to sing when we worship God in song?

The answer is that we must remember that worship is a lifestyle. We can’t come and worship God in spirit and in truth if we haven’t spoken to Him all week! We can’t expect to have hearts of praise, if we have hard hearts of stone! We can’t sing hymns or even contemporary choruses, in spirit and truth, if we don’t live a life of dedicated service and worship throughout the week! We must worship our God with our whole being, at home, at work and at play.