The Songs We Sing
- Peter Kemeny
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
In our worship services we sing mostly historic hymns and psalms with only a smattering of contemporary hymns. When people ask, "Why don’t we sing more contemporary songs?" I answer is that we are indifferent about the era in which a song was written. We seek to sing songs that exhibit the following traits.
Lyrics that are scriptural – Martin Luther said, "Give me the hymns of the church and you can teach whatever you want." Luther understood music’s power to shape our views of God and the Christian life. For this reason, we seek to sing "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" so packed with biblical truth that they enable "the word of Christ [to] dwell in you richly" (Colossians 3:16). Once these songs are planted in our hearts, we can recall them when we’re paralyzed with fear, standing over the grave of a loved one, or suffering a dark night of the soul.
Lyrics that are God-centered – We seek to sing songs that worship God for his character and works rather than sentimental songs that focus on individual Christian experience (e.g. “In the Garden,” “He Touched Me”). This is one of the reasons we sing more hymns than contemporary songs. In a survey of contemporary worship music, historian David Wells found that 59% of the songs offer no doctrinal grounding or explanation for the praise. Bill Gaither's "Let's Just Praise the Lord"; is a good example: "Let's just praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let's just lift our hearts to heaven and praise the Lord; Let's just praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let's just lift our hearts to heaven and praise the Lord!" This song repetitively[1] calls us to praise God without providing a reason for doing so. How different from the seventeenth century hymn, "Praise to the Lord the Almighty, the King of creation." Additionally, while many contemporary Christian songs speak of God's nearness and tenderness, they fail to acknowledge His transcendence.
Lyrics that express a broad range of Christian experience – Lyrics that express a broad range of Christian experience – Another reason that we mainly sing historic hymns is that they touch on a broader range of themes than do nineteenth century Gospel songs and contemporary songs. While contemporary songs are big on celebratory themes like joy, love and grace, David Wells found that only four percent of them mention the themes of sin, repentance, and longing for holiness. T. David Gordon, former New Testament professor at Grove City College, told the students in his Psalms class that half of the Psalms are laments. Upon learning this, one curious student examined the praise-chorus book employed in the college chapel and found that it didn't contain a single lament (Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns, 135-6). David Wells discovered that the church is mentioned in only one percent of contemporary worship songs. In contrast, 22% of the classical hymns are explicitly about the church, more accurately reflecting its prominence in Scripture (Losing Our Virtue, 44).
Lyrics that are literarily apt – A simple test of the quality of a song's lyrics is to read the lyrics apart from music. Good poetry stirs the heart in unassisted by music. It is compact; it employs just the right words; it progresses; it has pleasing sound patterns, and so on. Without humming the tunes, read the lyrics of William Cowper's, "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" (1774) and the lyrics of Paul Baloche’s widely popular "Open the Eyes of My Heart" (2000). The poetry of the first song is poignant; that of the second is vacuous.
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow'r.
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain.
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy
(Repeat two more times)
Music that is well crafted – The melody, harmony and rhythm should be well written and appropriate to the lyrics. The rhythm should correspond to the words (e.g., strong syllables should fall on strong beats). The melody should not be monotonous.
Preeminently, the song should be singable. Many contemporary songs are written for soloists rather than congregations. Congregations have trouble matching their irregular rhythms and extreme ranges. Worshippers are sidelined, awkwardly watching the praise team worship for them.
We seek to avoid both irregular, soloistic contemporary songs and monotonous, dirge-like hymns. Honest Christians sometimes disagree about which songs fall into these categories, but this is our aim.
Conclusion
For a fuller explanation of our approach to congregational music, I recommend two books: Why Johnny Can’t Sing Hymns by T. David Gordon (P&R) and Contemporary Worship by Terry L. Johnson (Banner of Truth).
Peter Kemeny, Pastor
Good News Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 1051, Frederick, MD 21702
End Notes
[1] Jesus warned, “when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7).
