Take Time to Be Holy?

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;


Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.


Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,


Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

~William Dunn Longstreet

It's time to revisit  my short-lived yet popular (with at least two or three people) series: "Not So Great Hymns of the Faith," in which I question how it is that Reformed people are able to suspend everything they've ever learned in catechism classes and heard in sermons about their confessions to sing silly hymns with bad theology and cloying tunes that date from the late 1800s. If you want to review the previous posts in the series, you can find them here.

I was recently struck by the silliness of the above hymn when we sang it during song service at our church. (Song service is a somewhat strange tradition to me since I didn't grow up Reformed. No one quite knows its purpose. In our area United Reformed churches, song service occurs for about ten minutes before the actual service begins, and the congregation sings songs from a songbook other than the Psalter Hymnal that we use for worship. It's kind of a hymn free-for-all.) I've probably sung this hymn hundreds of times in the past, but this time I realized how bizarre it actually is. Take time to be holy? I visualized my Google calendar, trying to find an hour here or there between dentist appointments, haircuts, meetings at work, and Bible studies to squeeze in some  holiness.

Of course holiness is to characterize our entire Christian walk--it's not something we take time to do as if there were starts and stops. Calvin says, "Of the many excellent recommendations, is there any better than the key principle: Be thou holy, for I am holy?" He reminds us that holiness means full obedience to Christ, and our holiness should lead us to "exhibit the character of Christ in our lives, for what can be more effective than this one stirring consideration?" Holiness, then, is not something to make time for; it is what we are to exhibit every waking moment of our lives.

While the hymnwriter encourages us to engage in the activities of someone who wants to live a life of holiness, it feels like he may have missed this point about holiness that Calvin makes: "Holiness is not a merit by which we can obtain communion with God, but a gift of Christ, which enables us to cling to him, and to follow him."

With its focus on our activities rather than God's greatness, this messy hymn has strange lyrics that definitely place it in the category of a not so great hymn of the faith. And if you want to read something really good on the theological ideas that have shaped so many of the not-so-great hymns of the faith, read Michael Horton's article in this month's Outlook.

Not So Great Hymns/Hymn Writers of the Faith: Blessed Assurance

Recent work responsibilities have given me an opportunity to learn about America's most beloved hymn writer of the nineteenth century, Fanny Crosby. I didn't know much about her, and we rarely sing her hymns in church, so it was quite a revelation to find out some of the interesting facts about this much revered hero of the faith. And after reading about Ms. Crosby and learning more of the beliefs that shaped her hymn writing, it now comes as no surprise that only one of her nearly nine thousand hymns have made it into the Psalter Hymnal.

Fanny's life spanned nearly a century--she died in her nineties. She was blind as a result of medical treatments she received as an infant, but she did attend an institute for the blind and was able to memorize remarkably well. As an adult, she began writing hymns, and her fame brought her into association with such prominent nineteenth-century religious figures as D. L. Moody and Ira Sankey. She began writing hymns as a reaction to her strict, Calvinist upbringing, which I'm assuming included Psalm singing and a liturgy.

I learned that Fanny believed that hymns should relate to the worshiper's experience, and so that would certainly stand in contrast to a Calvinistic understanding of worship--that the focus should be on God and praising Him. Her "I-centered" hymns are reflected in her lyrics: "Now there is pardon for you"; "Pass me not";and "I come to Thee." In fact, the source I was reading explained that Fanny worked hard to write her hymns in the first person so the people could sing them as a personal prayer or testimony. Not much of a sense of corporate worship there, either.

Some interesting Fanny trivia: She experienced a life-changing moment when she responded to an altar call. Those who were there to assist her prayed for several hours with her until she had her "experience." And though Fanny was married, she spent very few years actually living with her husband. By the end of her life, she and her husband moved in different social circles and rarely saw each other. She didn't actually join a church for the first time until she was in her sixties, and she frequently "preached" at church services. Definitely an interesting Christian "hero of the faith."

And so I also hold forth as an example of a not-so-great hymn of the faith one of her most popular: "Blessed Assurance." And I have to admit that I have actually enjoyed that one at times in the past. Yet a closer look at the lyrics demonstrates that this probably is not a hymn that ought to be sung in Reformed worship. Here it is:

Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Refrain

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Refrain

I definitely enjoy the melody of this hymn, particularly when it reaches its emotional highpoint in the refrain. And yet we ought to be aware of what we're confessing when we sing this song. First, we know that Fanny liked to write in the first person, and that is evident here. This is certainly counter to the Christ-centered worship that we strive for in Reformed churches.

Another interesting idea occurs in the first line: "Jesus is mine." I'm not prepared to say that this is a theological error, but the focus is definitely different from our catechism, in which we confess that we are not our own but belong both body and soul, in life and in death, to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ." So what we confess is that we are Jesus'. The second verse, especially, takes a mystical turn with its mention of angels descending from above with their echoes of mercy and whispers of love. And as much as I'd like to say I have achieved perfect submission, I haven't, and I doubt that many sinful human beings have.

So this hymn has all the earmarks of a not-so-great hymn with its first-person focus, suggestions of mystical experiences, and just plain faulty claims. And having learned something about the life and times of Fanny Crosby, it becomes clear why her hymns are not included in the Psalter Hymnal.

Not So Great Hymns of the Faith: "He Lives"

It was suggested that I take a look at this hymn for my series, "Not So Great Hymns of the Faith," and it actually does share a theme with last week's selection, "In the Garden." There is also a kind of inverse correspondence between this hymn and the sermon for Sunday, March 25.

So for those of you who may be wondering if you missed something somewhere, I explained the rationale for my selections for the "Not So Great Hymns of the Faith" in the March 19, 2007, posting. But as a reminder, my comments are concerned with whether these songs are the best choices for corporate worship. They may be expressive of truth, they may be beautifully penned, they may be meaningful in the appropriate setting; the question is, Are these the best choices for a worship service where we are to be focused on honoring our God?

As I consider the lyrics to both "In the Garden" and "He Lives," I am reminded, oddly enough, of my Introduction to Philosophy class at Cedarville College (now University), and our beloved philosophy professor, Mr. (now Dr.) Grier. We were in awe of this Calvinist-teacher-in-a-Baptist-college who had studied at Westminster Seminary under teachers like Van Til, Murray, and Young. To say that we admired and respected our Mr. Grier is an understatement. So I will never forget the lecture on epistemology in which Mr. Grier told us about his favorite hymn. When Mr. Grier asked, "Do you know what my favorite hymn is," I was on the edge of my seat. I just knew he was going to name some glorious Reformation anthem that could be found in the Trinity Hymnal or some Psalter somewhere. But his answer was completely unexpected: "Jesus Loves Me." What? That's a Sunday school song; that's the first song a child learns as soon as he or she is capable of talking. But the explanation was powerful: "Jesus loves me, This I know, For the Bible tells me so." In its simplicity, the child's hymn expresses a profound truth: We know of Jesus and His love, we know of truth itself, not because of how we feel in our hearts or because of some kind of emotional lift that tells us the Holy Spirit has taken up residence, and not because God Himself speaks to us in a still, small voice or walks with us in the garden--but because the inspired Word of God tells us--in no uncertain words--so.

And that brings me to the lyrics for this week's choice:

I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today;
I know that He is living whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He's always near.

Refrain:
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.


In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And tho' my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that He is leading thro' all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing will come at last.

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.

There really isn't anything untruthful in the verses of this song. The first person dominates, however, which makes me question how well suited this song is for worship.

Again, if our attention is to be drawn to our God and to worshipping Him alone in all of His majesty, power, and glory, then why would we want to sing about what we do? In any earthly endeavor, if we gather to honor another person for some accomplishment, we wouldn't think about talking about ourselves and what we do, and yet this is so often what the church does when it gathers for corporate worship. And so we forget why we're really there, caught up in an emotionally uplifting melody that pleases our sensibilities.

What I find most problematic in this song is the chorus, with its emphasis on a subjective experience with and knowledge of God. Like "In the Garden," God walks with us and talks with us. And yet He doesn't. His Son walked and dwelt among us at a point in history, but He doesn't today. And He does talk to us--through His Word. But then we do get to the problem of how we know He lives: "He lives within my heart." But there are those who don't believe He lives, because He doesn't live within their hearts. So does that make Him alive for those of us who feel Him in our hearts and not alive for those who don't? And I have to admit that if the truth of God's existence were dependent on what I feel in my heart, some days I would have to wonder.

Thankfully, this is not how we know He lives. This is not how we know truth. The apostle John tells us in 1 John 1:3--What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. You ask me how I know He lives? The Bible tells me so.

Not-So-Great Hymns of the Faith: In the Garden

Today I am beginning a new (possibly weekly) feature on Head and Heart: "Not-So-Great Hymns of the Faith." The title of this feature is derived from the popular hymnal called Great Hymns of the Faith, or, in our congregation, "the red book" (as opposed to "the blue book," The Psalter Hymnal). Caution: This feature is not for the faint of heart. Somewhere along the line, I will probably pick on a hymn that is incredibly meaningful to you for some reason--it was your dad's favorite, it was sung at Grandma's funeral, it was the first one you learned to play on the piano. But we must never let our personal experiences define our worship. We must always look to the One we are worshipping and ask ourselves how He wants us to worship Him--and that may not include that old family favorite.

My main concern is whether the songs that we're singing in church really ought to be part of our service of worship. I'm not suggesting these songs should be banished from the earth; they may have their place in our lives. I actually have a pretty large library of contemporary Christian music, and--true confessions--one of my favorites is Steven Curtis Chapman. But it's one thing to be singing along in the car or as I get ready for work, and it's another thing entirely to be in the presence of God, worshipping Him with His people.

So I go back a few weeks ago to a sermon our pastor preached on Exodus 15, the song of deliverance Moses and Israel sang in praise to God upon being rescued from the Egyptian army. (I would suggest you read the text, and if you're really interested, you can probably download the sermon from the Bethany URC site and listen to it; it was excellent.) This song, inspired by the Holy Spirit, establishes a pattern for the songs we ought to be using in worship. One of the important characteristics is that the song is entirely focused on God and His great work. The only time the pronoun "I" is used is at the beginning, when the singers sing, "I will sing unto the Lord," and briefly later on in the chapter when the singers are quoting the enemy in verse 9. Another of my favorites, Michael Horton, says in A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of Christ-Centered Worship: "We do not come to church to affirm our faithfulness, our devotion, our praise, and our up-to-the-minute emotional state but to be addressed, undressed, and re-dressed by God. Only when this fact is central are we in any position to faithfully praise God as 'our reasonable service.'" So if we're going to church to worship God, the songs we sing ought to be about Him.

With all that said, the first not-so-great hymn, In the Garden, is based on the Scripture passage where Mary Magdalene meets Jesus in the garden after His resurrection. Here are verse 1 and the refrain:

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me,
and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

This, to me, would seem to be one of the most un-Reformed hymns we sing in our church. There is a reason it is in the red book and not in the blue Psalter. (Why we even need the red book is another question entirely.) It definitely does not follow the pattern of Exodus 15, with a focus on the almighty, great, and glorious God. The focal point in this song is the first-person "I," a pronoun that occurs (along with "me" and "we") over and over. This song is only loosely based on the account of Mary Magdelene, because there really is no mention in the Scriptures of roses or dew or, as other verses of the song describe, sweet birds hushing their singing, a ringing heart, and His voice of woe calling. (Why would Jesus' voice be woeful? He is the victorious King who has just conquered sin and death and risen from the dead.)

My next question is why would the rest of us be singing a song about Mary Magdalene's personal experience? Again, who are we there to worship? Mary and her experience? The preponderance of the pronoun "I" would lead me to believe that this is Mary's experience somehow translated to me, here in the twenty-first century. Somehow (time travel?) I'm now sharing this with her. So in this case, now I'm singing about myself in a worship service that is supposed to be devoted to God.

So when we're singing these words, what are we saying about ourselves? The sappy sentimentality of the song suggests the individual's mystical encounter with Christ. He walks with me, talks with me, and tells me I am His own. Isn't this counter to the Reformation principle of sola scriptura, that our understanding and knowledge of God is based on the Scriptures alone--not on a pietistical, mystical experience? We're present corporately in the worship service to hear God's Word declared to us by the minister, and yet we're all singing about our private, subjective experiences with Christ.

Whenever this song is selected, I actually have a hard time singing it, because the whole thing is counter to what I'm supposed to be thinking about and focusing on when I'm present in a worship service devoted to the Triune God. But the song's popularity has lasted--somehow--for almost a hundred years. Certainly God is better worshipped with songs like Exodus 15 that talk about His greatness, His power, His triumph over His enemies than with some human's subjective, mystical, and individualistic experience.

We need to think--take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ--about the songs we are singing in worship. If we truly believe that this is our act of reasonable service and gathering to worship is something that we do in faithful obedience to honor our God, then we need to be sure that the songs we are singing will, in fact, honor Him and not simply please our own musical tastes. Songs like Exodus 15 and the entire book of Psalms are God's inspired songs for His people. We have no excuse for not praising Him in the way that He desires to be praised. He has shown us clearly in His Word what pleases Him.