CHRISTIAN SINGING

An Article Written by Dr. Neil Chadwick


INTRODUCTION

    A. THERE ARE 575 REFERENCES IN THE BIBLE TO SINGING AND SONGS

    B. THE LONGEST BOOK OF THE BIBLE WAS ORIGINALLY A COLLECTION OF HEBREW SONGS

    C. "ATHEISM HAS ARGUMENTS, BUT NO SONGS." "HEATHEN RELIGIONS HAVE RITUALS AND MINOR CHANTS, BUT NO VIBRANT MELODIES"

    D. OFTEN WE TAKE OUR PRIVILEGE TO SING TOO LIGHTLY

SING UNTO THE LORD by Ronald K. Wells

HE LISTENED AS THE PASTOR SPOKE

HE BOWED HIS HEAD IN PRAYER;

AND WHEN THE OFF'RING PLATE WAS PASSED

HE GLADLY GAVE HIS SHARE.

BUT WHEN A HYMN WAS WONT TO SING,

HE TIGHTLY SEALED HIS TONGUE,

TILL SONGS OF PRAISE THAT CRIED FOR STRENGTH

WERE WEAK AND FEEBLY SUNG.

NOT JUST BECAUSE HE FAILED TO SING,

BUT OTHERS JOINED HIM, TOO, AND MOCKED WITH HOLLOW SILENCE

THE PRAISES OF THE FEW.

FORGIVE US, LORD, WHO FAIL TO SEE

THE GLORY OF THE SONG, THAT NOBLY LIFTS THE NAME OF CHRIST

ABOVE ALL SIN AND WRONG.

AND TUNE OUR HEARTS TO SING THY PRAISE

UNTIL EACH SINCERE SOUL SHALL STAND CONDEMNED WITHIN HIS HEART

TO SHRINK BACK FROM OUR GOAL - THE GOAL THAT EACH HEART BORN ANEW

MAY GLADLY JOIN OUR SONG;

NOT JUST WITHIN THE WORSHIP HOUR,

BUT THROUGH THE WHOLE DAY LONG.

    E. LUTHER SAID: "LET GOD SPEAK TO HIS PEOPLE THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES; LET HIS PEOPLE RESPOND WITH THE SINGING OF THEIR HYMNS."

I. SINGING IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

    A. THE FIRST COLLECTION OF 8 HYMNS WAS PUBLISHED IN 1524, FOUR OF THEM WERE WRITTEN BY LUTHER.

    B. EVEN LUTHER'S OPPONENTS ADMITTED THAT HE WON MORE CONVERTS THROUGH HIS ENCOURAGEMENT OF SINGING THAN THROUGH HIS FORCEFUL PREACHING. THEY SAID "THE PEOPLE ARE SINGING THEMSELVES INTO HIS DOCTRINES!"

    C. JOHN CALVIN FELT THAT CONGREGATIONAL SINGING SHOULD ONLY EMPLOY THE PSALMS, AND HE OPPOSED USE OF THE ORGAN AND HARMONY, SAYING IT WAS TOO MUCH LIKE THE ROMAN CHURCH.

II. SINGING IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

    A. THE THIRTY YEARS WAR (1618-1648) PRODUCED GREAT HARDSHIPS, AND HYMNODY RESPONDED BY EXPRESSING MAN'S PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WHICH CORRESPONDED WITH THE PIETISTIC MOVEMENT.

    B. DURING THIS TIME THERE WAS A TRANSITION FROM SINGING JUST THE PSALMS TO HYMNS.

      1. FIRST CAME THE FREE PARAPHRASING OF PSALMS;

      2. THEN A GRADUAL USE OF OTHER SCRIPTURES;

      3. AND FINALLY, ANY DEVOTIONAL MUSIC COULD BE USED. THESE WERE CALLED, "HYMNS OF HUMAN COMPOSURE".

    C. IN AMERICA, FIRST THERE WAS THE BAY PSALM BOOK, THE FIRST BOOK TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE COLONIES. EARLY SETTLERS BELIEVED GOD WOULD BE INSULTED IF THEY OFFERED HIM ANY HYMNS OTHER THAN THOSE HE HAD DICTATED IN THE SCRIPTURES

    D. THEN FOLLOWED WHAT WAS CALLED "LINING OUT". A QUALIFIED DEACON WOULD FIRST "LINE OUT" THE WORDS FROM A PSALM, AND THE CONGREGATION WOULD IMITATE, AT TIMES TAKING 30 MINUTES TO COMPLETE ONE PSALM. DURING THIS TIME, ANY TYPE OF LIVELY MUSIC WAS THOUGHT TO BE OF THE DEVIL, AND THE PUMP ORGAN WAS, BY MANY, CALLED THE "DEVIL'S BOX OF WHISTLES"!

    E. IN AMERICA THERE WAS THE DEVELOPMENT OF "SINGING SCHOOLS". TEACHERS (WILLIAM BILLINGS BEING THE MOST NOTABLE) TRAVELED FROM ONE COMMUNITY TO ANOTHER TO INSTRUCT PEOPLE IN THE SKILLS OF MUSIC READING.

III. SINGING IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

    A. ISAAC WATTS, CONCERNED WITH THE DEPLORABLE STATE TO WHICH CONGREGATIONAL SINGING HAD FALLEN WROTE MANY HYMNS DURING THIS PERIOD. (EXAMPLE: "WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS")

    B. MANY HYMNS WRITTEN AT FIRST, NOT TO BE SUNG, BUT READ BY THE MINISTER AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE SERMON. (NOTE: MANY OF THE MUSICAL SETTINGS WERE ADDED LATER.)

    C. THEN CAME THE "GREAT AWAKENING" WITH WHITEFIELD AND THE WESLEYS. BETWEEN JOHN AND CHARLES, 6,500 HYMNS WERE WRITTEN AND TRANSLATED; THEY WERE USED TO EMPHASIZE THE UNLIMITED EFFICACY OF CHRIST'S ATONEMENT AND THE FREEWILL OF MAN.

DIRECTIONS FOR SINGING By John Wesley 1761

      1. Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please.

      2. Sing them exactly as they are printed here without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can.

      3. Sing all. See that you join with a congregation as frequently as you can, let not a slight degree or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you take it up and you will find it a blessing.

      4. Sing lustilly and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice, nor more ashamed of its being heard, then when you sung the songs of Satan.

      5. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation so that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voice together so as to make one clear melodious sound.

      6. Sing in tune. Whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it, do not run before or stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move there with exactly as you can; and take care not to sing too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy, and it is high time to drive it out from us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.

      7. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continuously; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.

    D. THE WESLEYS' PRACTICE WAS TO "SEIZE UPON ANY SONG OF THE THEATER OR THE STREET, THE MOMENT IT BECAME POPULAR, AND MAKE IT CARRY SOME NEWLY-WRITTEN TEXT INTO THE HOMES OF THE PEOPLE." (Silas H. Paine - Stories of the Great Hymns of the Church)

    E. JOHN NEWTON AND WILLIAM COWPER'S HYMNAL, WITH 280 HYMNS WRITTEN BY NEWTON, AND 68 BY COWPER, WERE SPECIFICALLY PREPARED FOR NEWTON'S CONGREGATION IN OLNEY ENGLAND.

    NEWTON'S MOTHER HAD DIED WHEN HE WAS NOT QUITE 7. THERE WERE A FEW YEARS OF FORMAL EDUCATION AWAY FROM HOME BEFORE HE JOINED HIS FATHER'S SHIP AT AGE 11. HIS EARLY YEARS WERE CHARACTERIZED BY REBELLION AND DEBAUCHERY. JOHN FINALLY BECAME CAPTAIN OF HIS OWN SLAVE SHIP, TRANSPORTING SLAVES TO WEST INDIES AND AMERICA. ON MARCH 10, 1748, RETURNING TO ENGLAND FROM AFRICA, HE ENCOUNTERED A BAD STORM, AND BEGAN READING "IMITATION OF CHRIST" BY THOMAS A KEMPIS. HIS RESULTING CONVERSION MADE HIS WORK UNCOMFORTABLE, BUT HE TRIED TO JUSTIFY IT BY TRYING TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS AND EVEN HOLDING PUBLIC WORSHIP SERVICES. SOON NEWTON BECAME A STRONG CRUSADER AGAINST SLAVERY. HE RETURNED TO ENGLAND, MARRIED IN 1750, AND SOON BEGAN STUDYING FOR THE MINISTRY, INFLUENCED BY GEORGE WHITEFIELD AND THE WESLEYS. NEWTON WAS ORDAINED AT 39, SERVING AS PASTOR FOR 15 YEARS. HE NOT ONLY PREACHED IN CHURCH, BUT ALSO IN ANY LARGE BUILDING HE COULD FIND. ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES HE FACED WAS NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND ENOUGH HYMNS THAT EXPRESSED THE SIMPLE HEARTFELT FAITH HE PREACHED, SO HE STARTED WRITING HIS OWN.

    THE HYMN "AMAZING GRACE" WAS FIRST NAMED "FAITH'S REVIEW AND EXPECTATION", AND WAS BASED ON I CHRON.17:16,17.

    ADDITIONAL VERSES TO AMAZING GRACE

    THE LORD HAS PROMISED GOOD TO ME, HIS WORD MY HOPE SECURES;

    HE WILL MY SHIELD AND PORTION BE AS LONG AS LIFE ENDURES.

    "YES, WHEN THIS HEART AND FLESH SHALL FAIL,

    AND MORTAL LIFE SHALL CEASE,

    I SHALL POSSESS WITHIN THE VEIL, A LIFE OF JOY AND PEACE.

    THE EARTH SHALL SOON DISSOLVE LIKE SNOW,

    THE SUN FORBEAR TO SHINE;

    BUT GOD, WHO CALLED MY HERE BELOW, WILL BE FOREVER MINE."

    THE TUNE TO WHICH "AMAZING GRACE" WAS WRITTEN, WAS AN EARLY AMERICAN FOLK MELODY, FIRST KNOWN AS A PLANTATION MELODY NAMED "LOVING LAMBS".

IV. SINGING IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

    A. THIS WAS THE "ROMANTIC AGE" WHICH INFLUENCED HYMNS TO GIVE MORE ATTENTION TO LITERARY QUALITY AND TO IMPROVE MUSICAL STANDARDS.

    B. BY THE YEAR 1800, 1/4 OF ENGLAND HAD SEPARATED FROM THE ANGLICAN CHURCH, AND HYMNS BEGAN TO REPRESENT MORE SPIRITUAL VITALITY.

    C. LOWELL MASON GREATLY INFLUENCED MUSIC IN AMERICA, IN AND OUT OF CHURCH BY EXPANDING SINGING SCHOOLS. HE WAS THE FIRST TO INTRODUCE MUSIC INTO THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF BOSTON. HE SAID, "THE MORAL POWER OF MUSIC IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN."

    D. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT BROUGHT A DESIRE TO WRITE SIMPLE RELIGIOUS SONGS THAT CHILDREN WOULD ENJOY, BUT WHICH WOULD ALSO TEACH IMPORTANT SPIRITUAL TRUTH.

    E. THE YMCA, WITH ITS INTERDENOMINATIONAL NOONTIME PRAYER MEETINGS, ALWAYS INCLUDED ENTHUSIASTIC CONGREGATIONAL SINGING.

    F. THE MISSION MOVEMENT CALLED FOR WRITERS TO PROVIDE HYMNS THAT WOULD CHALLENGE CHRISTIAN YOUTH TO TAKE UP FOREIGN MISSIONARY SERVICE.

    G. THE CLIMAX OF GOSPEL SONG DEVELOPMENT CAME WITH THE CRUSADE MINISTRIES OF D.L. MOODY WHO WAS INTERESTED IN USING MUSIC TO REACH PEOPLE WITH THE GOSPEL.

    MOODY WROTE

    "I FEEL SURE THAT THE GREAT MAJORITY OF PEOPLE DO LIKE SINGING. IT HELPS TO BUILD UP AN AUDIENCE - EVEN IF YOU PREACH A DRY SERMON. IF YOU HAVE SINGING THAT REACHES THE HEART, IT WILL FILL THE CHURCH EVERY TIME. THERE IS MORE SAID IN THE BIBLE ABOUT PRAISE THAN PRAYER, AND MUSIC AND SONG HAVE NOT ONLY ACCOMPANIED ALL SCRIPTURAL REVIVALS, BUT ARE ESSENTIAL IN DEEPENING SPIRITUAL LIFE. SINGING DOES AT LEAST AS MUCH AS PREACHING TO IMPRESS THE WORD OF GOD UPON PEOPLE'S MINDS. EVER SINCE GOD FIRST CALLED ME, THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAISE EXPRESSED IN SONG HAS GROWN UPON ME."

    H. CHARLES ALEXANDER WAS THE FORERUNNER OF THE PRESENT-DAY EVANGELISTIC SONG LEADER. HE SPOKE OF "WARMING UP" THE AUDIENCE IN ORDER TO GET MASS PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT IN THE SERVICE. HE ALSO BEGAN THE IDEA OF CITY-WIDE CHOIRS IN CRUSADE MEETINGS.

CONCLUSION

    "THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVES OF CONGREGATIONAL MUSIC MUST ALWAYS BE TO MINISTER SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF PEOPLE; TO PROVIDE TEXTUAL AND MUSICAL EXPRESSIONS THAT INSPIRE, COMFORT AND TEACH IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH THE INTEGRITY AND LOFTY IDEALS OF THE GOSPEL; TO CHALLENGE INDIVIDUALS OF ALL AGES WITH A PERSONAL, SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOUR AND LORD; AND TO DIRECT BELIEVERS TO A MORE SPIRIT FILLED CHRISTIAN LIFE."

    Kenneth W. Osbeck, Singing with Understanding

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