Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs

Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord… Ephesians 5:18-19

When we sing in worship we generally take it for granted that it is God we are singing to. And that’s right, of course.

But Paul here puts another angle on it: he tells us that we should “speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs”. (He says much the same thing in Colossians 3:16.)

He is making a very simple point: while our singing is primarily directed to God, our songs and hymns also play a very important role in doing one another good.

For two thousand years the church has been singing, and a vast amount of material has grown up. Do we ever stop to think what a rich resource this is? Do we ever pause over words that can nourish and stimulate our faith? How much we are missing!

When I was a teenage Christian way back in the 1960s there was a hymn that I felt we ought literally to address to one another. It was like a sung sermon, a good old-fashioned scold: “Yield not to temptation,” it said severely, “for yielding is sin…” There was another line: “Shun evil companions, bad language disdain…” No messing there, eh? Looking back, I wonder why we didn’t eyeball one another as we sang, frowning and wagging our fingers.

They don’t write hymns like that these days, do they? (Perhaps just as well…)

But then I have another favourite which, likewise, is addressed to one another – and I think it is one of the most  beautiful songs I know. It was written in 1977 by Richard Gillard – not that long ago, but I wonder if it is still sung today?

“Brother, sister, let me serve you,” it starts. And that sets the tone for the whole song; it’s all about the privilege of serving our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Here are a couple of verses, worth absorbing deeply:

I will hold the Christ-light for you/ In the night-time of your fear;/ I will hold my hand out to you,/ Speak the peace you long to hear… I will weep when you are weeping,/ When you laugh I’ll laugh with you;/ I will share your joy and sorrow/ Till we’ve seen this journey through”.

At the moment, because of the pandemic, we aren’t able to sing together in worship, or to “speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs”. So I want to take Paul at his word and share some of the very precious words that others have written in order to bless us – words which I think can help us through troubled times.

Here is Matt Redman’s lovely song “Bless the Lord, O my soul”. I especially love the way it looks death straight in the face, with quiet faith and peace…

And on that day/ When my strength is failing,/ The end draws near and my time has come,/ Still my soul will sing Your praise unending,/ Ten thousand years and then forevermore…

From an earlier time, what about William Cowper (1731-1800)? He was a troubled man who sometimes struggled with his faith. But he was able to declare that “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform”. I think these lines are particularly appropriate for our present circumstances…

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;/ The clouds ye so much dread/ Are big with mercy, and shall break/ In blessings on your head… His purposes will ripen fast,/ Unfolding every hour;/ The bud may have a bitter taste,/ But sweet will be the flower.

That image of the bitter bud and the sweet flower has lived with me all my Christian life.

A song by Brian Doerksen has just nine lines, but they are a wonderful prayer…

Faithful one, so unchanging,/ Ageless one, you’re my rock of peace./ Lord of all, I depend on you,/ I call out to you, again and again,/ I call out to you, again and again./ You are my rock in times of trouble./ You lift me up when I fall down./ All through the storm/ Your love is the anchor,/ My hope is in You alone.

When it’s sung, there’s an inspiring burst in the music with “You are my rock in times of trouble (amen!)… All through the storm your love is the anchor…” Amen again!

At a time when we all need to be showing patience and kindness, especially to those most affected by the pandemic, what could be better than Graham Kendrick’s little prayer…

Soften my heart, Lord,/ Soften my heart./ From all indifference/ Set me apart./ To feel your compassion,/ To weep with your tears;/ Come soften my heart, O Lord,/ Soften my heart. (Stress that word “your”!)

I could go on (oh, how I could go on)! But I have run out of space. I simply hope there is something in these snippets to encourage and to stir up faith and love.

Our God, our help in ages past,/ Our hope for years to come,/ Be thou our guard while troubles last,/ And our eternal home. Amen.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)