Lyrics

My son and daughter-in-law know me as a bit of a lyrics Nazi. They have given me a couple of CD's, but with some trepidation..."Will she agree with the lyrics?"

I know this will sound like splitting hairs, but some of what we sing in our churches and listen to on Christian radio these days troubles me. I feel as though we ask God to do what He has already done, as in "Open Up the Heavens": the heavens are open to us through what Jesus did for us at Calvary. Singing the Old Testament verse "Rend the heavens and come down": again, Jesus did that. We try to welcome the Holy Spirit, when He was there before us, and actually lives in us.  We probably mean that we are inviting Him to do His will and have His way, but that's not what we're saying.  We sing songs that say, "I'm reaching for You" and "I'm waiting here for You" and "I'm desperate for You" and "Hearts are yearning for You; we long for You" that give the feeling that God is nowhere near, hard to get in touch with, maybe even moving away from us, and not all that willing to meet with us. 

 I get that we are looking for a sense of His presence, a certain atmosphere, or a feeling of peace, or some special tingle. Those times are precious and to be cherished when they happen, but we do need to walk by faith, not by sight, or feelings, etc.

I believe we would be better to stand on His Word, where He has promised His people, "I will be with you." Isaiah 43:1-3a: "But now, thus says the Lord, who created you...and He who formed you, O Israel (we are now spiritual Israel), 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.'"

Instead of calling on God to join us in our quiet times with Him, let's recognize that we are actually joining in with His constant presence, ready to be quiet enough to hear what He wants to be and say in our lives. He is probably always speaking to us, but we're not listening. It's like a radio station sending out its signal, but we're not tuned in.

Let's, instead, ask the Holy Spirit to keep reminding us of our Father's unfathomable love, to keep nudging us to pray in the spirit, and praise and give thanks, to make us conscious of His sure presence, to share our thoughts and ideas with Him, knowing that He's there, listening and interested.

We do also sing a lot of fabulous songs in church, songs that honour God and lift our hearts in praise to Him. Many of them focus on God and His character and His goodness and His faithfulness and the power of His name, and speak of our love for Him and His love for us. I really enjoyed this past Sunday's choices. We sang "Everlasting God". Some of its lyrics are:

Our God, You reign forever, our hope, our strong Deliverer.

You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God 

You do not faint, You don't grow weary.

You're the defender of the weak, 

You comfort those in need, 

 You lift us up on wings like eagles.

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, wait upon the Lord, 

We will wait upon the Lord.

Then we sang "Great Things":

Come, let us worship our King. 

Come, let us bow at His feet.

He has done great things.

See what our Saviour has done. 

See how His love overcomes. 

He has done great things, 

He has done great things. 

You've been faithful through every storm.

You'll be faithful forevermore.

You have done great things.

And I know You will do it again, 

for Your promise is Yes and Amen. 

You will do great things.

God, You do great things.

Hallelujah, God above it all; 

Hallelujah, God unshakable; 

Hallelujah, You have done great things.

The third song was "Good, Good Father":

I've heard a thousand stories of what they think You're like, 

But I've heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night.

You tell me that You're pleased and that I'm never alone. 

(That 3rd line is worth the price of admission right there.) 

You're a good, good Father, that's who You are; 

 It's who You are, it's who You are, 

 And I'm loved by You; it's who I am, 

 It's who I am, it's who I am.

And then we did "Great Are You, Lord."

No begging. No grovelling. Just straightforward praise of who and what He is, and affirmation of who He says we are.

So let's keep on singing, enjoying the special sense of His presence when it happens, but also staying in touch with His loving, guiding, protecting presence even when we don't feel it at all. And let's sing words that honour and lift Him up, and indicate our faith in what Jesus has accomplished, and in His promises.