Sing With The Understanding

WORSHIP ARTICLE | Kevin Kay | Kokomo, Indiana

1 Cor. 14:15:  ¹⁵ What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

Have you ever been reading along in a book, you get to the end of a page, and you suddenly realize that you have no earthly idea what you’ve just read?  It happens to me quite often.  We can read without understanding for at least two different reasons.  Sometimes it happens because the material we are reading is difficult and complex.  However, more often than not, it happens simply because we let our minds wander.  We are reading the words, pronouncing them in our minds or even out loud, but our minds are a million miles away.

Well, just as we can read without understanding, we can also sing without understanding, and that is a problem because Paul tells us that we should “sing with understanding.”  What does that mean?  In the original context, Paul emphasizes that prophecy was more important than tongue-speaking, unless the tongues were being interpreted, because prophecy edified the church while untranslated tongues edified no one but the speaker  (1 Cor. 14:1-5).  Although I believe that spiritual gifts like prophecy and tongue-speaking are no longer available for Christians today, it is still vitally important that we sing with understanding.[1]  May I suggest that singing with understanding involves at least three things:  (1) Understanding the purpose(s) of singing; (2) Understanding the message of each hymn; and (3) Understanding at least a little something about the “mechanics” of music.

Understanding The Purpose(s) Of Singing

We are to sing in worship for various reasons.  First, we are to sing to praise our great God.  The writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name”  (Heb. 13:15).  In song, we express our love and devotion to God and pour out our thanksgiving to Him. Praising God should be a natural and normal activity for one of His children.  It should be something that we want to do, not just have to do.  It was for David  (Psa. 28:6-7).  Is there a better way to praise God than in song?  Think of the praise we offer when we sing How Great Thou Art or Worthy Art Thou.

Second, we are to sing to teach and admonish one another  (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).  Congregational singing is congregational teaching.  Our singing reminds us of specific Bible passages.  We are reminded of 2 Timothy 1:12 when we sing I Know Whom I Have Believed. We are reminded of Colossians 3:17 when we sing Do All In The Name Of The Lord.  We are remined of Amos 4:12 when we sing Prepare To Meet Thy God.  We are reminded of John 15:1 when we sing I Am The Vine.  We are reminded of Isaiah 1:18 when we sing Though Your Sins Be As Scarlet.  Our singing also reminds us of great Bible doctrines.  When we sing the words:  “They are nailed to the cross, they are nailed to the cross, O how much He was willing to bear!  With what anguish and loss, Jesus went to the cross!  But He carried my sins with Him there,” we are reminded of the vicarious sacrifice of Christ.  When we sing the words:  “As the life of a flow’r, As a breath or a sigh, So the years that we live As a dream hasten by; True, today we are here, But tomorrow may see Just a grave in the vale, And a mem’ry of me,” we are reminded of the brevity of life, the certainty of death, and the inevitability of judgment.  When we sing the words:  “There’s a great day coming, A great day coming, There’s a great day coming by and by; When the saints and the sinners shall be parted right and left,” we are reminded that one day we will all stand before Christ to give an account of our lives.  When we sing the words:  “No tears in heaven, no sorrows given, All will be glory in that land; There’ll be no sadness, all will be gladness, When we shall join that happy band” we are reminded of that home of the soul that God has prepared for the faithful.  We also admonish one another when we sing.  When we sing the words:  “E’re you left your room this morning, Did you think to pray?  In the name of Christ, our Savior, Did you sue for loving favor, As a shield today?” we are admonished to bow our heads and bend our knees in prayer.  When we sing the words:  “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done,” we are admonished to look at the sunshine instead of the shadows in our lives.  When we sing the words:  “Have you counted the cost, if your soul should be lost, Tho’ you gain the whole world for your own?  Even now it may be that the line you have crossed, Have you counted, have you counted the cost?,” we admonish the unconverted and the unfaithful to think seriously about their souls.

Third, we are to sing to express the joy in our hearts  (Jas. 5:13).  With bleeding, aching backs and feet fast in stocks, Paul and Silas sang to God expressing their joy in being Christians  (Acts 16:25).  We do the same thing when we sing, “I’m happy today. Oh yes I’m singing today. In Jesus Christ I’m praying today.  Because He’s taken all my sins away.  And that’s why I’m living today.  We need to understand the purpose(s) of our singing.

Understanding The Message Of Each Hymn

It’s so easy to get caught up in the melody of certain hymns and overlook their messages.  But we will only make melody in our hearts to the Lord  (Eph. 5:19) when we focus on the message.  It should go without saying that we should not sing hymns that teach unscriptural messages, and yet I think we do that sometimes.  Can we really supply book, chapter, and verse to support the messages in the hymns It Won’t Be Very Long and Jesus Is Coming Soon?  No one knows when Jesus will return, and if it might be very long, how can we sing it won’t be very long.

At the risk of ruffling feathers, may I ask some thought-provoking questions.  Does the third verse of He Gave Me A Song teach the Calvinistic doctrine of “once saved always saved”?  Is it really scriptural to sing “He had no tears for His own griefs, But sweat drops of blood for mine” in the second verse of I Stand Amazed  (cf. Heb. 5:7; Lk. 22:44[2])?  Does the fourth verse of My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less teach the Calvinistic doctrine of imputed righteousness (i.e. the imputation of Christ’s personal righteousness)?  Does the third verse of Heaven Came Down teach the Calvinistic doctrine of “once saved always saved”?  These are just a few examples, and others could be offered, of messages that at the very least are questionable in my own mind.  However, what disturbs me most is that I sang these hymns for years without really noticing what they were saying.  What about you?  I certainly believe that there is a place for “poetic license,” but there must be a limit to it as well.  We need to understand the message of our hymns.

Understanding The “Mechanics” Of Music

Let me say a few things primarily to song leaders.  First, while you don’t have to be a trained musician to be a capable song leader, you do need to know a little something about the “mechanics” of music.  Second, you need to be able to “carry a tune.”  If you can’t, it’s going to be very difficult for anyone else to carry it either.  Third, you need to know the melody of the hymns you lead.  If you don’t, and if no one else does, the hymn will not be very edifying.  Fourth, you need to know how to pitch the song correctly.  If you pitch it too high or too low, the congregation will not be able to sing the hymn very well.  Fifth, you need to learn to count time.  This will help the congregation start, stay, and stop together.  Sixth, you need to lead hymns at the tempo (fast or slow) that is appropriate to the message of the song.  For example, if we sing We’re Marching To Zion so slowly, as if we are being dragged every foot of the way, that detracts from the message of the song.  Seventh, you need to observe the dynamics of the hymn.  For example, the dynamics (speed and volume) in Master The Tempest Is Raging are designed to emphasize the message.  Eighth, you need to wisely introduce new hymns to the congregation.  Leading a string of new songs that no one knows but you will not make for an edifying song service  (1 Cor. 14:26).  I’m all for learning new hymns, but this needs to be done judiciously.  Ninth, you need to work at it.  In my opinion, if you do your job well, you should be tired when you’re finished.  Finally, you need to move from being a song starter to a song leader and from a song leader to a worship leader.  We all start out as song starters because there is no other way to begin; but we need to progress beyond that.  How do you become a worship leader?  Well, you do all the things we’ve mentioned above, and then you need to plan your song service, leading scriptural hymns first and foremost, leading the appropriate hymns for what’s going on in the worship service, perhaps leading hymns based on a particular theme sometimes, briefly explaining the background of the composition of the hymn or the message of the hymn, selecting the verses to sing with care and forethought.  Years ago, a song leader ended a worship service by singing the first verse of Now The Day Is Over.  Think about what that verse says:  the day is over and it’s getting dark outside.  That’s it.  That’s all.  What spiritual message is conveyed in that first verse?  There is none.  We needed to keep singing the other verses to get a spiritual message.

We are instructed to sing with understanding.  We can do that if we understand the purpose(s) of singing, the message of our hymns, and a little something about the “mechanics” of music.

Notes:

[1] Although I would like to explain why I believe spiritual gifts are no longer available to Christians today, such an explanation is outside the scope of this particular article.

[1] Did Jesus really sweat blood?  Luke says that “His sweat became like great drops of blood.”  Furthermore, there is a textual question about this verse, since it is not found in some of the oldest Greek manuscripts.

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October 2024 | GROW magazine