Melodies in our Hearts

Teaching One Another

By Louis Garbi

The Lord commanded; "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Col3:16) Songs are a powerful vehicle for learning. Through a song an emotional value is attached to words. This lifts the message into a realm of immediate experience. It tends to plant itself in our memory. How many of us have listened to a song which we should have avoided, only to have it buzz in our consciousness like a pesky fly? Happily, we can remember so easily a cheerful song, a love song, and a meaningful hymn. It is this invocation of memory which makes a song an effective aid to teaching. Though a song cannot replace concerted study, it can deeply anchor the basic things we need to know.

The Bible mentions three ways in which the truth is promoted through song: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. We find examples of these patterns in the book of Psalms. The psalm, as exemplified in the Bible, often expresses a meditation on a theme, or an offering of prayer. The 32nd is a discourse on the mercy of God. The 51st is a plea for mercy. Thus in a psalm, we contemplate God and our approach to Him. Strong's Greek lexicon defines the hymn as an ode or celebration. It exalts a matter. For example, the133rd exalts the fellowship of brethren in the Lord. The 119th Psalm makes a statement glorifying the Lord's help. So a hymn would glorify a truth. A spiritual song falls into the category of what we sometimes call 'praise music". It is defined as an ode or chant. There is often a repetition of words as we see in Ps.136 and 150. It is difficult for me to absolutely delineate these categories of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, because they blend together. I would summarize a psalm as a meditation, a hymn as an exaltation of a truth, and a spiritual song as an offering of praise. Through these approaches, God has given us a means to learn and enjoy the truth.

Because a song can be so effective, we should take care with the words we write and sing. It is the Lord's purpose that we should edify one another in truth. Like offering a prayer, we often use our own words, our own way of putting things. Yet, as in all things, we must use the Bible as our source material. In a song, this would be a direct quotation of the scriptures, or an idea extrapolated from the scriptures. Each has its advantages and difficulties. A direct quotation is always safe. The singer can have no doubt about its truth, even though he may wonder at the meaning. Also, through the process of singing, the verse is easily remembered. The difficulty in using a quote from the Bible is that it will not always follow the conventions of meter. This is especially true if the song is set up to have consecutive verses which follow the identical melodic and rhythmic pattern for each verse. You can always take a quotation and tailor the music to fit the accented structure of the words, but there will not likely be a repetitive pattern. To compose music which follows the quotation is both a challenge and a reward. You can see how well this is done in John Morris' rendition of Ps.71:1-3. The alternative to quoting the scriptures is to write our own verses. This is akin to the liberty of self expression in prayer. There is also the advantage of being able to structure the meter. The problem with this method is the problem of paraphrasing. Unless we are very careful, we can let our own sentiments and ideas get in the way of what the Lord has revealed. Yet, when the lyrics are thoughtfully composed, we are enriched by a heartfelt rendition of the truth. Direct quotation of scripture and our own writing are both valid in making a song to glorify God.

All of God's children have varying degrees of understanding, and differing levels of conviction. As a result, a song which may seem very good to one, may be a misdemeanor to another. It does not violate the will of God to be forbearing in matters such as this. (See Eph. 4:1-3) This will work if we strive to choose and to write songs which are true to His word. The Word of God has to be preeminent if we teach and admonish one another through song.

I am offering one of my own songs for your testing. It is adapted from Ps. 20:7-9. Most of it is a direct quotation from the NKJV. I use the word 'adapted' because there is a place where I adjusted the quote to fit the music. I hope you enjoy it to the glory of God.

Evangelist of the Church
Eldon, MO Church of Christ