Worship in the Splendor of Holiness<\/em><\/p>\nOh sing to the\u00a0Lord\u00a0a new song;<\/p>\n
sing to the\u00a0Lord, all the earth!<\/p>\n
2 <\/strong>Sing to the\u00a0Lord, bless his name;<\/p>\ntell of his salvation from day to day.<\/p>\n
3 <\/strong>Declare his glory among the nations,<\/p>\nhis marvelous works among all the peoples!<\/p>\n
4 <\/strong>For\u00a0great is the\u00a0Lord, and\u00a0greatly to be praised;<\/p>\nhe is to be feared above\u00a0all gods.<\/p>\n
5 <\/strong>For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,<\/p>\nbut the\u00a0Lord\u00a0made the heavens.<\/p>\n
6 <\/strong>Splendor and majesty are before him;<\/p>\nstrength and beauty are in his sanctuary.<\/p>\n
7 <\/strong>Ascribe to the\u00a0Lord, O\u00a0families of the peoples,<\/p>\nascribe to the\u00a0Lord\u00a0glory and strength!<\/p>\n
8 <\/strong>Ascribe to the\u00a0Lord\u00a0the glory due his name;<\/p>\nbring\u00a0an offering, and\u00a0come into his courts!<\/p>\n
9 <\/strong>Worship the\u00a0Lord\u00a0in\u00a0the splendor of holiness;<\/p>\ntremble before him, all the earth!<\/p>\n
10 <\/strong>Say among the nations,\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Lord\u00a0reigns!<\/p>\nYes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;<\/p>\n
he will\u00a0judge the peoples with equity.\u201d<\/p>\n
11 <\/strong>Let\u00a0the heavens be glad, and let\u00a0the earth rejoice;<\/p>\nlet\u00a0the sea roar, and all that fills it;<\/p>\n
12 <\/strong>let\u00a0the field exult, and everything in it!<\/p>\nThen shall all\u00a0the trees of the forest sing for joy<\/p>\n
13 <\/strong>before the\u00a0Lord, for he comes,<\/p>\nfor he comes\u00a0to judge the earth.<\/p>\n
He will judge the world in righteousness,<\/p>\n
and the peoples in his faithfulness.<\/p>\n
Psalms are like icons.\u00a0 We return to them time after time, discovering and hearing new depths.\u00a0 They move with us, revealing new truths and deepening our understanding of<\/p>\n
God\u2019s work in our lives.\u00a0 Like Rublev\u2019s icon of the Trinity with its open, eternal altar facing the one who prays, the Psalms seem to have something new to say every time we read them.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising, however, that preachers neglect them.\u00a0 Nor is it surprising that they are read in the lections on an average Sunday as if they were a bit of poetic relief before thinking again about the biblical texts that \u201creally\u201d demand our attention.<\/p>\n
The Protestant dependence on sola scriptura<\/em> had the unintended consequence of birthing a didactic faith that is less felt or lived than it is the object of thought.\u00a0 And the Psalms don\u2019t lend themselves easily to that task.\u00a0 Factor in our left brained culture \u2014 along with our pragmatic nature \u2014 and it is not hard to understand why we pay so little attention to them in the pulpits of American churches.<\/p>\nBut icons refuse to be ignored and, even if they are largely neglected, the Psalms end run the didactic nature of modern spirituality, claiming more attention from the average Bible reader than any other part of Scripture.<\/p>\n
Why? How?\u00a0 Because Psalms \u2014 and I would argue, music in general \u2014 triumphs in reaching the heart, when the mind forgets the way.\u00a0 Music does not do that by becoming empty, insipid, and emotional.\u00a0 There are six imperatives in the Hebrew of Psalm 96: The first three are the command to sing a new song.\u00a0 And the others, bless\u2026 proclaim\u2026. declare\u2026 are complements to the initial commands, further elaborating on what it means to \u201csing a new song.\u201d<\/p>\n
What is the new song that the Musician calls for?\u00a0 According to the Psalm itself, it is a song that announces the salvation of the Lord, God\u2019s glory, the creative act of establishing the foundations of the world, the act of filling that world with life that responds in turn with celebration.\u00a0 What is old is new.\u00a0 What is new is old.\u00a0 The psalmist\u2019s music reaches and touches our hearts by drawing creatively on what is given and then casting it in new ways.<\/p>\n
We construe that which is new a special status and for us, it is often a break with the past.\u00a0 It is the only kind of newness which we can imagine, because our capacity for creation is derivative.<\/p>\n
Not so with God.\u00a0 Newness is grounded in that which is old and God is not confined by the past or threatened by the future, because God is the author of both.<\/p>\n
If we could grasp that fact, it would free us creatively.\u00a0 Both because we would be aware of our limitations, but free to range widely in the creation that God has given us.<\/p>\n
If I may be so bold, it seems to me, then, that Psalm 96 has this to say to musicians:<\/p>\n
One, the works you produce and perform are icons \u2014 that speak to us in ever new ways.\u00a0 I suspect that it is easy to think about music as a once-and-done offering \u2014 something that stands on its own merits, is judged by the execution of the piece, and then \u201cit\u2019s on to the next thing.\u201d\u00a0 It is very different for a musician to think of his or her work as a living invitation to prayer and it carries with it a spiritual, as well as artistic responsibility.<\/p>\n
Two, as such \u2014 like the Psalmist the images and depths on which you draw are old, new, and new in their ancient roots \u2014 all three because church music potentially relies on God given grace no less than it does on artistry. \u00a0That can be viewed as a burden.\u00a0 But I think the better label is \u201cprivilege\u201d \u2014 the gift of participating in something divine is properly understood as an invitation to participate in something transcendent and enduring.\u00a0 Singing a new song strikes me as just such a privilege.<\/p>\n
Finally, if all that strikes you as reasonable, then allow me to suggest that line of argument also makes you iconographers.\u00a0 The task of a church musician is an artistic endeavor, but it is more.\u00a0 It is the act of praying and of inviting prayer \u2014 an invitation to an encounter with God.<\/p>\n
As such, the task of a church musician is evangelical, catechetical, and spiritual.\u00a0 Performance is not enough.\u00a0 Singing a new song should alert us to the presence of God.\u00a0 If we are blind to its invitation, we need to hear its purposes declared.\u00a0 If we are ignorant of its logic, we need to be taught.\u00a0 And none of that can be done by a musician who is not alert to the movement of God in his or her own life.<\/p>\n
The writer of musical icons \u2014 like the one who paints them \u2014 lives at the temple\u2019s doors, where those who sing are also those who declare, \u201cThe Lord Reigns.\u201d\u00a0 And to stand in that place is to embody an awareness of God\u2019s presence.\u00a0 As you begin this new year, my prayer is that each of you will be embraced and sustained by the Psalmist\u2019s appeal to \u201cSing a new song.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amen.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have the privilege of serving this year as chaplain to the Dallas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. \u00a0I gave the brief homily that appears below at the opening convocation. \u00a0I have posted it here, for whatever value it may be to organists, other musicians, vocalists, and those who simply love music. \ufeff\u00a0Psalm […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":240,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-perspectives"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n