My pastor communicated the Gospel so well from the 2nd chapter of Jonah last Sunday. God was in pursuit of the prophet and caught him in a corner, the belly of a Fish. We were convicted of our tendency to run from God and exhorted to pursue Him in prayer as Jonah did. I took more notes on the sermon than I usually do; it was that substantial.
Before the sermon, we sang three hymns, as we regularly do. Pastor spoke afterward of how edifying the singing was and struggled a bit to find the word he desired for describing the value of music. He settled on an explanatory phrase, “It stands alone.” He communicated his idea quite clearly, but the struggling actually arrested my attention more so that I considered his thoughts more thoroughly. I thought that the term he sought was singularity. To rephrase his thoughts, I would say that there is a singularity to music based in its beauty and ability to emotionally compel and aid the memory that when coupled with the truth of God’s Word is of much value to the saints for encouragement and training in righteousness.
Music is a wonderful gift from God to spur the emotions and the mind. We must be careful to utilize lyrics that faithfully communicate the meaning and depth of God’s person and work along with our total need of Him. Right worship and careful living demand it.
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