HOW SHALL WE SING? by H. A. St. John

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, Cal. · Sep 13, 1905

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 31, No. 37.

HOW SHALL WE SING?

By H. A. St. John

BY H. A. ST. JOHN.

"I LOVE to tell the story Of unseen things above, Of Jesus and His glory, Of Jesus and His love. "I love to tell the story, Because I know 'tis true, It satisfies my longing, As nothing else can do."

THUS we sing. Alone, and with others, over and over again, we sing the above words, and many other words of like import. I have many times joined with congregations, scores of people, in singing with vim and vigor, with ringing voices, the above quoted words. "Let everybody sing," says the leader, and all sing with ardor. "Is not that the right way, to worship God with singing?" you ask. Well, let us see. Let us interrogate all these enthusiastic singers, who think they are assisting in divine worship. Do you really love to tell the story of Jesus and His love? Does it really satisfy your longing as nothing else can do? And have you told that story within the last week? Do you tell it, in love, every opportunity you get? To these questions, and others of like import, with the great majority there is no response. Their hearts condemn them. By their silence they now confess that the words they had sung, as an offering to the Lord, were lies in their mouths.

O, my soul! Can God be pleased with lies, sung to Him in the house of God, in the prayer-meeting, at the family altar, anywhere, at any time? Is it acceptable worship, think you? Is it music in His ears? Will not, and does not, God turn away His ear from hearing such offerings of praise? Is it not an abomination unto Him?

"I would be, dear Saviour, wholly Thine; Teach me how, teach me how. I would do Thy will, O Lord, not mine, Help me, help me now."

Dear reader, do you ever sing the above words? And if so, was it your earnest prayer expressed in song that the Saviour would teach you to be wholly His? Did you really long for the Lord's help to do His will, not your own? If not, then how could you expect that your singing, however perfect in tune and tone it might be, would be pleasing to God, or a blessing to yourself?

The tune and the tone, are important, and should certainly have careful attention, but not exclusive attention. I believe the Lord has said nothing about the tune and the tone in His instructions upon the subject of singing, but He does say, "Sing with the spirit and the understanding." In these days, the practise of choirs, and singing classes, is almost exclusively devoted to the tone and the tune. Who has ever heard of a company of singers, met to practise and prepare for an important occasion, having a season of prayer, for the Lord's help, that they might "sing with the spirit and understanding"? This important element in devotional singing is sadly neglected, if not entirely ignored. It is swept away by the tune and the tone, and I think the enemy would have it so. The devil well knows the power of songs containing Gospel truth sung with the spirit and understanding. Thereby souls are admonished, encouraged, uplifted, convicted, and converted; and God is glorified.

Let the remnant church of God arise, and shine, then we shall hear Holy Spirit singing. The singers will have the love of God, and His truth, shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit, and their beautiful and truthful Gospel songs of saving truth, uttered by souls filled with divine love, will be accompanied by the Spirit to the heart and understanding of the hearer, with almost irresistible power for good.

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord." Whether it be preaching, praying, giving, doing, or singing, all should be by the Spirit of God. And until it is so, the church will be dangerously lukewarm, wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. The remedy for all is found only in the faithful and true Witness, the Lord Jesus, who is waiting to give the Holy Spirit in full measure to all who so believe and desire when they pray.