These words say exactly how I feel about right now about them “400 years of silence” that I have experienced with God in the past few years:

In Your grace, You know where I walk
You know when I fall
You know all my ways
In Your love, I know You allow
What I cannot grasp
To bring You praise

Thank You for the trials
For the fire, for the pain
Thank You for the strength
Knowing You have ordained
Every day

Your great power is shown when I’m weak
You help me to see
Your love in this place
Perfect peace is filling my mind
And drawing my heart
To praise You again

In my uncertainty, Your Word is all I need
To know You’re with me every day

Every Day - By Joel Sczebel and Todd Twining
As recorded on Come Weary Saints

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

This was last week’s Worship Quote of the Week. I’ve heard the first sentence of this quote referenced by pastors and worship leaders numerous times, and yet have never heard anybody reference the quote in fuller length. Here it is in all its glory, quoted within its context. If ever I can find time to read books outside of my “required” list for the classes I’m taking at Southern, Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy is certainly up at the top of this list!

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.

For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God.

–A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperCollins, 1961), 1. Reissue (1998)

In all the Mothers’ Day hooplah, I was neglected to be informed that yesterday was Pentecost Sunday (not that I strictly follow the Liturgical Calendar).

I was reminded during my blog reading this afternoon from a friend’s blog post — that yesterday, Pentecost was “a day in which we remember the events that took place 50 days after the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord, where the promised allos paraklêtos (another helper, John 14.16) found fulfillment in the coming of the Holy Spirit.”

And so, in a belated celebratory remembrance of Pentecost, I want to share with you these reflective words from Harold Best.

Pentecost is Babel turned right side up: all speech is unified because it is God, no longer people, who is building toward the heavens.

The story of Pentecost goes further than its historical reality. It is also a parable that urges us into the knowledge that the gospel is comfortable in any culture and its message finds easy residence in the languages, cultural ways and thought styles (but not thought systems) of countless societies. In other words, whoever seeks to move a culture towards transformation by Christ must join it, participating in the transformation from within.

God is not Western; God is not Eastern; God is not exclusively the God of classical culture or primitive culture; God is the Lord of the plethora, the God of the diverse, the redeemer of the plural. Likewise, God calls for response in different languages, dialects, and idioms, accepting them through the Son. Pentecost tells us that one artistic tongue is only a start and a thousand will never suffice. There is no single chosen language or artistic or musical style that, better than others, can capture and repeat back the fullness of the glory of God. This truism cannot be avoided. Cultures are not infinite. No single one can hold the wholeness of praise and worship or the fullness of the counsel of God.

["O for a thousand tongues to sing my great redeemer's praise." Lord, show us our chains of linguistic and artistic elitism. Set us free to hear and respond - to know your ways and worship you in spirit and in truth. AMEN!]

–Harold Best, in Music Through Eyes of Faith, Chapter 3, “Musical Pluralism and Diversity,” Harper Collins, 1993, p. 66.

Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears:
Before the throne my surety stands,
Before the throne my surety stands,
My name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:
His blood atoned for all our race,
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds He bears; received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;
He cannot turn away, the presence of His Son;
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.

"Arise, My Soul, Arise" by Charles Wes­ley, Hymns and Sac­red Po­ems, 1742.

In the middle of this series on “Why Do We Sing?” some of you may be asking, “Why is he making such a big deal about singing? Don’t we sing because we want to sing? It sure beats talking for the whole meeting!”

Yes, it certainly does. And so far in this series, we’ve discussed how God gave us singing to help us remember and meditate on truth about Him. But the purposes for our singing go far beyond that. Singing is also one of the Christian’s primary means for expressing objective truth about
God.

Psalm 66:2 says, “Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!” When we sing the glory of God’s name, we declare and reflect on who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. God wants us to sing the glory of His name because He is like no other. He is the I AM, Redeemer, Shepherd, Almighty Lord, God our Provider, Deliverer, Holy One. He wants us to sing about His unique work as Redeemer, Creator, and Savior. Each name represents a unique aspect of God, and each draws us to worship Him in a slightly different way. He wants us to describe over and over again the specific ways He has proven His faithfulness, goodness, greatness, majesty, purity, compassion, love, and mercy. He wants his name and character to be set apart.

That’s why the songs we sing ought to be derived from or thoroughly tested by Scripture. A friend pointed out to me that if most of our songs can be sung just as well by Buddhists, Muslims, or Hindus, we need to change our repertoire! This doesn’t mean that the songs we sing are intended to be a systematic Christian theology, but they should help us clearly and accurately glorify the only true God. That’s why, when we’re choosing songs for the Sunday service or our small group, the lyrics are of greater concern than the chords and the beat!

It’s also a good idea to memorize songs as we’re able. You’ve heard of A.D.D? That’s Attention Deficit Disorder. Well, I think on Sundays many of us can suffer from a modern affliction called O.D.D. - - Overhead Dependency Disorder — which is closely related to a much older malady
known as H.F.S., or Hymnal Fixation Syndrome. I’ve watched people keep their eyes glued to the screen or printed page throughout the worship, even when they’re singing songs they know by heart! How much more valuable it would be to learn some of these songs, and then sing them, from memory! The more words about God I can store up in my heart, the more I can be helped by them throughout the day.

Some years ago I realized I had a very limited knowledge of hymns. So I started using a hymnal in my devotional times. What a difference it made! My prayer life received a fresh infusion of truth, passion, and depth. Over time I’ve tried to memorize a number of the hymns, and this
has benefited me immeasurably by expanding my vocabulary for singing God’s praise.

What an amazing gift God has given us in singing. Next time we’ll look at a second way in which singing helps us respond to God. Until then, remember how much we have to sing about — because of Jesus.

By Bob Kauflin, Sovereign Grace Ministries