He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.                   

Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.”     

 Psalm 40:3 (ESV)

 

In her book, Prayer in the Night, Tish Harrison Warren writes, “The Christian life is more like a poem than an encyclopedia.” I think it’s a fair comparison. Christianity does have a definition that can be articulated. You want an answer – look it up. But it also has mystery that allows for multiple understandings. Opposing perspectives can be expressed – think eschatology! Still, we are prone to pushing the Christian faith into one of those two labels – poetry or encyclopedia. Literalists wave the biblical encyclopedia. Mystics point to riddles from the biblical poem. But both approaches need to be held together, despite the tension. How?

 

At the risk of creating confusion, I’d like to add another metaphor to Warren’s suggestion. Here it is: the Christian faith is like a song sung by God’s choirs. Singers know that sheet music contains both lyric and melody. There are words to sing. To be true to the song, a performer must know the words, understand their meaning, and convey that insight to others. You can’t simply make up the lyrics or we cease to have a song, at least one that is commonly familiar. Christians sing from the same page, conveying a common lyric. The truths of the Bible form verses of lyrics that have been shaped over centuries. The Church has debated and defined them. We have trusted the leadership of the Author to ensure that we have got the lyrics right. We continue to fine-tune the words for clarity and relevance to our world. But we can never ignore the lyric. There is a Bible message to proclaim. And yet, music is more than just lyric.

 

There is melody which shapes the lyric, that it might rest in the deep places of soul. The lyrics are not simply spoken but sung – with passion and joy, conveying feelings that penetrate our hearts. The melody of our song is conveyed through lives moved by love, godliness and integrity. The manner of our melody is to affirm the lyric we proclaim.

 

A song has rhythm, harmony, rests and crescendos. A melody brings pleasure, reflection, and creativity to the lyrics. So, choirs can sing the same song in different ways, shifting inflections or feelings. One lyric can appeal to different hearers which span the generations. The music enlivens the lyric.

 

It is essential that melody and lyric be held together. In churches, we have those who pound the table to make sure we get the words just right. And of course, the lyric ought to be true. Others demand that variety and creativity be freed without limit. But lyric that is free form ceases to be something that can be passed on. Melody without musical theory is chaos – just noise. There are parameters to words and notes. There are parameters to orthodoxy and expression. These paragraphs are not meant to define those parameters. (Only 600 words here!) But they do invite personal and corporate consideration.

 

If living faith is both doctrine and practice, head and heart, lyric and melody – I want to bind them in my life. It is not enough just to be right. I want more than lyric. I want a song – a song of beauty and truth. When lyric and melody are held together, God’s song is magnetic. Some will be drawn by the lyric and soon find the joy. Others will be attracted by the tune they hear, even before they understand the words.  So, make room for the poetry of faith. Give voice to the music of God. Sing the song He has planted in your heart wholly. Make it a carol of joy conveying the unchanging truth. It will be a delight to your soul and an anthem for God’s glory.