A few weeks ago on a Saturday, I received some hard news. Naturally I was still processing it as I walked into church Sunday morning, wondering how in the world I was going to be able to sing. I contemplated escaping by checking to see if the nursery needed any last-minute help, but in the end, I took my seat and made sure I had the tissues ready. And something strange happened. As we sang song after song, I had this feeling of being almost two separate people: one who was preaching the truth of the song I was singing and the other a person who was receiving the truth of the song being sung to her. I was struck by the thought that I was engaged in a struggle of belief. Was God still sovereign and good and worthy of worship in the midst of sadness and grief?
An image floated into my mind of literary character Leeli Wingfeather (Monster in the Hollows, Book 3 of The Wingfeather Saga) standing on top of a building, playing her musical instrument, and successfully fighting the enemy that way. She makes music until her lips are bleeding, and then she keeps on playing. In this story, the music she creates is an actual weapon that vanquishes the evil trying to get her.
A quick AI search notes 185 distinct songs recorded in Scripture, most of them in the Psalms of course. Last week in MS Chapel, I shared the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel, whose arch takes her from sorrow of soul to mountains of delight. We had to stop shy of her battle hymn in chapter 2, which contains lyrics such as “My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance” and “The foundations of the earth the LORD’s; upon them he has set the world.”
Why do we sing? According to the Hadestown album - which has been on repeat in my apartment this month - the answer is “to fix what’s wrong, to take what’s broken and make it whole.” We sing to “bring the world back into tune,” in line with the Creator’s intentions. We are, in fact, in a constant, daily struggle of belief. We hearken back to Aslan’s song when he created Narnia, to the original melody unleashed in the world and that we know is still there, even though it’s been twisted and altered to suit our sinful fancies. Worship through song restores the tune; it is a weapon we’ve been given to fight the enemy, a gift for the children as they face the sadness and grief of the world but hope for the final day of victory to come. When we finally become His bride.
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