Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord

Church musicians, I bet a lot of us could use a November nudge right about now with days shortening, schedules becoming more complicated, and the reality that Advent and Christmas services are just a few short rehearsals away. So, let’s take a minute to look away from “Planning Central,” breathe, and remember why we’re doing all this:

Joy to the world; the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing…

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns,
Let all their songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy…

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love…

—Isaac Watts from Psalm 98

No, I’m not rushing the season. You may think you’re looking at a Christmas carol, but in reality, this is a poetic setting of Psalm 98 that reminds us of one of God’s greatest gifts: joy!

We’ll get to the hymn text in a minute, but first a word about the poet: Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was an English nonconformist minister, theologian, and prolific hymn writer. He is credited with over 700 hymns. The story goes that the teenage Watts complained to his father about the “dreadful” psalms that were being sung in worship. Father Watts gave him a nudge, telling him if he didn’t like the songs they were singing he should write better ones. He did, beginning with versifications of the psalms and moving on to original verse – rather than paraphrases of Scripture – hymns like When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.

If you put the hymn and the psalm side by side you can easily see how Watts’ versification works. Although Joy to the World is tucked into the Christmas section of hymnals, the hymn makes no reference to Bethlehem, angels, shepherds, wise men, a post-natal Savior, or even a little drummer boy. What this hymn does is remind us that the joy we receive from the Lord is what gives us a vision of God’s plan and purpose. This same joy also gives us the strength and determination we need to live as God’s people no matter what challenges we encounter along the way.

So, about this thing called joy: it’s something followers of Jesus experience when we, together, focus our minds and our hearts on our God. It’s the likemindedness that emerges when we worship together, when we pray together, when we explore God’s Word together, when we join in sacrificial service to other people, and most especially when we sing together. This is the magic of a church choir or worship team. People who are growing in their knowledge and experience of God rearrange their lives to come together and literally blend their individual gifts into an offering of praise and worship.

Singing is not really an option for people shaped by God’s Word. Music shows up in over 1,100 verses of Scripture, with 400 direct references to singing, and 50 times where “sing” is a direct command. Singing is a natural response to joy, and joy is something we experience, not something we create. Joy is one of the signs (fruits) of the Holy Spirit living and growing within us (Galatians 5:22). Joy is not dependent on our emotions (that’s cheerfulness) nor on our circumstances (that’s happiness). Joy is, quite simply, a gift from God.

And sharing God’s joy ought to be the motivation for us to do what we do: all the planning, all the preparations, all the rehearsals, all the follow-up calls, all the counseling and encouraging, all the nurturing of the people God has given us to lead. Musicians are the joy delivery system for a congregation. Our role in worship is to invite and encourage, guide and prompt; to support the congregation in the music they can sing and inspire them with music they can’t.

Nurturing awareness of this important role is a vital component of every rehearsal that can easily be overlooked or preempted by more immediate concerns. Learning the music is important. Building the ensemble is essential. But developing the art of communicating God’s gift of joy in worship is crucial.

There are all kinds of ways to help our musicians discover and share the joy of the Lord. These are as different as the ensembles we lead. The common denominator is you – the director – and here is your November nudge: take the time you need to discover God’s gift of joy for yourself. Spend time in prayer, in Scripture, in meditating on the amazing messages conveyed in the texts you are singing and the awesome beauty of the music that surrounds them. Take time to be amazed at the gifts God has given you and the privilege you have to be nurturing God’s joy in others. Most of all, in this time when the world around us is marred by division and uncertainty, remember that God still rules the world with truth and grace. There is glory in God’s righteousness and wonder in God’s love.

PRAYER:

Loving and joy-giving God,
no more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground.
Come and make your blessings flow far as the curse is found.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.