A Personal Note

Most of my prophetic teaching documents start with an inner awareness of what the Spirit is saying as I sing at the commencement of my daily devotions. I write these communications down at the time they enter my consciousness then pray and work on them more fully when I return home.[1]

The Error of Our times

The Church generally acts as if there could be 2 centres, me and Jesus. This is to act as if my personal subjectivity (my self-awareness, emotions etc.) exists within a different sphere than that of Christ, and that at best the two spheres can touch one another. In practice this denies that the centre of Jesus’ life can be the centre of my life and that we share the one Father in the power of the Spirit of God. The result of the division of existence into two will always be that the Church as a human institution will compete with Jesus for the heart of the congregation. This comes out in various ways in the popular Christian understanding and practice of singing.

Today we see polarisation within the church, one side turns to the objective truth of the history of salvation, preferring hymns which focus on the facts of the gospel. At the other pole is an emphasis on personal subjective experience.  There is a lot of emphasis in contemporary songs on “I”, my emotions or devotion to God seems to be central. Neither of these approaches to singing is biblical, since my grasp of “facts” and my experience cannot be identified with the person of Jesus. Failing to understand how the humanity of Christ is meant to be conveyed to us as we sing, we get stuck either in our minds or in our feelings[2] that fails to glorify God[3]. Only a share in Jesus’ own devotional life can heal us of these problems. This is why it is crucial we examine those occasions in the New Testament when it is said that Jesus himself sang. I have found three places where it is specifically stated that Jesus is a singer.

Jesus Singing

1. On the way to Gethsemane.

Jesus’ greatest joy was to enact the will of God the Father (Luke 10:21; Heb 12:2). Yet as a real human being Christ’s own heart was weak and needed to be strengthened in the ways of God, particularly as he confronted the will of his Father to die for the sin of the world (Luke 22:43; Heb 2:14-15; 4:15).

At the end of the Last Supper we read, “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them…” (Matt 26:30-31) The Last Supper was a Passover meal and Passover liturgy included special hymns known as the Hallel Psalms (“Praise” psalms) consisting of Psalms 113-118. One of these is particularly potent:

“The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”….8 For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling;9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living….12 What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord….16 O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. 17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:3-4, 8-9, 12-13, 16-17)

As Jesus heads out into the night knowing he is soon to be arrested, tried and crucified, he sings with his disciples one of the great psalms of God’s faithfulness in delivering his servants from death. This Word in his mouth gives strength to his heart.

2. A Song of Triumph

Paul records that Jesus sings the praises of his Father amongst the nations, “Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”” (Rom 15:8-9). The quotation in the final verse (2 Samuel 22:50 = Psalm 18:49) is drawn from two near identical psalms in the Old Testament. These record David’s exalting in God after the death of his enemy Saul and his successful campaigns against the pagan Philistines[4].

David characteristically triumphed over the Gentile nations through the sword. The song of praise that Jesus sings reflects a very different sort of triumph; it is a victory over the Gentiles through his own sacrifice. Today Jesus is singing of the life-rescuing resurrection power of his Father in all the nations of the world where disciples are made in his name (Matt 28:18-20).

3. Jesus sings in Church

“For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”” (Heb 2:10-12)

The word translated “congregation” in Hebrews 2:12 is ecclesia, the usual New Testament word for “church”. Jesus is presented as singing the praise of God in the midst of the family of God today. The quotation in this passage is drawn from Psalm 22:22, which is part of Israel’s great song of lament. The first verse of this psalm was spoken by Jesus from the cross, ““My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” (Mark 15:34). After Jesus experience of the tribulation of the cross and the delivering power of God in resurrection, he is found in the Church speaking from heaven of what the Father has wrought in his life. He is declaring the delivering power of his Father and ours when we meet together.

It is clear from each of these passages that Jesus is a singer, he loves to sing. The subject of his singing is God’s deliverance. But how does he convey the reality of his song to us?

Jesus in us Singing

Like Jesus, our hearts need all the help we can get to remain faithful to God under the pressures of life. Hebrews says, “it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace” (Heb 13:9). This inner enablement connects with what Paul prays for the Church, to “be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph 3:16-17). One vital means of heart empowerment is singing.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Col 3:16-17) The “word of Christ” is Jesus’ own living presence, Jesus sings in and with our singing so that we share his experience of victory over tribulation. Through our shared song the delivering power of God in Christ is conveyed to the Church. As we are united with Jesus’ song the Spirit reveals the wisdom, goodness, victory etc. of God in the life of Christ. It is as true to say “We sing the Word” as “The Word sings in us”. Jesus is declaring through our praises his Father’s victory, and by inspiration from heaven we declare this on earth to each other. Our hearts are strengthened through our participation in the ongoing act of Jesus triumph which is being continually being released in us through his presence as we sing.

Jesus greatest joy (Luke 10:21; Heb 12:2) is to enact the will of his Father’s kingdom through us. True Christ-centre singing breaks down the barrier between us and Jesus so that we are united with him more and more. The two “centres”, me and Jesus, become increasingly one. Through praise (Col 3:16) the Lord’s indwelling presence is intensified (Eph 3:16-17) so that his purposes may be fulfilled on earth as they are in heaven.

Conclusion

Jesus life was never centred upon his own thoughts or emotional experiences, but was wholly activated by the indwelling Father (John 14:10). A restoration of truly Christ-centred singing will release the Church from its futile activism and self-motivation. The result will be fuller and fuller participation in the victory of Christ in all its manifold expressions – holiness, wisdom, compassion, miraculous works…..

A Prophetic Postscript

“Jesus is taking you into the heart of his great Father. Jesus said, “the Father is greater than all” (John 10:29), as he was taken into his Father’s joy through death and resurrection (Heb 12:2), and as “joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10), so in this joy of the Father you can experience a power that is greater than anything evil that can come against you. This is the strength you need for all the purposes of God in your life.”