Editor’s

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            QUANTITY or QUALITY?

 

      Has it ever bothered you when a Worship or Song Leader says, “Let’s sing the first and last verses of this hymn;’ or ‘verses 1, 3, and 5?” It seems some feel singing parts of more hymns is better than singing a few to completion. I must confess this has bothered me for years. In the Sept. 17th selection of a Daily Guideposts 2006, there was a gleaning on this practice in some congregations, which I’d like to share with you and ask you to consider the reasoning behind the author’s words.

 

      “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything… ” Ephesians 5:19-20

 

      “I love the old hymns, and I look forward to singing them in church on Sunday mornings, or at least parts of them, usually the first, third and last verses. Recently, a new worship leader took over the music part of our services and now when we sing a hymn, we sing it ALL, even if it has five verses, and you know what? I’ve found a wealth of sound theology and lyrical language in those formerly unsung verses!

 

      “I think of those slighted stanzas whenever I am tempted to shortcut other things in my life. To skim those professional journals I promised my boss I’d read; to stay only a minute when I visit my neighbor in the hospital; or to always pick up the store-bought apple pie instead of baking one using mother’s recipe. ‘Anything worth doing is worth doing well,’ she used to say, often with flour on her hands. She was right: worth doing well – and completely.”

 

      “Father, help me to sing with enthusiasm all the verses of life that You have chosen for me.”

                                                                                 Mary Lou Carney

 

      I must say upon reading this I said a hearty “AMEN” aloud to what is said above!  Some of the hymns, if you look at them closely, are really prayers or praise to our Heavenly Father or petitions to our Lord Jesus set to music. Do you think shortcutting these hymn-prayers or praises is pleasing our Father and precious Savior?  Do you think they are more interested in the quality and completeness of our hymn-singing or just quantity, singing the hymns only partially as we worship the Lord?  What would you answer?

                                                                                    E. Weeks