Given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on June 6, 2004. The verses are from the 8th Chapter of the Book of Psalms…
I have told you all how I love music and singing, and how I sang in any and every choir and chorus I’ve ever had a chance to. As a result, I’ve had an opportunity to learn and experience many different types and styles of songs and writers over the years. These have ranged from popular songs pulled from the ‘charts’ and arranged for a chorus, such as Do You Know the Way to San José and Blowin’ in the Wind, to pieces written and arranged specifically for 4-part choirs. These could consist of anything from nonsensical pieces to the romantic to Christian to deep, serious, make-you-think kind of songs. And often, a really good composer would combine various traits to make his point.
As an example, I recall doing two very different suites in my high school chorus and combining them into one concert. One was an older set of songs surrounding the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. These were fun, if somewhat dated pieces, but presented some challenges, vocally, in several of them. The other was a set of seven songs by Randall Thompson which took some of Robert Frost’s best works and put them to music… to this day I still remember my two favorites, and use them in my head whenever I want to quote either poem!
In college, our director had us learn the entire Missa Secunda, or Second Mass, by Haussler, and perform it at the dedication ceremonies of the then new Campus Religious Center. He had us learn the Latin phrases by sound, so that even though I can say, ‘Paten terra, pox, Ominibus’, I have very little idea as to what I just said. At another time, he had us learn a song that was really easy for me… because I had sang it, also, in my high school choir.
It was one in a series of six titled ‘Prayers From the Ark’ , and I’ve always wished I could see the others. If my information from the internet is correct, the words are from a series of poems written by Carmen Bernos De Gasztold, while the music was written and arranged by Jane Marshall. The one I learned was called The Prayer of the Cat, and went something like this…
Lord,
I am the cat.
It is not, exactly, that I have something to ask of You!
No-
I ask nothing of anyone –
but,
if You have by some chance, in some celestial barn,
a little white mouse,
or a saucer of milk,
I know someone who would relish them.
Wouldn’t You like someday
to put a curse on the whole race of dogs?
If so I should say,
Amen.
Now, anyone who has a cat or understands cats will easily recognize the cat-attitude in this piece. First, he’s proud and arrogant… but, then he realizes he is talking to God, so humbles himself just a little. In the end, though, his true ‘cat personality’ comes through as he tries to tell God what He should do.
Isn’t it amazing how the words of a poem or prose have the power to transform you and take you places and help you see things in your mind that you never imagined on your own? And when those words are added to music the effect sometimes become overpowering! This can be very good… or very bad!
As an example of what I mean by ‘very bad’, I have one song by Peter, Paul and Mary that I consider very, very evil! It is entitled Home is Where the Heart Is, a very beautiful thought, and a very beautiful song! If one simply listened and got lost in the music, the danger of the message in the words would penetrate our subconscious and place the germs of evil there… for the words of the song praise and condone the activities of homosexual and lesbian lovers and try to teach the acceptance of it to a young child… and through that, you, the listener! We must always be on our guard!
I have also heard the words of today’s lesson from Psalms put to music… and how different these words are from that of the cat. Listen again…
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
How beautiful that is! It’s a song of humbleness! It’s a song of greatness! It’s a song of joy! And mostly… and overpoweringly… it’s a song of worship! O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! It’s beautiful!
The 8th chapter of Proverbs asks us, “Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?” Solomon repeatedly refers to ‘wisdom’ as a woman trying to get mankind to notice her. Here he says, “On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud: “To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind.”
He also describes wisdom as being brought forth as the first of the Lord’s works… before any other deeds were done. In other words, wisdom… the true wisdom that comes from God… has been around almost as long as God! And it surrounds us still today, seeking to fill us with knowledge and insight and understanding! All we have to do is open ourselves up to it and accept it! How? By listening! By reading! By learning and doing and being all that we can! And doing each of those things in a God-like manner!
When we do all of that… wisdom will then open our eyes to some startling realities! Suddenly, the sex and violence we see on TV and in the movies stands out as the evil it is… propaganda intended to lower our morals and our values! The commercials telling us we need this or that or the other will be seen as urging us to be greedy and self-centered… to think only of ourselves! And those people who are pushing us to accept so many new ideas and beliefs regardless of their Biblical standing by trying to convince us of their ‘political-correctness’ will be seen as the true enemies of the Lord that they are!
Don’t accept all that you hear as truth without first subjecting it to these tests…
- Is it correct according to Biblical teachings?
- Would you be comfortable explaining it to God?
- Would Jesus do it or accept it?
These three things should be a very simple guide to understanding and accepting the wisdom of the Lord… and if there is any particular question that you may not be certain of the answer, then it’s time to research it and learn what God has to say about it! For it is literally all in this book! Read it!
Lastly, though… and perhaps most importantly… pay attention to what you are hearing! Pay attention to what others are trying to tell you! Whether it’s in the words of a song, a newspaper article, a comment made by a friend or an acquaintance, or something you see or read in the normal course of your day… pay attention to what you are hearing!!! Otherwise, you may find some of those ‘wrong’ thoughts and ideas getting in while you’re not looking and getting a foothold inside your head… and from there they grow much easier than they can be eradicated!
I think the words of this closing song are a perfect case-in-point. How more perfect description and understanding of God can you have than these wonderful, ageless words! Really listen to the words this time… and not only to this… but to every song that you hear this week!
Oh Lord, my God… when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made…I see the stars… I hear the rolling thunder! Thy power throughout the universe displayed! Then sings my soul!.. My savior, God, to Thee! How Great Thou Art… How Great Thou Art! Then sings my soul!.. My savior, God, to Thee! How Great Thou Art… How Great Thou Art!
May the presence of God the Creator give you strength;
May the presence of God the Redeemer give you peace;
May the presence of God the Sustainer give you comfort;
May the presence of God the Sanctifier give you love.
Amen.
scluebbert 