THE POWER OF A LIFE SUNG

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Robert Fergusson
THE POWER OF A LIFE SUNG
ROBERT FERGUSSON

On 9th February 1709, John Wesley, as a small boy, was miraculously saved from a fire in a rectory in England. His mother would later tell him, “You are a brand plucked from the burning. You have been saved for some divine purpose”. He went on to become one of the greatest preachers in English history. However, something else was also saved in that fire: A scrap of paper on which John’s father, Samuel, had written a hymn. It contained the words, “Behold the Saviour of mankind nailed to a shameful tree! How vast the love that Him inclined to bleed and die for thee!” When I first read this story I found myself thinking, “What is it about ‘sacred songs’ that are so indestructible”? For instance, even though John became the most famous of the Wesley family, most of his sermons remain in the eighteenth century. Yet the hymns of his brother, Charles, are still sung around the world today. There seems to be immense power in a life sung.

Charles Wesley was a prodigious song writer. It is estimated that he wrote upward of 6,500 hymns, on every conceivable subject. He was inspired by national events, personal revelations and significant occurrences. On the 8th February 1750 an earthquake shook the building in which he was preaching. He changed his sermon and preached all day until the church was full. Apparently, he wrote 19 hymns about that one incident! His was a life sung for the glory of God and the changing of the world.

It would be easy to be inspired by such a life and yet remain unchallenged. After all, not all of us have such a gift. Yet the truth is we are all called to live a ‘life song’. When Caedmon, an early English songwriter of the 7th century, was challenged in a dream to sing for God, his answer was, “I don’t know how to sing”. God’s reply was simple, “Yet you have something to sing for me”. The experience changed his life. He realized, as we all should, that we are all called to, “Sing and make music” (Ephesians 5:19). A ‘life song’ is simply the grateful overflow of a surrendered heart. It is something for which we are all graced, whatever our talents; and for which we are all responsible, whatever our calling. As Charles Wesley sung, “And shall I slight my Father’s love? Or basely fear His gifts to own? Unmindful of his favours prove? Shall I, the hallowed cross to shun, Refuse His righteousness to impart, By hiding it within my heart?” We have no right to hide such grace. It must be expressed. It needs to be sung.

A life song connects us

The origins and purpose of singing remain a mystery. Artists have always suggested that music and song somehow connect us with nature. Philosophers point out that when God created the universe; the stars sang (Job 38:4-7). Poets imagine that these spheres and orbs resonate with majestic bass notes. Even scientists have postulated that the earth is made up of oscillating strings. Yet for all its mystery, it is evident that music and song do enable us to make connections. According to Paul, we should, “speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” and, “make music in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). A spiritual song therefore connects us with the heart of God and the community of humanity in a way that few other expressions do. If we are like Charles Wesley and live a life sung, our devotion to God and our fellowship with others will be enriched and favoured. The One God breathes blessing on unity. His Son prayed for it. The world He created and saved vibrates with it. It is therefore necessary for us to live in the harmony of worship to God and love for our community. The discordant notes of selfishness, jealousy and bitterness rob us of potency.

A life song changes us

A spiritual song also has the power to change us from the inside out and conform us to Godly order. Paul establishes our ‘life music’ directed to God needs to be heart-birthed and heartfelt. He challenges the Ephesian church, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, (Ephesians 5:18-19) and in the parallel passage in Colossians, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16). Life songs are a product of hearts transformed by the word and the Spirit of God. They are true expressions of our devotional life, “for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34).

But this idea of a changed heart is immediately followed by the thought, “Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ” (Eph 5:21). Transformation precedes submission which results in further transformation. If we are true worshippers we will conform to that which pleases God. We will put off drunkenness and be intoxicated with grace. We will put off debauchery and put on devotion. There is a powerful story of a minister in a village in England called Stanford-in-the-vale-cum-Goosey! When he arrived in the parish, his congregation was tight-fisted. Rather than persuade them from the pulpit he wrote a song about giving and taught it to his parishioners. Their heartfelt singing changed their mindset and opened their hands.

A life song conveys truth

They discovered that there is something mysteriously powerful about singing the truth. A song conveys a message in a way that few other vehicles can. When John Newton penned his story in a song he would have had no idea that his hymn, ‘Amazing Grace’ would become known and loved by millions. Yet it wasn’t just the combination of a good lyric and a catchy tune, it was the outpouring of a captured heart. It was his life song. When Horatio Spafford’s four children were drowned in 1874, he wrote a hymn, “When peace, like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows, like sea billows, roll, Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know It is well, it is well with my soul”. It was a declaration of extraordinary trust and it has conveyed a liberating truth to subsequent generations. It was a life song, and life songs are of eternal worth. They, like Wesley’s hymn, have an indestructible quality. They have immense power and ours is the honour to sing them. If we are to emulate the impact of the lives of these extraordinary hymn writers we need to live our life song and release the power of a grateful heart.


©2007 Robert Fergusson. Permission required to publish this article.