Meditatin' to the Oldies

In the '80s, there was a fitness craze of "sweatin' to the oldies." I find the older I get, the more I appreciate the depth of the truth contained in older hymns. The ones that framed worship services, often previewing the sermon itself, before four-chord 'praise choruses' completely took over.

Don't get me wrong -- I enjoy Third Day and the Newsboys as much as anybody else. Few modern artists, though, have work whose message will be edifying long after musical tastes change again. In everything, one must evaluate the message as well as the medium. Too many people are focused on enjoying the music, versus being affected by it. As the Word says, though, there's a season for everything. Sometimes, one just likes some heavy guitar. But always, one needs a thorough grasp of Truth.

When I was a kid, we used to sing at LEAST three out of four verses of each hymn. Then it got to where we'd only sing the "first and the last verse." (For the danger inherent in skipping verses in the old hymns, with their message spread over all stanzas, click here.) Then we went to 'blended services,' and suddenly all the sanctuaries sprouted drum sets.

It's worth asking: is the Church working as powerfully in the world today as when this was written?

Though with a scornful wonder
we see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed,
yet saints their watch are keeping;
their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song.