sing it again (and again)

We boomers like to complain about today’s worship leaders and their love affair with repetition. Now, I don’t have a problem with it the way some do, but 14 rounds of He is good, good, so good can feel a bit excessive.

Consider a humorous story to illustrate my point:

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was. “Well,” said the farmer, “it was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns.”
“Praise choruses?” said his wife. “What are those?”
“Oh, they’re OK. They are sort of like hymns, only different,” said the farmer.
“Well, what’s the difference?” asked his wife.
The farmer said, “Well, it’s like this – If I were to say to you “Martha, the cows are in the corn”’ – well, that would be a hymn. If on the other hand, I were to say to you:
Martha, Martha, Martha, Oh Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA, the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows, the white cows, the black and white cows, the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn, the CORN, CORN, CORN.
Then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well, that would be a praise chorus.”
— via Mockingbird Ministries blog

I grew up in traditional Baptist churches where hymnbooks were king. We held thick, hardback hymnals in our hands as the minister of music instructed us to sing the first, second, and last verses of each of the selected hymns (IYKYK). “Turn to page 141 in your Baptist Hymnal…” There were usually two or three songs prior to the offering, and one just before the sermon.

I sound like I’m mocking, but I assure you I am not. Something comes alive in a deeper part of my soul when a worship leader spontaneously leads out with an old hymn at our church. I’m not alone, either. Most of the older parishioners in the mix of our gathered saints suddenly raise their voices…and the sound is pure heaven.

Psalm 118 is a worship song the returning Babylonian captives sang at the dedication of the second temple in Jerusalem. Solomon’s magnificent temple — one of the great wonders of the world in its day — had been razed to rubble by the invading army of Babylon nearly a century before. While the second temple certainly paled in comparison to the first, the joy those exiles felt when their central place of worship was finished had to be groundshaking.

i could sing of his love forever

Take a look at this psalm. Note how many times the psalmist uses repetition. I count nine lines of verse that are repeated. That may not be as impressive as the twenty-six lines in Psalm 136, but it ranks high nonetheless. The next time someone throws shade on modern worship “and their twelve-minute praise songs,” simply point them to Psalm 118.

This psalm was quite important to Martin Luther’s spiritual formation. He referred to it as “my own beloved psalm.” While in hiding in the Coburg Castle during 1530, Martin Luther spent six months writing a significant commentary on its sacred text. On one of its walls, deep inside the castle, he carefully wrote, “I shall not die, but live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.” Verse seventeen became the confession of his life.

What endeared him to it so?

Why was it chosen as a worship song for the dedication of the temple?

Right away we see the first and last verse are identical:

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

I’m certain returning exiles would appreciate those words, don’t you? How many times have we come through great hardships only to burst out in song when we have been mercifully delivered!

Five times (1,2,3,4,29) the psalmist repeats the line, HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOREVER.The number “five” is a grace number. How appropriate that such beautiful words come at us, through us, and out of us as testimonies of such rich, undeserved, marvelous grace.

he is good, good, so good, etc., etc.

The music begins to swell. The key changes. We are on our feet, stirred by the words on the screen: THE LORD IS ON MY SIDE (vv6,7) when THE ENEMY SURROUNDED ME (vv10,11,12). It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by You. I’m in his courts, no longer weeping by the rivers of Babylon. Hallelujah! Everywhere I look I see evidence of God’s saving mercy. I’m loved by the Savior who will never leave my side nor forsake me to the enemy.

The worship leader reminds the exiles they are standing on holy ground. Plant your flag. Hang your shingle. Make yourself at home. Come inside and TAKE REFUGE IN THE LORD (vv8,9). Why would we look for refuge anywhere else? We are at home with You, Lord. Your address is BETTER (vv8,9) than any other real estate on earth.

Thrice the psalmist boasts, IN THE NAME OF THE LORD I CUT THEM OFF! (vv10,11,12) But lest he or anyone expect to lead out the victory parade, he quickly shifts the focus — also thrice! — to the Almighty:

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly (vv15,16)

As of this writing, it’s Sunday morning. While we ready ourselves for church, Sandy and I are listening to a worship playlist I’ve recently curated. Chris Tomlin is singing “How Great Is Our God” and we are caught remembering a particular Sunday when a pair of pre-school twins sang it in front of the New River Church congregation. Not. A. Dry. Eye. I’m so glad our little children learned how to sing God-words over and over.

Millennia ago, another worship leader wrote these words we are reading today. We may not know who he was, but we know he could surely whip out a worship song that once inspired a Reformer and has spanned the generations since.

Before he laid his pen aside, the clever lyricist added the perfect coda to echo on through the ages.

YOU ARE MY GOD AND I WILL EXTOL YOU (v28)

What else is there to say? Besides:

GIVE THANKS! (vv28,29)

You and I may not agree on everything, but I think we can all agree on this: Some things are worth repeating!

Selah, beloved.

Oh, and keep on singing!

the thirty percent

[5 minutes]

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. II Timothy 4:7

How important is it to you to finish well?

Biblical scholar and teacher Dr. J. Robert Clinton studied the lives of one hundred main characters in the Bible. What he discovered was hard to swallow. Fewer than 30% of them finished well.

Which people of the Bible might you add to a list of those who patterned exemplary faith? Joseph! Daniel, for sure. You have to include Ruth. Job had his moments, but he ultimately came forth as gold. Remember, it’s not about being perfect — or whether you stumble along the way (we all do!) — but rather how you finish.

There are noteworthy examples, but none more deserving than Paul. When I die, I hope with all my heart that I am able to echo what Paul confessed before he left this world:

I fought hard.

I ran a good race.

I’m ready.

“Finished” in the scripture highlighted above is τετέλεκα — an echo of the very proclamation Jesus made from the cross: It is finished. While the Savior completed his divine mission to perfection, Paul faced his own human death with Christlike finality.

Do you know what I really love about Paul’s ‘death-bed’ confession to Timothy? Ten years earlier, Paul had a shoreline meeting with some church elders at Ephesus when he declared at that time:

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
—Acts 20:24

A decade later, Paul sent a letter from a Roman prison to the young pastor of that same Ephesian church to say: “Mission accomplished.”

I fought the good fight.

I ran a good race.

I kept the faith for a good death.

Oh how I long to meet my Savior having the same bravado! I pray I’ll not to be a shipwreck or footnote.

In Clinton’s study only 50 of the 100 Bible characters researched had enough print about their life to determine whether or not they finished well. That means the other 50 didn’t have enough data points to know one way or the other.

Brothers and sisters, I don’t want anyone guessing about my life. I pray there is ample evidence to sift through! One day, by the grace of God, I hope a flag is planted over my bones that declares, “Here lies Scott Thomas Mitchell. He loved Jesus to the death.”

Last October one of my ministry heroes, Charles Swindoll, preached his final sermon at age 90. In a time of great shaking, scandal, heresy, and controversy in the pulpits, it is refreshing to hear of a man who faithfully ran his race and finished his course in a worthy manner.

And yet — shockingly — as the celebrated pastor was preparing for his exit, one of his own staff pastors was fired for moral misconduct a few months earlier. Two men. Two entirely different outcomes.

It’s a mercy of God that as we age our goals for end of life become more streamlined, focused. While in our younger years our dreams were all over the map, old age has a way of shaking them out and latching on to the ones that stick.

Early on in ministry I had a pastor/mentor say to me, ‘You know what my goal is? When I die, if they say ‘he loved God and he loved his wife and family’ then I’ve achieved my goal.’ At the time I thought that was incredibly lame. Years later, I get it. Such wisdom.
— an anonymous pastor

Aging Scott gets it, too.

Three verses after anticipating his own triumphant homegoing, Paul grieved about a man named Demas. Still bruised, the apostle sadly reflected over the tragic outcome of his former companion’s faith.

Howard Hendricks, a renowned seminary professor who died well in the Lord, interviewed 246 men in the clergy who had started out well but failed within two years. Here are some of the common threads he found in those 246 case studies:

None of the men was involved in any kind of real personal accountability.
Each of the men had all but ceased having a daily time of personal prayer, Bible reading, and worship.
More than 80 percent of the men became sexually involved with the other woman after spending significant time with her, often in counseling situations.
Without exception, each of the 246 had been convinced that sort of fall “would never happen to me.”

It’s not only pastors or church leaders who should be wary of finishing poorly. In a letter to a congregation in Greece, the apostle Paul offers this solemn charge: “So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.” (1 Cor. 10:12)

Consider for a moment this alarming statement:

In American Christianity today, there are more defections than conversions.
— The American Beliefs Study, 2022

There is plenty of evidence corroborating people leaving the institutional church, but the above annotation is taken from a study of those leaving the faith.

Jesus himself knew the sting of such numbers. As the gathering shadows fell across his popular ministry years, a raft of followers decided his way was no longer their way.

Finishing well is hard work. Paul called it a fight, a grueling race to be legged out. The world, the devil, and our greedy flesh each distract and frustrate us to no end. We drop the baton. Knock over a hurdle or two. Or three. We get downcast. We fall and lose precious ground. But we keep legging it out.

The race isn’t over. Wherever you are on the track, beloved, there’s still time to jump back in. Run for the prize. Compete for the crown. Be one of the 30%.

Keep fighting the good fight.

Stay the course.

And finish well.

Selah, and see you at the finish line, dear one.

keeping jesus out in front

[6 minutes]

Crazy times, huh?

We know all about mourning in lonely exile down here, don’t we? It’s pretty hard to feel at home in a place that feels so strange nowadays.

The Magi found themselves 1000 miles from home, guided by a shining phenomenon in the sky. Step by step, mile after mile, they kept Jesus out in front for the long haul, following yonder Star.

In time, they arrived at the crossroads of two kingdoms: one in Jerusalem, and the other in Bethlehem. Just so, we awaken each morning and look out on a virtual world that is unyielding and doesn’t keep its promises. Then, as quickly as flipping a switch, we breathe a prayer and find ourselves in the true world of God, a world that is full of Promise, where the Light shines.

A traveling evangelist, John Jacob Niles, happened upon a small North Carolina town years ago when he heard the haunting melody of a song from a “tousled, unwashed blonde, and very lovely” girl. Niles could only understand three lines of verse in her Appalachian dialect:

I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.
For poor on’ry people like you and like I…

He was struck with an idea to expand the lyrics with his own and create a hymn for Advent. The rest is history.

“It’s an unusual song, compelling in its simplicity and musicality. Unlike many carols that ring with joviality, it is set an a minor key, and its final note rings out, unresolved – a fitting tone for lyrics that speak of wandering and wondering, rather than firm answers and clear resolution. In its own unique way, this mournful song captures something beautiful about the Christian life.”
– Kelly B Trujillo

This is a hard, minor key world.

It’s shadowy dark.

Scary at times.

Unpredictable most times.

Walter Brueggemann, in his Devotions For Advent, describes this venue as —

…a world of advertising, of ideology, of euphemism offer[ing] us endless phoniness that coerces and manipulates and invites into a virtual world that has no staying power. You cannot count on such a world, as it will turn on you and cost you dearly.”

We “wonder as we wander” how to best navigate these evil times and avoid such a painful cost.

Here is where the Magi might be of some help.

1. they saw something bigger than themselves and sacrificed everything to pursue it. (v2)

These Magi hailed from the faraway kingdom of Persia. Centuries earlier, Daniel was called a “chief of the Magi” (Dan 5:11) Such men were the embodiment of wisdom, the intelligentsia of the kingdom. To think they would travel so long (likely months) and so far (1000 miles) to visit a newborn is telling.

No doubt these Magi had studied the prophecies of Daniel. It seems likely they were well-versed in those parts that told of a Great King in Israel who would arrive under the SIGN OF A STAR.

…a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel
— Numbers 24:17

The treasures they brought — gold, frankincense, and myrrh — spoke of the unique character and quality of the King. He was a King, but not just any King. Jesus was a divine King, sent from the world of God, whose mission was to rob and plunder satan’s counterfeit kingdom and lead its captives through the doorway into a heavenly realm.

Melchior, Balthasar, and Caspar (if we are to trust tradition) were chasing the BIG STORY of God, keeping the Messiah out in front of their mission. Not even the religious and political power center of Jerusalem could deter them.

So long as they kept Jesus out in front, their steps were ordered, and the glory of God pinpointed where they needed to be.

Which brings me to a second guiding principle to aid us in navigating this tumultuous sod:

2. they stayed their course, guided by the Star, ignoring other competing voices. (v7-12)

Herod was an intimidating character. Extremely paranoid and jealous, he killed anyone whom he deemed a threat to his sovereignty. His veiled interest in a new king raised red flags for these God-seekers.

There are Herods even today who feel their kingdoms are threatened by this other King. They govern us, they have influence over us, they make policy for us, they threaten, force-feed, deceive, pretend, divide, oppress, and “trouble” us a million different ways.

Like the Magi, we must keep King Jesus in front of us. When cultural players and pretenders try to fill the screen of our vision, we must avert our attention and focus on the Light. We have to keep after him. Jesus is our telos.

This is an important truth: if the Lord knows you are on his side, he will guide you, teach you, draw you close, and reveal himself to you intimately. If your heart is bent in his direction, the Lord won’t let you miss him… Even if you get off course now and then.

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
—John 14:21

The wise men traveled nearly 1000 miles, over the course of months, guided by a supernatural object in the sky. But the Star disappeared when they arrived Jerusalem. The Magi must have asked, “Where is the star? Where did it go? How do we finish the journey?”

Once they re-oriented their bearings to Jesus — the Star reappeared. Oh how they must have rejoiced!

Dear struggling saint, mourning in lowly exile here, trying so hard to follow yonder star, look up. Keep going. Stay the course.

If the supernatural has left your sky, know it’s not a fixed condition. Perhaps it wasn’t intentional, but nevertheless you have found yourself on a different path. The journey isn’t over. There’s a road out of where you are and Jesus is the Way.

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts
—2 Peter 1:19

This Advent season — and beyond — let’s keep our bearings on Jesus. May he always be our blessed destination.

Selah, beloved. A Happy Advent to You and yours!