Originally, I set out to make a top ten list of my favorite music from the Lutheran Service Book (LSB). This has totally devolved into being a top 100 list, but that would make for a super long blog post. So, I'll make a deal with myself and go with a top 25. Within my top 25 totally subjective favorites, you will find mostly hymns, but also some liturgical music as well. Here goes.
25. Jesus Sinners Doth Receive - LSB #609
My favorites start with a powerful confession and absolution hymn.
"Here is hope for all who grieve: Jesus sinners doth receive." (v.1)
24. Crown Him With Many Crowns - LSB #525
The first powerful and triumphant song of victory.
"His glories now we sing, who died and rose on high, who died eternal life to bring and lives that death may die." (v.4)
23. All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name - LSB #549
Another triumphant and upbeat hymn of Christ the Redeemer. Nothing to dislike about this one!
"Let ev'ry kindred, ev'ry tribe, On this terrestrial ball to Him all majesty ascribe and crown Him Lord of all." (v.6)
22. O Lord We Praise Thee - LSB 617
An excellent communion hymn. Written by Luther.
"Thou with Thy body and Thy blood didst nourish, our weak souls that they may flourish:" (v.1)
21. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing - LSB 686
It's talks about an Ebenezer. That's enough to chuck it in the top 25 alone. But really, it's a great hymn.
"Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise." (v.1)
20. Gloria in Excelsis - Divine Service Setting 4
OK, before any of you old stodgy Lutherans cut me apart for picking something from Divine Service 4 and not the more traditional Divine Service 3, just remember, it's my subjective list and I really like this rendition of the Gloria in Excelsis. So sit on it.
"To You, O sole begotten, the Father's Son we pray; O Lamb of God, our Savior, You take our sins away." (v.2)
19. The Death of Jesus Christ, Our Lord - LSB #634 (See also LSB #616 - same tune)
Excellent hymn for the Lord's Supper.
"His Word proclaims and we believe that in this Supper we receive His very body, as He said, His very blood for sinners shed." (v.4)
18. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross - LSB #425
This is the only Lenten hymn in my top 25, unless we could Palm Sunday and Good Friday.
"See, from His head, His hands, His feet sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e'er such love and sorrow meet or thorns compose so rich a crown?" (v.3)
17. Phos Hilaron - Evening Prayer
This is the first entry from one of the daily prayer offices. It comes to us from Evening Prayer and the Service of Light. Phos Hilaron, the Hymn of Light.
"Joyous light of glory: of the immortal Father; heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ."
16. Rise My Soul to Watch and Pray - LSB #663
Outstanding hymn about the church on earth.
"Watch against yourself, my soul, lest with grace you trifle; let not self your thoughts control nor God's mercy stifle. Pride and sin lurk within, all your hopes to shatter; heed not when they flatter." (v.4)
15. A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing - LSB #493 (see also LSB #465 - same tune)
I could have chosen this glorious Ascension hymn or "Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds" (LSB #465), which is played to the same tune. I went with the Ascension hymn. There is a lot more Easter coming up.
"You see Him now, ascending high up to the portals of the sky. Alleluia, alleluia!" (v.4)
14. Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee - LSB #803
Beethoven rocks.
"Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the gloom of doubt away, giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day." (v.1)
13. By Grace I'm Saved - LSB #566
Wonderful hymn of justification.
"By grace! none dare lay claim to merit; our works and conduct have no worth. God in His love sent our Redeemer, Christ Jesus, to this sinful earth; His death did for our sins atone, and we are saved by grace alone." (v.2)
12. For All the Saints - LSB #677
Absolutely outstanding hymn regarding the church triumphant. Very easily could have put this one in the top 10.
"But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day: The saints triumphant rise in bright array; the King of Glory passes on His way. Alleluia! Alleluia!" (v.7)
11. Hosanna, Loud Hosanna - LSB #443
Palm Sunday - very underrated for hymnody. As you shall see, another one is coming soon on my list.
"From Olivet they followed mid an exultnat crowd, the victor palm branch waiving and chanting clear and loud. The Lord of earth and heaven rode on in lowly state nor scorned that little children should on His bidding wait." (v.2)
Are you ready for rarefied air? These next ten hymns and liturgical songs are without question the top 10 in the LSB. Because I saith so.
10. Thy Strong Word - LSB #578
It would be impossible for me to leave this awesome hymn out of my top 10.
"From the cross Thy wisdom shining breaketh forth in conqu'ring might; from the cross forever beameth all Thy bright redeeming light. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!" (v.4)
9. Built on the Rock - LSB #645
An absolute classic hymn about the church.
"We are God's house of living stones, built for His own habitation. He through baptismal grace us owns heirs of His wondrous salvation. Were we but two His Name to tell, yet He would deign with us to dwell with all His grace and His favor." (v.3)
8. Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands - LSB #458
Another Easter offering. this one by Luther.
"It was a strange and dreadful strife when life and death contended; the victory remained with life, the reign of death was ended. Holy Scripture plainly saith that death is swallowed up by death, its sting is lost forever. Alleluia!" (v.4)
7. Magnificat - Evening Prayer
I absolutely love the Evening Prayer rendition of the Magnificat. Hard to beat.
"For He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden. For behold, from this day all generations will call me blessed." (v.1)
6. Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence - LSB #621
In my opinion, this is the finest Lord's Supper hymn there is.
"King of Kings yet born of Mary, as of old on earth He stood, Lord of Lords in human vesture, in the body and the blood, He will give to all the faithful His own self for heav'nly food." (v.2)
5. All Glory, Laud, and Honor - LSB #442
I warned you, Palm Sunday was going to make another appearance. Well, here it is. Absolutely love this one.
"The multitude of pilgrims with palms before You went; our praise and prayer and anthems before you we present." (v.3)
4. Te Deum - Matins
I could easily stick this as #1. Seriously. The Te Deum is amazing.
"When you took upon Yourself to deliver man, You humbled Yourself to be born of a virgin. When You had overcome the sharpness of death, You opened the kingdom to all believers." (v.5)
3. O Sacred Head, Now Wounded - LSB #449
Attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux in the 12th century, this is the classic and somber Good Friday hymn.
"What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered was all for sinners' gain; mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain. Lo, here I fall, my Savior! Tis I deserve Thy place; look on me with Thy favor, and grant to me Thy grace." (v.2)
2. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God - LSB #657
Come on, you knew it was coming eventually. I'm a Lutheran.
"A mighty fortress is our God, a sword and shield victorious; He breaks the cruel oppressor's rod and wins salvation glorious. The old satanic foe has sworn to work us woe. With craft and dreadful might he arms himself to fight. On earth he has no equal." (v.1)
1. Jesus Christ is Risen Today - LSB #457
Am I an anti-Lutheran heathen for picking a Charles Wesley hymn as my #1 over A Mighty Fortress? Perhaps. But this is the quintessential hymn of the resurrection. It's been my favorite for a while.
"Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia! Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia! Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia! Suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia!" (v.1)
Feel free to critique, scream at me for glaring omissions, or give me half a thumbs up. But if you do those things, you would be wrong. After all, I am completely objective and the final authority on hymns and liturgy.
Hope you enjoy!
+Pax+
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
3/23/15
Contemporary Worship, and Law & Gospel
Debates about contemporary worship are plethora these days, both in evangelical, fundamentalist, and Reformed circles. The fundamentalist and evangelicalism have still not dealt with it beyond the ubiquitous "preference" argument. It is all a matter of preference, they claim. The Reformed have dealt with it by creating a "new law" - the regulative principle of worship - that essentially says that if it is not commanded, it is forbidden.
We Lutherans are not immune to these issues, and it has become a real problem in some Lutheran circles. Even congregations that are fully confessional have decided to abandon or water down the liturgy in favor or "CoWo". Adherents usually say that it would be legalism to forbid it, and claim that it is needed to keep the congregation from dying, or to liven up. Many Pastors, not wanting to be accused of legalism, have simply capitulated and have made the change-over. Or, they have been convinced of the CoWo advocate's arguments that we need to worship in the context of our culture (which is code for basically adjusting the worship to meet sinful man's desires).
I propose that this issue be best approached from a different angle: law and Gospel. "But" you say "we have already tried that. We cannot create a new law to forbid it." This is true. If we really admit it, it may run counter to what we have always done, but we cannot point to Scripture and deny based on "thus sayeth the Lord."
But Law and Gospel is how this thorny issue will finally be resolved. And here is why.
Contemporary worship advocates are basically saying, when all is said and done, "you must lift up your hands and hearts toward heaven and praise the Lord. After all, the Savior died for you. Don't you want to do that? You do want to please God, don't you? You do want to tell him how you feel about him, and that you love him. Right?"
Contemporary worship advocates are basically saying, when all is said and done, "you must lift up your hands and hearts toward heaven and praise the Lord. After all, the Savior died for you. Don't you want to do that? You do want to please God, don't you? You do want to tell him how you feel about him, and that you love him. Right?"
Therein lies the problem: CoWo is law.
What the CoWo advocate won't tell you is that CoWo is a basic denial of total depravity. They posit that you MUST lift yourself - and your voices - toward heaven, rather than, as in the liturgy, passively and quietly place ourselves before God, asking for His forgiveness in Word and Sacrament. Why must we? Can we? This is eerily similar to the Arminian argument that we can simply choose God as our Savior, which, similarly, is a complete denial of total depravity. What if we don't "feel" like praising Him in that way? What if we are depressed and cannot fulfill this "new law" worship requirement?
What the CoWo advocate won't tell you is that CoWo is a basic denial of total depravity. They posit that you MUST lift yourself - and your voices - toward heaven, rather than, as in the liturgy, passively and quietly place ourselves before God, asking for His forgiveness in Word and Sacrament. Why must we? Can we? This is eerily similar to the Arminian argument that we can simply choose God as our Savior, which, similarly, is a complete denial of total depravity. What if we don't "feel" like praising Him in that way? What if we are depressed and cannot fulfill this "new law" worship requirement?
It is rather ironic that CoWo advocates are the real legalists in this debate. They are pushing a law-based worship. Yet, they are the first ones to accuse the liturgist of legalism. The CoWo advocate needs to be reminded that we are totally-depraved, poor, and lost sinners in desperate need of forgiveness. We are not cheerleaders for God, nor can we be. The next time a CoWo advocate, however well-meaning they may be, tries to convince you of including CoWo in your worship, tell them "That is a new law. I cannot even fulfill God's requirements in Scripture, and I am unable to do so. I am only a poor, miserable sinner that needs His forgiveness. I don't need any additional laws. No thanks."
CoWo is law. Liturgy is Gospel.
CoWo is law. Liturgy is Gospel.
3/3/15
Worship and What We Believe
How we worship says a lot about what we believe. Our practice always follows our doctrine. The worship wars have been going on for a while now. It seems that the newer cutting edge forms of worship are winning out. Contemporary worship has found its way into just about every (if not every) church body, while the old church liturgy has been jettisoned in many a church.
Whereas many churches are championing their contemporary worship, updated technology, and talented musicians and vocalists, other churches are bucking the trend and sticking to the old liturgy, while others (a very small minority) are jettisoning all forms of structure altogether, even arguing that the new contemporary forms of worship have too much structure, and that these forms of structure are not found in the bible. (See Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna)
As an aside, I highly recommend the long series Pr. William Weedon did on Issues, Etc. regarding the liturgy. It's well worth the listen.
What a church believes about what is happening in worship will drive how it actually worships. Numerous questions need to be addressed in this discussion. I will try to handle a few of them.
1. Is Christ present in the worship service?
a. If Christ is truly present in the service, our worship will take a different form than if he is not. If he is present, the focus will be on Christ addressing us first and only then do we respond to Him in thanksgiving. He leads and we respond.
b. If Christ is not present in our worship service, the focus and structure will change radically. Our worship will be centered on our acts of praise to God. We lead and we respond. This is not to say that these forms of worship are not about Christ.
2. What is the major purpose of the service?
a. If the main purpose is Christ objectively giving us His gifts of forgiveness and salvation through Word and Sacrament, then once again, the focus and structure of the service will be on Christ delivering these things to us.
b. If the main purpose is for us to offer up our praise to God (which certainly is part of any service), then the entire service will revolve around that. Yes, there will usually be a teaching session (sermon) and some exposition from God's Word. However, this belief makes the service more about our sacrifice for God and less about His sacrifice for us.
3. What does the church believe about the Lord's Supper?
a. If Christ is truly present in the Holy Supper, giving us His true body and blood, then our worship in this regard will take the form of receiving of a gift. Again, Christ acts first and gives us His gifts and we are but passive recipients of these gifts.
b. If the Lord's Supper is a memorial or a symbol of Christ's work at Calvary, the focus again shifts to us in some form. For certain, the memorialist/symbolic stance remembers Christ when they partake. But if there is no direct and objective divine giving involved in the Lord's Supper proper, then the Sacrament becomes a pious remembrance and not a direct giving from God for life, forgiveness, and salvation.
In summary, the points labeled with an a. represent the Divine Service or the Mass. These represent the old traditional Christian liturgy. The liturgy is structured as such for the reason that we are there to receive Christ and His gifts directly in Word and Sacrament, among other things. Churches use this liturgy precisely because of what they believe the Mass is. It is Christ present with us to deliver to us His gifts.
The points labeled with a b. represent the contemporary worship of American evangelicalism. Why are American evangelical churches structured in this manner? I posit that it is precisely because of what they believe regarding the presence of Christ, the purpose of worship, and their symbolic stance on Holy Communion.
What we believe about the purpose of worship and the Real Presence really do drive how we worship. If we truly believe Christ is present in Word and Sacrament for us and for the forgiveness of our sins, then there simply is no way the focus of our worship can ever be anything but that. He is there. And if we believe that, our pious praise and thanksgiving can never usurp the fact that Christ is our Prophet, Priest, and King, and that He is there to address us and give us His gifts.
This is why the contemporary worship structure of American evangelicalism simply does not work in a Lutheran parish. Why so many Lutheran congregations want to adopt this worship structure is beyond me. The structure itself is a tacit denial of the Real Presence of Christ in Word and Sacrament in the Mass. This structure of the service confesses that Christ is not present and that our worship is to be mainly about us giving back to God, as opposed to God still giving to us through the gifts that He has ordained for us. What we are unwittingly doing is adopting a form of worship that flows naturally from a particular Confession of faith. Namely, American non-denominational Baptist. We simply cannot be Lutheran in doctrine and Baptist in practice. As silly as it would be to walk into a non-denominational (Baptist) church and see the pastor dressed in vestments and beginning the service with the sign of the cross - it should be just as silly to walk into a Confessional Lutheran church and see a praise band of which the pastor is a part and that the pastor is dressed no differently than the other musicians. Why should we let Chuck Smith (Calvary Chapel) dictate how we worship?
Far from being a rant about different styles of music; what should concern us most is the structure being used. What we are confessing when we adopt the American evangelical worship structure is one of two things, whether we know it or not.
1. Christ is not present in our worship service and this is evidenced by us claiming that our acts for God are the primary focus. If people confess this, they are neither Sacramental in their theology and therefore not Lutheran. Why are they then trying to change the structure of the Divine Service? Or,
2. Christ is present in our service and our acts still should take precedence.
In the first case, we have adopted non-Sacramental -and thus non-Lutheran- theology. In the second case, well, how much more prideful and silly can we be?
Lutherans worship like Lutherans. This means that we confess that Christ is present among us in the Mass. We need to stop trying to be something we are not.
Pax
Whereas many churches are championing their contemporary worship, updated technology, and talented musicians and vocalists, other churches are bucking the trend and sticking to the old liturgy, while others (a very small minority) are jettisoning all forms of structure altogether, even arguing that the new contemporary forms of worship have too much structure, and that these forms of structure are not found in the bible. (See Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna)
As an aside, I highly recommend the long series Pr. William Weedon did on Issues, Etc. regarding the liturgy. It's well worth the listen.
What a church believes about what is happening in worship will drive how it actually worships. Numerous questions need to be addressed in this discussion. I will try to handle a few of them.
1. Is Christ present in the worship service?
a. If Christ is truly present in the service, our worship will take a different form than if he is not. If he is present, the focus will be on Christ addressing us first and only then do we respond to Him in thanksgiving. He leads and we respond.
b. If Christ is not present in our worship service, the focus and structure will change radically. Our worship will be centered on our acts of praise to God. We lead and we respond. This is not to say that these forms of worship are not about Christ.
2. What is the major purpose of the service?
a. If the main purpose is Christ objectively giving us His gifts of forgiveness and salvation through Word and Sacrament, then once again, the focus and structure of the service will be on Christ delivering these things to us.
b. If the main purpose is for us to offer up our praise to God (which certainly is part of any service), then the entire service will revolve around that. Yes, there will usually be a teaching session (sermon) and some exposition from God's Word. However, this belief makes the service more about our sacrifice for God and less about His sacrifice for us.
3. What does the church believe about the Lord's Supper?
a. If Christ is truly present in the Holy Supper, giving us His true body and blood, then our worship in this regard will take the form of receiving of a gift. Again, Christ acts first and gives us His gifts and we are but passive recipients of these gifts.
b. If the Lord's Supper is a memorial or a symbol of Christ's work at Calvary, the focus again shifts to us in some form. For certain, the memorialist/symbolic stance remembers Christ when they partake. But if there is no direct and objective divine giving involved in the Lord's Supper proper, then the Sacrament becomes a pious remembrance and not a direct giving from God for life, forgiveness, and salvation.
In summary, the points labeled with an a. represent the Divine Service or the Mass. These represent the old traditional Christian liturgy. The liturgy is structured as such for the reason that we are there to receive Christ and His gifts directly in Word and Sacrament, among other things. Churches use this liturgy precisely because of what they believe the Mass is. It is Christ present with us to deliver to us His gifts.
The points labeled with a b. represent the contemporary worship of American evangelicalism. Why are American evangelical churches structured in this manner? I posit that it is precisely because of what they believe regarding the presence of Christ, the purpose of worship, and their symbolic stance on Holy Communion.
What we believe about the purpose of worship and the Real Presence really do drive how we worship. If we truly believe Christ is present in Word and Sacrament for us and for the forgiveness of our sins, then there simply is no way the focus of our worship can ever be anything but that. He is there. And if we believe that, our pious praise and thanksgiving can never usurp the fact that Christ is our Prophet, Priest, and King, and that He is there to address us and give us His gifts.
This is why the contemporary worship structure of American evangelicalism simply does not work in a Lutheran parish. Why so many Lutheran congregations want to adopt this worship structure is beyond me. The structure itself is a tacit denial of the Real Presence of Christ in Word and Sacrament in the Mass. This structure of the service confesses that Christ is not present and that our worship is to be mainly about us giving back to God, as opposed to God still giving to us through the gifts that He has ordained for us. What we are unwittingly doing is adopting a form of worship that flows naturally from a particular Confession of faith. Namely, American non-denominational Baptist. We simply cannot be Lutheran in doctrine and Baptist in practice. As silly as it would be to walk into a non-denominational (Baptist) church and see the pastor dressed in vestments and beginning the service with the sign of the cross - it should be just as silly to walk into a Confessional Lutheran church and see a praise band of which the pastor is a part and that the pastor is dressed no differently than the other musicians. Why should we let Chuck Smith (Calvary Chapel) dictate how we worship?
Far from being a rant about different styles of music; what should concern us most is the structure being used. What we are confessing when we adopt the American evangelical worship structure is one of two things, whether we know it or not.
1. Christ is not present in our worship service and this is evidenced by us claiming that our acts for God are the primary focus. If people confess this, they are neither Sacramental in their theology and therefore not Lutheran. Why are they then trying to change the structure of the Divine Service? Or,
2. Christ is present in our service and our acts still should take precedence.
In the first case, we have adopted non-Sacramental -and thus non-Lutheran- theology. In the second case, well, how much more prideful and silly can we be?
Lutherans worship like Lutherans. This means that we confess that Christ is present among us in the Mass. We need to stop trying to be something we are not.
Pax
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