The Him Hymnal

The Bible is many things. It is the world’s best-selling book, year after year, with no signs of waning popularity despite what culture would have us believe; it is a historical document, chronicling the creation, rebellion, and redemption of the human race; the Bible is also a book of prophecy, outlining not only that which was, but that which will surely come to pass; and, the Bible is a love letter, penned across generations and continents to an adopted people in Christ who, one day, will no longer be separated by either time or distance.

The word of God is also the world’s greatest hymn book, penned by Him who is reality’s foremost author, poet, artist, mathematician, and musician all rolled into one. From Genesis to the Psalms to Revelation, all of holy Scripture serves as creation’s hymnal with a single, solitary focus: Him, the Lord God Almighty. Every word in the Bible—each jot, tittle, and iota, every minute stroke of the pen—sings of the glory of God alongside the gathered voices of the stars, trees, and roaring seas. The Bible is a Him book, a Him hymnal, a Him-nal—that is, it’s all about Him.

In every word of holy Scripture we should strive to see the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3). The Lord Jesus, the living Word of God made flesh (John 1:14), was the Father’s agent in creation from the beginning, the very Word of God who spoke light and life and order into a chaotic, primordial universe in Genesis 1:

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:1-3). 

If we are to understand God’s word at all, we must follow every syllable back to the feet of the Word Himself. Indeed, casting His shadow over each word, proverb, prophecy, and story in the Bible is the Word: Jesus was there in the beginning, bringing light to darkness; Jesus was the one prophesied of in the Garden, the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent; Jesus was the one who shut the door of the ark behind Noah, securing the remnant from whom He would ultimately be born as Messiah; Jesus was the ram caught in the thickets when Abraham went to sacrifice his son Isaac, foreshadowing the sacrifice of God’s own Son on that very hill centuries later—only, this Father’s hand would not be stayed as Abraham’s was.

It’s all about Him. Is it any wonder, then, that on the road to Emmaus the risen Christ, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). The Lord Jesus Christ is the interpretive key to understanding everything in the Bible—the Him hymnal. It is from this Christ-centered vantagepoint of understanding—growing in the knowledge of both the word of God and the world of God—that we can then worship Him appropriately.

The words of the Bible testify to God’s steadfast love and faithfulness, unveiling His marvelous gift of salvation in Christ across a fallen cosmos in what is history’s mightiest song. Indeed, the Bible instructs us as His image-bearers in the knowledge of God so that we may then raise our voices in the conscious, joyful praise of Him with the rest of creation. The works of His hands—the howling black holes, lion cubs, and subatomic particles—need no reminder of who God is or that He is worthy of praise: we are the ones who have forgotten. Of creation it is said that, “Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge” (Psalm 19:2)—can the same be said of you and I? We would do well to listen thoughtfully to creation’s song and, after having matured in our understanding, add in our own verse of praise.

When we read the Bible, the Spirit of God instructs us in the knowledge of Him to the end that we may then respond with praise—with hymns, songs, prayers, and meditations of the heart that are pleasing in His sight. As the psalmist says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). Our meditations, and the words and songs that will eventually accompany these thoughts, flow from a heart that has been saturated in and renewed by the word of God.

The Psalms in particular are too precious to be read only. These words must be sung, whether vocally, in prayer, or as that tune which echoes in your own heart as the day passes by. Let the words of God Himself fill your mind such that they trickle down into your soul like a steady stream, resonating within and without that you are indeed a child of the Father, numbered among His precious little ones in Christ and filled with His Spirit. Preach and sing these truths to yourself morning and evening, renewing your mind with the words of the Word, always “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (Ephesians 5:19).

Throughout history, the Psalms have not only served as the Church’s hymnal, but as a book of prayer as well. Whether in seasons of want or fullness, wandering or wondering, joy or sorrow, the Psalms have given voice to countless saints along every leg of their earthly pilgrimage. Millions upon millions of voices have found refuge and utterance in the Psalms, fashioning a mighty cathedral of God’s people throughout the ages, crying and singing and praying God’s own words back to Him in worship and joyful expectation.

Indeed, there are no examples given us in all the world that are better suited for personal and corporate prayer than the Psalms. These words comprise the very treasury of King David himself, and, far more importantly, the very words the Word Himself turned to in His hour of greatest agony. On the cross the Lord drew from the Psalms as He cried out to the Father, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1). If Jesus Himself turned to the Psalms for utterance, surely we can do the same for any and all of our own life’s troubles.

In the Gospels, the Lord Jesus provides us with yet another pattern of prayer, aptly called ‘The Lord’s Prayer.’ The Lord’s Prayer appears twice in the Gospels, once in Matthew 6:9-13 and again in the Gospel of Luke, 11:2-4. While these two prayers are very similar, they are in fact slightly different, despite both being titled as ‘The Lord’s Prayer.’ Matthew’s prayer is taken from the Sermon on the Mount and is the longer of the two, while Luke’s account is slightly shorter and recorded as being from an entirely separate occasion. How might we reconcile these variations?

Dr. John Neufeld thoughtfully observed that the differences between the two versions of The Lord’s Prayer, slight as they may be, should be a source of great joy and liberty for Christians. These differences in length and content demonstrate the reality that—in line with God’s desire for the type of prayer that pleases Him—there exists a certain flexibility within the structure He has given to us. Like the Psalms, we can insert our own words, burdens, and desires into the structure of Jesus’ prayer, while at no point straying from God’s intended will for how we are to address Him. The Lord’s Prayer is how we ought to pray, Jesus teaches, not necessarily what we must pray word-for-word anytime we speak to our Father.

In adopting the words from His very own hymnal, the Bible, we cry out to Him in prayer and praise through our union with the living Word, as His Spirit gives us utterance. Prayer then, like creation and redemption, is a trinitarian work wherein we are drawn into the life of the Divine, addressing Him in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with our hearts and lips and lives.

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Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust, Unsplash

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