Streams of mercy never ceasingCall for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnetSung by flaming tongues abovePraise the mount, I’m fixed upon itMount of Thy redeeming love
I watch people during the “worship service,” which every equates to the song service. Most just sing the words without noticing the meaning. Even in contemporary services this is still true. The beat of the drums, the lead guitar, the loud bass, the music gets everyone’s attention, not the words. No matter how hard the worship leader for either genre tries to get the crowd to pay attention to the words, it’s the music that is the lead.
So at the end of the service, we sing 100 stanzas of Just as I Am or 7 words 11 times of a contemporary song just to drive home a point. So Just as I AM, turns into “please hurry up the Methodist is beating us to the restaurants.” Or for the contemporary it is turn up the bass.
But look at the words of this famous hymn, Come thou Fount. Yesterday we looked at the first three lines, let’s look at a few more. “Streams of mercy never ceasing.” Sounds pretty simple. God’s mercy. Yes, we receive it. Next song. But stop. What about this continuous mercy? It flows not only to you, it also flows to your family. It flows to your spouse, your children, your grandchildren. This undeserved attribute of God is freely given, does it not call for songs of loudest praise? If we sung like we were at a sporting event, the church would rock. Loudest praise for His with holding of judgment. Loudest praise for His care over us. Loudest praise for His sacrifice for our sins. It is just more than a song, it is a cry of thanksgiving for what we do not deserve. Think about it.