In 1 Corinthians 14 we are enjoined to sing with both the spirit and the understanding. Christians are expected to be intelligent in the ways of the Lord, and not to be “children in understanding.” There is, however, another element in singing which is of equal importance. Without the melody of the heart, it is impossible to render acceptable praise to the Lord.
This might be gathered from the general tenor of both Old and New Testaments. But to mark its extreme importance, we find it repeatedly expressed in definite terms. The psalmist desires more than once to praise Jehovah with his “whole heart” (Psa. 9:1; 111:1; 138:1). And the Christian with his higher privileges and greater responsibilities is not to be behind the Jew. In two of Paul’s epistles there are special exhortations to this effect: “Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19); “singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16).
Heart and Mind
The heart, therefore, must be right before the Lord, as well as the mind. Otherwise, though the expressions be as “clear as crystal,” they will be as “cold as ice.” To avoid this, it is necessary that both should be in exercise, that the mind should contribute spiritual intelligence, and the heart sacred emotion.
Scripture shows that there is an intimate connection between the two and that the heart exercises a considerable influence over the mind. When the declension of man from the knowledge of God to the darkness and corruption of heathendom is described, it is first stated that they “became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened.” It then follows that “even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind” (Rom. 1:21,28). The heart foolish and darkened was the precursor of the reprobate mind. Again, the Apostle prays for the Ephesians that God would give them “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your heart [JND trans.] being enlightened: that ye may know what is the hope of His calling.” So it is clear that while the knowledge of God was lost through the darkening of the heart, the full knowledge of Him is now communicated through the enlightening of the heart. Since the heart, therefore, is the highway to every true and proper apprehension of the things of God, it is of the highest importance that the heart should be strictly guarded, even as it is said, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). So the Apostle writes to the Philippians, “The peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7), thus pointing out what alone can form an efficient garrison for the central citadel of man’s nature.
Scripture uniformly teaches that the heart is the core of man’s being. It is the seat of the affections and of the impulses that carry man forward in the path of life. The Lord Himself declared to those who were content to make clean the exterior of the platter that there is a fountain of uncleanness within, which they entirely ignored. It is from the heart that proceeds everything that defiles (Matt. 15:19). The evil heart of the natural man, therefore, gives a color to his every action, for it is thence the mischief springs (Matt. 5:28; 1 John 3:15). On the other hand, the heart of the renewed man is so to characterize every action that it may prove good and acceptable before God. As servants of Christ we are to do “the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6). To this end the love of God has been “shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5). Indeed the very Spirit of God Himself is in our hearts to originate and characterize every affection. This the Apostle teaches: “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6; 2 Cor. 1:22).
This fact is of great moment to such as have learned the deceitfulness of the natural heart (Jer. 17:9). We are not left to ourselves to produce proper feelings Godward. He who gives us right thoughts of God and the Father gives us right feelings too, for He is the Spirit of love as well as of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). It is He who fills the heart with such a sense of the incomparable love of God (Rom. 5:5) that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34-35; Luke 6:45).
Melody of the Heart
This constitutes the melody of the heart. But while it cannot exist apart from the offices of the Holy Spirit, the responsibility to produce it abides upon the singer, as our text implies. The one who utters the praises of the Lord with the lip is expected to offer concurrent melody in the heart, for the Holy Spirit assuredly will not act unless the believer honors His presence here upon the earth and yields himself to His direction. It is therefore incumbent upon the worshipper to assume this attitude of faith and dependence in order to secure the operation of the Holy Spirit without which no sacrifice of praise can be acceptable on high.
Though running the risk of being considered tedious, one ventures to point out the further emphasis given to the point now being dwelt upon in Ephesians 5:19. There the saints are exhorted, not to sing alone, nor to make melody in the heart alone, but to sing and make melody in the heart. No degree of melody with the voice can become an equivalent substitute for melody in the heart according to the words before us.
And yet it is painful to think that there are not a few who practically maintain that a correct mechanical rendering of hymns to God will be sufficient for Him who desires truth in the inward parts. Let such seriously consider the solemn warning words of the Lord to the scribes and Pharisees. “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain do they worship Me” (Matt. 15:7-9). They were, in fact, but “things without life, giving sound.”
Musical Instruments
It is imperative therefore that along with the tuneful voice there should be the melodious accompaniment of the heart. This is to take the place of the musical instruments of the temple worship. The Christian is not invited to praise the Lord with the sound of a trumpet, with the psaltery and the harp and the high sounding cymbals; nevertheless his song should be distinct with the pathos and holy enthusiasm of the inner man. And shall we for one moment compare the “sounding brass,” the “tinkling cymbal,” or even the “pealing organ” with the rapturous glow of a fervent soul born of God and led by the Spirit into the possession and apprehension of the high and lofty privileges which the New Testament reveals as the inalienable portion of the Christian? It will be to compare death with life.
With Grace in the Heart
In Colossians we are bidden to sing “with grace” in our hearts. Grace always expresses the superabundant manner in which God has met our sinful need. Hence grace is surely calculated to move the soul to its inmost depths. Those who contemplate the love of Christ, in that He has washed them from their sins in His own blood and made them kings and priests to God and His Father, cannot fail to ascribe to Him the glory and dominion forever and ever.
Grace, while it establishes the heart (Heb. 13:9) and enables us to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear (Heb. 12:28), also provokes the heart into outbursts of praise and thanksgiving to God, for it is to God we sing in Colossians as the Author of grace, while in Ephesians the Lord is before the soul evoking the melodies of the heart—“making melody in the heart to the Lord.”
The Secret
And it may surely be said that herein lies the secret of this heart-melody. If any ask, “How may I produce this inward harmony?” the answer is, Let Christ be before the soul. Why does the tongue so often sing while the heart is silent? Is it not because the blessed person of our Savior and Lord is forgotten? The voice joins listlessly with others, but the heart is apathetic and dull or even engaged with the most worthless thoughts. Oh! for faith so to realize His presence that in this as in other things we might exhibit a demeanor becoming to us and, if we may so speak, worthy of Him.
May we not say that it was the sense of the Lord’s presence in the Philippian dungeon that caused Paul and Silas to sing “songs in the night”? If the Lord was not in this case the object of their praise, He was, as He always must be, the subject of that praise. Therefore they sang aloud, making melody in their hearts. They were not as those who sing “songs to a heavy heart,” for the presence of the Lord makes even “the tongue of the dumb to sing” (Isa. 35:6), and none of His redeemed can be sad before Him, for the light of the Master’s face transfigures even circumstances of sorrow into occasions of joy.
The Heart Yielded
Above all things, therefore, let the heart yield its melody to the Lord. One often sees public notices to the effect, “Voices wanted for the church choir,” when, the truth is, hearts are wanted. These, however, cannot be obtained by advertisement. “No heart but of the Spirit taught makes melody to Thee.” It is not the cultivated voice but the renewed heart that the Father seeks. It should be a comfort, therefore, to those whose singing consists only in making “a joyful noise to the Lord” that they can, at any rate, make melody in their hearts. At the same time, they should moderate the loudness of their efforts lest they tax too severely the keener sensibilities of their more musical brethren, while the latter should endure any harsh grating sounds with cheerfulness and grace, remembering that their own praises are not heard on high for their fine or scientific singing.
The sentiments of quaint Thomas Fuller on this point are good in the main. “Lord,” says he, “my voice by nature is harsh and untunable, and it is vain to lavish any art to better it. Can my singing of psalms be pleasing to Thy ears which is unpleasant to my own? Yet though I cannot chant with the nightingale or chirp with the blackbird, I had rather chatter with the swallow (Isa. 38:14), yea, rather croak with the raven, than be altogether silent. Hadst Thou given me a better voice, I would have praised Thee with a better voice. Now what my music wants in sweetness let it have in sense, singing praises with understanding. Yea, Lord, create in me a new heart (therein to make melody), and I will be contented with my old voice, until, in Thy due time, being admitted into the choir of heaven, I have another, more harmonious, bestowed upon me.”
Adapted from W. J. Hocking, Bible Treasury