Sing Hymns IV - Spiritual Growth for New Believers

Chapter 4: Classification of Poems

We can divide poetry into four categories: (1) Evangelistic trumpets, (2) Words of praise, (3) Christ as life, and (4) The church life.

First, Evangelistic trumpets. These are specifically meant for preaching the gospel. They include the feeling of sin, the state of sinners, God's love, God's righteousness, the redemption of the cross, human repentance, human faith, and so on.

Evangelistic hymns are meant for those hearing the gospel to sing along. There is a challenge here, as hymns are written by those who are already saved, and we have our own feelings. However, those hearing the gospel do not share the same feelings as us. To get them to sing hymns that express feelings they do not yet have is not easy. However, if God blesses these hymns, they can bring out many hidden needs in the sinner’s heart through the songs, allowing a sinner to see their own condition and recognize God’s salvation. Sometimes, sinners do not know how to cry out or how to come before God, but through the hymn, they are able to come before God and cry out, and the words of the hymn become their own words. Sometimes, hymns can be more effective than teachings, though they always require God’s blessing.

Evangelistic hymns printed in hymnals are for God’s children to apply. When preaching the gospel, it is best to print the hymns in large letters or as individual sheets for them to sing. Asking them to find a hymn in a hymnal is not ideal.

Second, Words of praise. From the moment we are saved, we receive joy from heaven, and from within us flows thanks and praise towards heaven. As we grow spiritually and gain a deeper and greater understanding of God’s love, righteousness, grace, and glory, our praise continuously rises from our hearts and from our mouths. This category of hymns encompasses all our praises to the Lord and to God.

Third, Christ as life. The purpose of God’s salvation is that we may live out the life of Christ. God does not ask us to imitate Christ; He asks for the resurrected Christ to live out through us. When Christ was on earth, He lived out His own life through the body He received from Mary. Since His resurrection and ascension, His body is the church, and He wants to live out His life through the church.

So, when we were sinners, our pursuit was salvation and justification. After we become saints, our pursuit is to know Christ’s life, experience Christ’s life, and live out Christ’s life. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). He lives on earth in our place. He dealt with our sins for us, He dealt with the temptations we face, He dealt with our flesh, He is our life, our holiness, our love, and our joy. It is He, not us. The work of the Holy Spirit in this age is for this purpose. From our pursuit of knowing the life within us, to this life being expressed in faith, fellowship, satisfaction, warfare, and service, all hymns related to this pursuit and experience of life are in this category.

Fourth, The church life. This includes the general Christian life, that is, all the other daily situations, circumstances, work, and affairs. This category includes hymns used for gatherings, marriages, love feasts, families, children, sickness, and so on.