1. Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up and you will find a blessing.2. Sing lustily, and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of it being heard, then when you sing the songs of Satan.
3. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, as to be heard above, or distinct from, the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.
4. Sing in time. Whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before, not stay behind it; but attend closely to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can. And take care you sing not too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from among us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.
5. Above all, sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this, attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve of here, and reward when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.
UM Hymnal, p. vii
1 comment:
I love these rules for singing. There are some things we could do to help us follow them better.
For one thing, select congregational songs that are easier to sing. It's true of some of the hymns we sing, but "contemporary" songs in particular are often not very easy to sing.
Also, the musical instruments and/or song leaders should not dominate and drown out the congregation.
Many songs are good except they need to be dropped a key so that men can sing them. Whatever church I'm in, I'm in the habit of watching to see if the men sing and in most cases many of the men don't. I think that sometimes it's because the songs are just keyed too high.
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