St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

In our "Questions to the clergy" slot, John will try to answer any query you throw at him, without hesitation, deviation or repetition...

As inspired as David?

Q. A few months ago you put a song based on a psalm in the magazine.* To be honest it was a bit judgemental! What makes you think such a psalm is inspired by God? Don’t you think a modern praise song is just as inspired as an old psalm?

A. I don't know exactly how God inspired the writers of scripture, so it's a bit hard for me to say how his inspiration of them differed from his inspiration of modern songwriters. But here's my line of reasoning:

I start with the scriptures being historical documents. They lead me to consider the nature of Jesus. Along the lines of CS Lewis, I find myself forced to admit that Jesus really did make claims to be God, and it's not possible for him simply to have been a good teacher. I find I have to choose between him being "mad, bad or God". I find the resurrection impossible to explain away, because all the natural explanations fail to chime in with the way the historical documents have actually come down to us. I therefore have to conclude that God exists, the resurrection happened, and in it God was validating the claims made by Jesus.

From that, I go back to look again at scripture. I ask myself what Jesus thought of scripture, and I discover that he thought (a) the Old Testament was inspired by God, and (b) the Holy Spirit would teach his immediate followers the things about himself (where I think Jesus is saying that the New Testament would be inspired by the Holy Spirit). That's basically why I have a high regard for the bible: it is validated by Jesus.

So about the psalms: Jesus treated the psalms as if they were God's word, so that's the way I have to treat them. On the other hand Jesus did not make any reference to the words of modern songwriters as being God's word. So I don't think modern songs are on the same level as the psalms in the bible.

About modern songs, I think John 14 and 16 say that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is not to reveal new things out of the blue, but to unpack the things which Jesus has already said. So when someone claims to have written a song by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is right for us to check this out by seeing if it agrees with the way God has already revealed himself in Jesus. The bible is our test of whether a song is inspired or not.

John Hartley

* Last June - I guess? - a song based on Psalm 50.

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. April 2008, Page 6.
Home Page. Index of articles: by subject, by date. In this issue: (April 2008) Resurrection, Hymn, Annual Meeting, Question, Humble Access. Other questions.	In our "Questions to the clergy" slot, John will try to answer any query you throw at him, without hesitation, deviation or repetition... As inspired as David? Q. A few months ago you put a song based on a psalm in the magazine.* To be honest it was a bit judgemental! What makes you think such a psalm is inspired by God? Don’t you think a modern praise song is just as inspired as an old psalm? A. I don't know exactly how God inspired the writers of scripture, so it's a bit hard for me to say how his inspiration of them differed from his inspiration of modern songwriters. But here's my line of reasoning: I start with the scriptures being historical documents. They lead me to consider the nature of Jesus. Along the lines of CS Lewis, I find myself forced to admit that Jesus really did make claims to be God, and it's not possible for him simply to have been a good teacher. I find I have to choose between him being "mad, bad or God". I find the resurrection impossible to explain away, because all the natural explanations fail to chime in with the way the historical documents have actually come down to us. I therefore have to conclude that God exists, the resurrection happened, and in it God was validating the claims made by Jesus. From that, I go back to look again at scripture. I ask myself what Jesus thought of scripture, and I discover that he thought (a) the Old Testament was inspired by God, and (b) the Holy Spirit would teach his immediate followers the things about himself (where I think Jesus is saying that the New Testament would be inspired by the Holy Spirit). That's basically why I have a high regard for the bible: it is validated by Jesus. So about the psalms: Jesus treated the psalms as if they were God's word, so that's the way I have to treat them. On the other hand Jesus did not make any reference to the words of modern songwriters as being God's word. So I don't think modern songs are on the same level as the psalms in the bible. About modern songs, I think John 14 and 16 say that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is not to reveal new things out of the blue, but to unpack the things which Jesus has already said. So when someone claims to have written a song by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is right for us to check this out by seeing if it agrees with the way God has already revealed himself in Jesus. The bible is our test of whether a song is inspired or not. John Hartley * Last June - I guess? - a song based on Psalm 50.
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