Truth in Music: "Marching to Zion"

After a recent discussion on the lyrics of "Father Abraham" and how a simple child's song contains strong scriptural truth, and thinking of some of the depth of meaning contained within other hymns that I love; I wanted to share some thoughts on the content of Christian songs.

The most important thing that I want to convey in this is: we should be considering what we are singing. One of the stated purposes for music within church and in our lives is for the sake of "teaching and admonishing" ourselves and others (Col 3:16). When we are singing things toward God or about Him, we shouldn't merely be making noise with no thought. God demands worship that is in both "spirit and truth" (John 14:17), and that applies to our music. Even more, we are told that our singing should be both in the spirit, but also in understanding (I Cor 14:15). We should not be singing about or to God without both of those things.
When you consider the content of the music more than just the sound of it, you can find some significant things. Some music is mostly fluff, little content doctrinally or practically, and I personally find it hard to get excited to sing such (even when the music is beautiful). Some hymns are just plain wrong in what they say, and I choose not to sing those (though that's not a problem I usually face). Then there are those that convey great depth of meaning and teach wonderful lessons from the word of God.

I intend for this to be the first in a series of posts about various hymns that have caught my attention for their depth. It is a goal of mine to stir those around me up to consider the things they sing a little better and to appreciate the truth that can be found therein.
I also may include information about the author that I find to be of particular value for hope or edification.

 Marching to Zion

By Issac Watts

Let's take a moment to think about Issac Watts.

He is one of the most prolific writers of hymns (around 750), and if that were all we knew about him, he would be most impressive. However, he did far more than simply write a lot.

He is consider the "father of English hymnody" for a good reason. During the time that he began writing; almost all singing in church was from psalters, words from the Psalms put into meter to make them easier to sing. There were those who opposed the idea of making songs for church from material outside of scripture. To remedy such concerns, Watts made many of his hymns by taking passages of scripture outside of the Psalms and combining them into songs about specific topics, and then adding in ideas regarding the Christian life.

Throughout his work, you can see his other strong interest shining through. This other interest was that of logic. The depth of ideas and consistent reasoning found within his hymns matches up with a man that loved the use of reasoning. He wrote Logic, or The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard Against Error in the Affairs of Religion and Human Life, as well as in the Sciences, which was published in 1724 and was used as a textbook in logic classes for some of the most prestigious English speaking universities for a long period of time.

I will freely confess that the hymns of Watts hold several high positions in my list of favorites.

Why this particular song first?
I almost always have some musical piece floating around in my head, and this one has been recently. While enjoying the soundtrack that it was providing that particular day, it occurred to me how powerful the doctrine of the third verse is. I was moved to want to share the thoughts with someone else. Yet, as I thought about that, I thought through the rest of the verses and could see that same kind of truth in every one.
No, this song does not make the top ten list for me (this week, since it is prone to change), but I still want to share how marvelous the reasoning of its words can be for the Christian.

(I have simplified the verses by removing the repeated lines found in the version of this song that I know) 

A recording of this hymn to enjoy while you read.

1. Come, we that love the Lord,
and let our joys be known;
join in a song with sweet accord, 

and thus surround the throne. 

• "Come, we that love the Lord." The phrasing of the first line gives an emphatic call for the people of God. "Come!"
  The worship of God is not an onerous duty! We should be enthusiastic! If we have love for our God in our hearts, then there should be enthusiasm for giving Him the glory that is due to His name.
• "And let our joys be known." Again, following God is not a life of drudgery. There are great joys to be experienced by His children. Part of the fruit in a Christian's life to show that they have the Spirit within them is joy (Gal 5:22)! If you're lacking joy in worshiping God, the problem isn't with Him, it's with you.
  Not only should we have joy, but it is a blessed duty to let that joy be known to those around us. Why would you ever be ashamed to let others see and hear such a response?
• "Join in a song with sweet accord." This line is important to understanding the full meaning of this hymn. If you don't consider the full implication, you might miss some of the meaning of the rest.
  Where can one go to "join in" such a song? Where is there a "sweet accord?" You can't join something or have an accord while alone. This hymn is discussing how one should view the assembly of God's people, what they should do as part of it, and the benefits derived from being a part.
  That assembly, the "Zion" referenced in this song is the New Testament church. Now, I know some might question that assertion, instead looking to identify this as some other meaning of Zion, such as Jewish worship (past or supposed future) or Heaven. However, that assertion will be proven out later by other lines of the hymn.
•  "And thus surround the throne." Another reference to this being corporate worship of God. One person cannot "surround" something. But there is more there than just that additional indication.
  How can a fallen and sinful person come before the throne of the Blessed and Only Potentate? Is He not a "consuming fire" (Heb 12:29)? Indeed, but He accepts such lowly wretches as us!
  What manner of worship would He accept from us? Doesn't He expect "reverence and godly fear" (Heb 12:28)? Yes, but part of that reverence and fear is being joyful for what He has done!
  The "thus" of how we come before that throne is letting our "joys be known" while in "sweet accord" with our fellow brethren.

Refrain:

We're marching to Zion,

beautiful, beautiful Zion.

We're marching upward to Zion,

 the beautiful city of God.

• The refrain would be the least doctrinally heavy portion of the hymn, but even here it contains ideas that are significant.
• The word choice is plural, showing that it a group of people on a journey to approach God together.
• More than that, we see the attitude of the people of God toward going to be with His people. They view it as beautiful and of great value. It's not just a place that they are going, but to the place where they know that God dwells.

2. Let those refuse to sing
who never knew our God;
but children of the heavenly King, 

may speak their joys abroad. 

(Refrain)

• The second verse reflects the character of those who are God's children.
• This life and this world are hardly reasons to express joy for those that not the children of God. What cause have they for such surpassing gladness? Indeed, all of life and the things done in it are vanity (Ecc 1:14), and then comes death, which drives much of mankind to madness trying to avoid (Ecc 9:3).
  It should be of little shock to a thinking person that those who do not know God would refuse to show the joys of their lives in things like song and outward praise. They have truly nothing to be happy about and they have no one to express thankfulness to.
• Contrast that to the people of God from the second half of the verse. Start with the title they were just given: children, and heirs, of the King that rules over Heaven! Our inheritance is the perfect world; free of sin, sorrow, and pain, in which God rules forever. If that alone is not enough to make you want to proclaim the joys that you have abroad, your priorities are off; and that is just one part of what we have.
• This begs the question: which side do you show in your life? Do you find it a struggle to be happy, despite all that He has done? Do you give thanks to God for His infinite goodness? Either your priorities are off entirely, or you're showing the character of those in the first half of the verse.

3. The hill of Zion yields
a thousand sacred sweets 
before we reach the heavenly fields,
or walk the golden streets. 

(Refrain)

• These are the words that first drew me to wanting to share the content of a hymn with people in this format. The amount of depth here is easily overlooked, but should be appreciated by those who want to understand.
  Here we see the true identification of the Zion the hymn describes.
• This great city of  God gives us a multitude of spiritual blessings! Here we, as a group of believers, find the things that help sustain us and give us such transcendent joy. Why would we neglect such an opportunity for the things that make life truly worth living? We must identify where these things are to be found, so that we can have them for ourselves. 
• So, where is this Zion? It is in the local assembly of God's children, the church. Note, this takes place "before we reach" Heaven. Also, the sweets that are given are enjoyable right now, not at some other point in time. These words can not be addressing any place other than the church.
  Watts has managed well to fit with Hebrews 12:22-24 (an oft overlooked passage) in which the audience of the book is told that they have already come to "Mount Sion" and the "heavenly Jerusalem" and are in full communion with Christ, the angels, and the spirits of those purified children of God who've already passed to glory. We, as Christians are not waiting, as so many say, for a Jerusalem on this Earth (the city that contains Mount Zion). Instead, we're already part of one in Heaven! And one day, when our lives end, we'll merely be changing where our spirits reside rather than our relationship with it.

   
4. Then let our songs abound,
and every tear be dry;
we're marching through Emmanuel's ground, 

to fairer worlds on high. 

(Refrain)

• "Then let..." It should come as no surprise that a logician like Watts would choose to begin the last verse of this song with a logical conclusion. Because of the ideas contained within the other verses, we should have reached a clear thought on how we should respond to the worship of God. There is no ambiguity in the difference between a child of God with a heavenly mindset and those of the world.
• Our praise to God should be enthusiastic and frequent in His house, and the greatness of our God should be able to put away any of the hardships that we might face as part of our lives. Yes, there is a time and a place for tears, but what He has given in this world and the next for His children should help sustain us and cheer us, especially while surrounded by those of like mind.
• "We're marching through Emmanuel's ground." We're in the place that belongs to Emmanuel, "God with us." That place isn't Heaven, since we're marching to those "fairer worlds on high." That ground is something that is present with us now, so it's not a description of a coming kingdom or one of the past. This is a final indication of the identity of the Zion of the song being the church and the role that it should have in our lives. That church is where we get to have God with us in a special sense and as a group.
• "To fairer worlds on high." The church should be moving toward one goal together, and that's the coming of Jesus for His people and the Heaven that awaits. There is the focus of our lives, not the trivial matters of this world. While there are so many great blessings that we can enjoy in Christ now, they all pale before what is to come in eternity.

 So, there are some thoughts that come out from looking into the meaning of a hymn we sing.
Perhaps, like me, you've sung this song hundreds of times and have enjoyed doing so, but never considered the full content of the message within its lines. We are told in wonderful words about the way that we should view the worship of God, particularly in a corporate setting. We have been shown a clear distinction between those that are children of God with proper thinking and those who either lack God or the self-discipline of proper Christian thought. Most of all, we have seen that there is a tremendous list of positives for those that think and act with that proper way of living and acting. So, will we take that lesson to heart and live accordingly?
My only hope is that before you sing your next hymn, you'd look again. Consider the words on the page and what ideas you are speaking and admonishing by the lines coming out of your mouth.