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A mansion, a harp, and a crown

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no_harps_allowedI was at a funeral of a longtime member of the Church of Christ the other day. The family requested several traditional hymns be sung by the entire congregation. The person who prepared the slides apparently retrieved the lyrics to those songs from the Internet, rather than “approved” brotherhood sources. Therefore, when we sang the traditional Mansion Over The Hilltop, I was surprised to see these lyrics in one of the verses:

Don’t think me poor Lord, deserted or lonely
I’m not discouraged, ’cause I’m heaven bound
I’m just a pilgrim in search of a city
I want a mansion, a harp, and a crown.

If you didn’t grow up in the Church of Christ, you’re probably not surprised by those lyrics. That’s how the song was originally written. But most of us in the CofC grew up singing: “I want a mansion, a robe, and a crown.”

There are hundreds of examples of lyrics that were changed to protect our brotherhood from false doctrine. But this one surprised me. And pained me. For it was changing away from a biblical concept* in order to protect a treasured doctrine: a cappella singing. This song appropriates a lot of images of heaven and the afterlife that the Bible uses; a harp is one of those images. It fits the song’s use of biblical imagery, but it doesn’t fit our doctrines.

I’ve run into this before. At one church, during a singing night, I dared to read Psalm 150. I naively thought no one would question someone reading a portion of Scripture. I was wrong. How dare I read about instrumental music during a singing night!

I’m not here to discuss the rightness or wrongness of our stance on instruments; I may address that one day. But when you start avoiding Scripture and scriptural terms just because they make you uncomfortable… that’s a pretty bad precedent to set.

*Please note that there is a lot to question in general about the “doctrine” in this song, from the mistranslated “mansion” to the literal approach to symbolic language… not to mention the materialism expressed.

What Christian lyrics especially speak to you?

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We’ve been discussing music a bit lately. I asked the other day about songs or parts of songs that you refuse to sing. Then yesterday I was talking about Keith Green and the impact he had on my life.

That got me to thinking again about lyrics, but in a positive way. What are some lyrics that especially speak to you? I’m especially interested in songs that may not be the ones that are sung every Sunday.

I’m interested to know what you think of. I’ll mention a few in the comment section during the day, but first I’d like to hear some of your favorites.

Choosing silence over song

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As I’ve said before, I take singing seriously. I don’t believe in singing to get the congregation quiet. I don’t believe that talking during a song is any more acceptable than holding a conversation during a prayer. (especially since many songs are prayers)

I try to pay attention to the words when I sing. I do my best to avoid singing things I don’t really believe or agree with. I don’t hold anybody else to my choices; I’m not offended if someone wants to sing something I choose not to (unlike the producers of Sacred Selections of the Church, who saw it necessary to “correct” the words to many hymns. My friends in college used to call that hymnal “Scared Selections”)

For example, our Spanish hymnal at church has two hymns that talk about the new Jerusalem having streets of gold and a sea of crystal. Problem is, in Revelation, those two things are mutually exclusive. That is, when the new Jerusalem appears with its streets of gold, the sea no longer exists. I prefer not to sing that one.

There’s another one in Spanish that talks about Christians always smiling, even when bad things happen. I’m a believer in consistent joy, but that doesn’t mean we’re always smiling. There is room for “weep with those who weep” in the Christian life.

Here’s a few others:

  • “I want a mansion, a robe and a crown…”—The whole “Mansion Over The Hilltop” has questionable lyrics, but that line really gets me. That’s not where my focus is. I want to be in the presence of God; anything He chooses to give me beyond that won’t really matter at that point.
  • “The Evergreen Valley”—Maybe someone can point me to something in the Bible about such a place. Until then, I’ll just smile and listen.
  • “May Your kingdom be established in our praises”—Sorry, I don’t even know what that line is supposed to mean. I’d just as soon not sing it.

There are others, but I guess you get the drift. What about you? Any lyrics that you are uncomfortable singing?