By H. E. Singley, organist

Come, let us sing to the Lord!

Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

(Psalm 95:1, NLT)

There are several passages in Scripture which begin with the imperative, “Come.”

Come, see the glorious works of the Lord:

See how he brings destruction upon the world.

(Psalm 46:8)

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are

like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.”

(Isaiah 1:18)

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary

and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

(Matthew 11:28)

He who is the faithful witness to all these things says,

“Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

(Revelation 22:20)

The psalmist issues the invitation in Psalm 46, the Lord in Isaiah 1, and Jesus in Matthew 11. In Revelation 22, Jesus promises that He is coming soon, at which point John the apostle makes the entreaty, pleading that Jesus come—and come quickly!

In the meantime, in the “not yet,” consider again Psalm 100, verses one and two.

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness.

Come before him, singing with joy.

Consider the verse, “Come before him, singing with joy.” This invitation to come and sing is the emphasis of “Come, Christians, Join to Sing.”

Come, Christians, join to sing Alleluia! Amen!
Loud praise to Christ our King; Alleluia! Amen!
Let all, with heart and voice, before His throne rejoice;
Praise is His gracious choice: Alleluia! Amen!

Come, lift your hearts on high, Alleluia! Amen!
Let praises fill the sky; Alleluia! Amen!
He is our Guide and Friend; to us He’ll condescend;
His love shall never end: Alleluia! Amen!

Praise yet our Christ again, Alleluia! Amen!
Life shall not end the strain; Alleluia! Amen!
On heaven’s blissful shore His goodness we’ll adore,
Singing forevermore, “Alleluia! Amen!”

Poet Christian Henry Bateman was a nineteenth-century English pastor who began his service in the Moravian Church. While still in his thirties, he pastored three Congregational churches in Scotland and England. When in his fifties, he was ordained in the Church of England, serving three different parishes. “Come, Christians, Join to Sing” was part of a hymnal this pastor edited, Sacred Melodies for Sabbath Schools and Families, which had an influential and widespread role in Sunday Schools in Scotland. In its original presentation, the text began, “Come, Children, Join to Sing.” The hymn-tune, Madrid, is designated as a traditional Spanish melody with no composer identified.

Here, we have a simple text of praise—“loud praise”—to Christ and is an invitation to all Christians to engage “heart and voice,” to “fill the sky” with praise to our King, our Guide and our Friend—the one who, in truth, did “condescend” (cf. Philippians 2:6-8) and whose love for us “shall never end.” Like Christ’s unending love, our praise does not end when our earthly sojourn is completed but endures with “singing forevermore” in eternity.

This theme of praise is for all Christians. Some say, “But, I can’t sing.” The late Don Hustad, chairman of the music department of Moody Bible Institute, organist for Billy Graham’s crusades in the 1960s, professor of church music at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and editor of numerous hymnals, once said that the point is not whether you can sing, but that as a redeemed child of God, you have a song!

He has given me a new song to sing,

a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.

They will put their trust in the Lord.

(Psalm 40:3)

Hustad writes, “[This] new song was a different [emphasis added] song—a song of victory and praise—as compared to the earlier song of defeat and lament.” (Hustad, True Worship, p. 130).

He also once said that the only music that the Church cannot do without is congregational song. (Even a choir and any other group of musicians or soloists are best understood as an extension of the congregation in the context of public worship!)

In Music through the Eyes of Faith, Harold Best writes:

Corporate singing and hymnody in all of its forms, types, and presentational modes . . . . is the heart of all church music, therefore the most important. Congregational song is not only primary because it is corporate. Of equal importance, in the union of text and music, is that the entire worshiping body is given full responsibility for singing to and about God and proclaiming the gospel. This further implies—and the rich history of hymnody has proven it possible—that the body of hymnody employed by any church is incomplete until, by constant use, it discloses the entire counsel of God. In other words, a congregation is just as responsible to sing the gospel as the preachers are to preach it.[Emphasis added.]

So, come, Christians, join in song! Let all—every man, woman and child—rejoice! Alleluia! Amen!

Come, let us worship and bow down.

Let us kneel before the Lord our maker for he is our God.

Listen for the melody of the hymn-tune throughout.
There are three stanzas of text and the equivalent in music.
Sing the hymn–words AND music–even if you’re by yourself!