Several weeks ago, I decided to begin the “Worship . . .” series. Today, I will finish this series up with the help of a man named Andrew Fletcher. I first encountered the story of Andrew Fletcher last year as I walked down the ancient streets of Edinburgh Scotland. As I left the royal mile and walked downhill towards Arthur’s Seat, a large hill that resembles a crouching lion, I stopped by the new Scottish Parliament building in Holyrood and saw the Canongate wall. This wall is home to a number of quotes from famous Scots, one of whom is Andrew Fletcher.
Fletcher was a controversial character in the late 17th and early 18th centuries (1655-1716). He was a Scottish writer, politician, soldier, and patriot who passionately opposed the unification of Scotland and England. Amid all of Fletcher’s political antics (and there were many!) he once stumbled into a conversation and uttered a memorable quote that directly relates to our ongoing “Worship . . .” series. This is what Fletcher has to say about the nature of music:
“(I knew a very wise man who believed that) if a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation.”
Personally, I can’t think of a better way to wrap up our series on worship. The reason that we must worship correctly and well is because, as Fletcher’s quote reveals, music is an inherently powerful tool that we cannot misuse. There is no excuse for allowing the music of our worship to be anything less than an exhibition of our commitment to give God our very best. That doesn’t mean that God is not pleased with the “joyful noise” of those, like me, who lack all musical talent. It just means that whenever we gather to worship, we should demand that our worship be a Spiritual, Truthful, Christ-exalting, Spirit-Empowered, God-Glorifying experience that does not suck!
pastor jamie 