Excerpts from the

Introduction to the Hymnal

Sing Joyfully

Karen Burton Mains

A mother holds her adopted infant in her arms. Having suffered the indignities of infertility--barrenness heaped high by several unsuccessful operations; expensive examinations and treatments, raised hopes/hopes dashed; now her joy is full as she watches in loving awe. She is totally preoccupied with the movement of her new son's hand, the play of a smile on his face, his eyes searching for her familiar countenance. Her finger traces the baby wrinkle on a soft wrist. She raises her head in wonder and says, "It's amazing how much time a grown person can spend watching an infant!"

Worship has been defined as being preoccupied with God . . . .

The world can be saved by one thing and that is worship. For to worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.

To be preoccupied with something indicates a total absorption; it implies (or "necessitates") a passionate giving of our attention. It means to be possessed by a thought or a concept or a person. It means to be engrossed in; to be seized with thoughts about . . .

How frequently do strangers and sojourners enter our sanctuaries because they are drawn by an unexplainable sense of something remarkable? How often do people experience healing (physical and psychological and spiritual) simply because they attend a Sunday morning service? How many times does the Holy Spirit break through our complacency, convicting us of our sin, and producing tears and weeping and confession? How many times do we linger in quiet after a service is over because the presence of Christ is so real we yearn to stay longer in His company? How many times are we stirred in our souls by the Scripture readings? How many times do we sing the hymns with an inward, adamant yes that affirms the doctrines we are mouthing?"

"We Christians are always in danger of allowing spiritual forms to lose meaning, to become formulaic."