How Sweet the SoundSample

The Doxology

Thousands of people applauded as the lights lowered because we knew this signaled the start of the show. It was as if a ringmaster had come out in red tails and top hat and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for.”

There was shuffling on stage. Musicians assembled.

Wires were checked one final time … then BAM!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Praise Him all creatures here below

Praise Him above ye heavenly host

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Goosebumps.

“The Doxology,” a simple hymn written over three hundred years ago by a devout Anglican bishop intended as the ending of the morning and evening songs —not as the opening to an electrified concert of multiple worship bands.

Yet today thousands of concert-goers, young and old—children and retired folk and every age in between—all sang along. It didn’t matter if ticket-holders came from a traditional church, a house church, or a megachurch. It didn’t matter if their church was liturgical, mainline, or evangelical. God’s people knew the words.

Everyone who entered that auditorium came with different needs and expectations. But no matter what divisions or differences we walked in with, we were all instantly united by just a few notes of a four-line hymn written in 1709—united by our voices lifted in praise to our God.

We’re not alone, you and me. We’re united by our loving God. And when we sing to Him together, it reminds us of this family He’s invited us into.

We’re all different. During church services, some of us sit in wooden pews, some in comfy chairs. Some sit crisscross-applesauce on the floor, and some of us stand. Some of us believe this doctrine, others follow that one. There are multiple translations of the Bible, and different churches favor one over another. But some days, don’t we get too tangled up in the differences? What if all of us “creatures here below” focused on praising God above everything else, above our personal habits and styles and traditions?

The apostle Paul said it like this in his letter to the Romans:

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God (Romans 15:7).

At the start of that concert, when a simple doxology drew us all together in worship, I felt a glimmer of what Paul so eloquently described: Unity.

We all knew this song. The Doxology is an anthem of God’s people. No matter where we’ve come from or what we’re looking for. No matter what we’re anticipating or dreading.

We come together. Praising God. All of His people here below. Praising Him above anything or anyone else in our lives. Praising God, three in one, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Reflection:

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7).

When was a time you felt truly accepted by a group of Christian people (beyond the walls of your church)? Describe it.

Why do you suppose worshiping God is such a uniting force for us?

How can you apply the uniting message of “The Doxology” to somewhere you’ll be this week? Maybe by inviting or including someone who might not feel comfortable or welcome?

*This devotion is taken from Laura L. Smith’s book How Sweet the Sound: The Power and Promise of 30 Beloved Hymns.

[1] James D. Smith III, “Where Did We Get the Doxology?” originally published in Christian History 31 (1991), Christian History Institute, accessed March 26, 2019, https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/where-did-we-get-the-doxology.