Eucharistic meditation, May 1

And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; and I will offer in His tent sacrifices of shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh (Psalm 27:6).

Chronicles gives us a guide for placing song in our liturgy. The liturgy of Israel moved from the purification offering, through the ascension offering, to a peace offering; from cleansing through ascension to communion. Our worship moves through the same sequence: We are cleansed by confession and absolution, ascend to hear the Lord�s Word, and then sit at this table.

In Chronicles and elsewhere, we ascend with song. We enter the heavenly courts with praise, as the cleansed and forgiven people of God. So, we sing after the confession and absolution. And the Bible also shows us that the peace offering is an occasion for singing. Psalm 27 speaks of offering �sacrifices,�Eand that word in Hebrew refers to a specific offering �Ethe peace offer, the communion offering. To �sacrifice�Ein Biblical terms is to slaughter for a meal. And here we are told that this sacrifice is accompanied by songs of praise to Yahweh.

Notice, though, the kind of singing that David is talking about here. He doesn�t say that he will offer sacrifices with quiet meditations on the sufferings of the Messiah. He doesn�t say that he will offer sacrifices by repeating the soothing strains of �Just As I Am.�E He doesn�t say that he will offer sacrifices in serene calm. He says that he will offer sacrifices with �shouts�Eof joy, and the singing appears to be hearty, loud, and vigorous.

As I�ve said many times before, this is not the way the church has celebrated the Supper. Usually, the atmosphere of the Supper, including Eucharistic music, has been funereal rather than celebratory. The Eucharist has been observed as tomb rather than table. But this is not the biblical picture. This is our sacrificial meal; this is our peace offering. Let us come to it with songs of praise, and shouts of joy. Let�s come to it as if we believed that Jesus is the Triumphant savior. Because He is.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, May 01, 2005 at 07:57 AM

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