Celebrating Grace

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
Martin Luther marveled at music's power to tap into the hidden wellsprings of faith. With characteristic bluntness, he wrote, "If any (one) despises music, as all fanatics do, for him I have no liking; for music is a gift and grace of God. It drives out the devil and makes people cheerful. The devil flees before the sound of music almost as much as he does before the word of God." Thus, in addition to writing great tomes of theology, Luther also wrote hymns. He knew that for spiritual truth to reach people at the depths, they would have to sing it.

Another preacher and teacher who turned to music to immortalize his movement was Jesse Mercer, the Baptist leader for whom Mercer University was named. In the early 19th century, Jesse Mercer published a hymnal that gave shape and voice to the Baptist witness in his place and time.

Now at the dawn of a new century, a new generation of Baptists is birthing a new hymnal. Called Celebrating Grace , this hymnal debuted earlier this week at a two-day musical extravaganza at the Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. Members of our choir, along with several other church choirs, sang selections from the new hymnal. While I was not present for these inaugural concerts, several who were said the music was deeply moving and at times, unspeakably beautiful.

Three members of our church were key players in the creation of the Celebrating Grace hymnal. Tom McAfee was the visionary who gave shape to the project and shepherded it to completion. John Simons served as coordinating editor of the hymnal and Stanley Roberts served alongside Tom and John as part of the seven member editorial team that made the final selections for the hymnal. In one of the many articles published about the hymnal’s release, Stanley said the team longed to "provide a resource that our current generation and future generations could use for worship in the local church."

The new hymnal incorporates both a treasure trove of old favorites, as well as offering some of the best new hymns and worship songs. It will be complemented by an online resource providing additional helps for musicians and worship planners.

Due to the generosity of a family in our church, we are one of the first congregations to purchase the Celebrating Grace hymnal. We will be introducing the hymnals into our worship in the near future. And on a May Sunday morning, we will have our own First Baptist celebration of this wonderful new resource to enhance our congregation’s worship of the living God.

Long, long ago, the Apostle Paul urged the Ephesians to "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19). Thankfully, with the debut of the Celebrating Grace hymnal, a new generation of Christians can take Paul’s counsel to heart and put it to song.