Welcome to Joni and Friends, where we love singing hymns…
(Joni sings:)
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
When it comes to singing, I have this thing I love to do. It’s kind of a game. Well… really, it’s more than a game. For me, it’s serious fun. In my travels around the world, I will sometimes find myself in a big, cavernous cathedral or a large, old church. I wheel onto that stone floor, look up into the rafters, and if it’s empty and no one is around, I will fill the place with music by singing a hymn of praise and thanksgiving as loud as I can – especially a hymn like the one I just sang about the cross. These old churches and these old European cathedrals may, for the most part, be empty, but I think it’s important to remind these great places of just who designed them, who is King of their space, and that they are only great because God gave the ideas to the architects in the first place. I think when I sing, I’m reminding not only those ancient walls of who God is, but I am reminding the powers and principalities who are cupping their ears and listening in – whether I quote Scripture aloud or sing a timeless hymn like “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” I want the invisible world of angels and demons to hear God’s praise in whatever house of worship I am in.
You know… I remember the first big, important place I recall singing this hymn was in a railway station at eleven o’clock at night with a few of my friends from high school choir. “When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died… my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.” Wow, talk about a testimony in that railway station. Another place I remember singing this hymn was in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Then there was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and Westminster Abbey in London. And when I was in Australia and toured the Sydney Opera House, someone said, “Hey Joni, want to sing something?” I could think of no better hymn to fill that world-renowned, acoustically perfect concert hall than to sing this my signature hymn. Everywhere you and I go, everywhere we visit, every place, every square foot of ground, is territory that you and I can claim for a song all for the God of all nations.
Try it, friend! The next time you’re in a big empty building — or even the great cathedral out-of-doors, then be courageous, be bold… it doesn’t matter if groups of visitors or tourists may be standing around in that cathedral at the far end. No, got ahead, lift your voice… declare his praise out loud… in a psalm, a chorus, a hymn, or a whisper! May the praise of our great God and Savior always be on our lips. Like Psalm 51 says, “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.” Remember that the next time you’re in a big old church!
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends