Yudha Thianto

I started learning about church liturgy as a young boy growing up in a Reformed church in Indonesia. I was about seven or eight years old when I realized that the liturgy of my church worship correlated with daily life outside of the church. I noticed that we recited the Ten Commandments every Sunday, right after the pastor called us to repent, led the prayer of repentance, and pronounced the assurance of pardon. After that we listened to the sermon, and following the sermon we recited the Apostles’ Creed. That liturgical structure never changed in all the years of my boyhood and early teenage years.I also went to a Christian school where we memorized the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer. I understood then that reciting the Ten Commandments helped me live as a Christian. One practical example I still remember is when my classmate got a new pencil case. I wanted something similar, but my parents would remind me that I should not covet, just as the Ten Commandments tell us. As an adult, I am not sure that the application of the tenth commandment is as simplistic as what my parents taught me then, but one truth remains: reciting the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed at church every Sunday provided me with a strong Christian foundation in life.The Reformed tradition considers the Ten Command-ments to be one of the most important pillars of the Christian faith. Ever since the sixteenth century, churches in the Reformed tradition have included the Ten Commandments in the liturgy. My church as I was growing up in Indonesia in the early 1970s continued that practice. The 1545 liturgy of the Reformed church in Strasbourg included singing the versified first table of the Ten Commandments right after the minister declared the assurance of pardon. The minister would then lead the congregation in praying that God would guide and direct the people to follow God’s law before the congregation sang the metrical version of the second table (Bard Thompson, Liturgies of the Western Church, 1970, p. 198). Every time I look back at the way my childhood church conducted its worship services and ministered to the people, I am amazed at how it dearly held on to Reformation practices. And I am thankful that it did so, because it gave me a deeper understanding of what being a part of the universal church actually means. Theology, liturgy, and church practices unite us as one body.The church in Geneva at the time of Calvin included the versified version of the Ten Commandments in its little booklet La forme des prieres et chantz ecclesiastique, published in 1542. This booklet, which contains liturgies for Sunday worship service, baptism, communion, and marriage, has thirty-five metrical psalms and four canticles: the Song of Simeon, the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Ten Commandments. In my articles in Reformed Worship 149 and 150 I discussed the singing of metrical psalms and canticles in the Reformed tradition (See “John Calvin on the Magnificat” and “The Song of Simeon in the Reformed Tradition”). In this article I want to highlight the significance of the Ten Commandments in the Reformed tradition that finds its root in Calvin’s work in reforming the church. In his very first edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, published in 1536, Calvin, following the standard structure of catechetical material, discussed and explained the meaning of the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the sacraments, and Christian life. It is important to notice that Calvin placed the discussion of the Ten Commandments in the first chapter of the 1536 edition of the Institutes. Ford Lewis Battles, in his introduction to the English translation of Calvin’s 1536 Institutes, suggests that this little book of six chapters was Calvin’s attempt at providing catechetical material for his readers (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1975, p. xxxviii). (It is also noteworthy that in this edition, Calvin’s explanation of the Ten Commandments comes right after what became one of his most famous lines: that “all wisdom consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves.”) Placing the discussion of the Ten Commandments so early in the book indicates that Calvin considered the knowledge and therefore the keeping of the Ten Commandments of utmost importance for all Christians. A Worker’s Prayer on the Ten CommandmentsHoly God, help us to honor you as Creator and Lord of this universe by putting you first in all things and loving you above all else. Help us not to put our work, our paycheck, or our self-importance above you. May our love and honor be evident in how we speak to you and about you, with neither undue fear nor meaningless expressions. Eternal God, Creator of time, we thank you for the gift of work and the gift of rest. May we recognize that as Lord you have all things in your hands and that our labors can wait as we rest in you. May we take time to delight in you and in all that you have created, and in so doing may we draw closer to you. God of order, you have seen fit to place people over us. Help us to honor them with respectful attitudes and to follow their directions and policies for the good of all. May we work for the common good by caring for all of life, ensuring the safety of our coworkers and doing what we can to mitigate our impact on creation now and for the generations to come. Lord, may our places of work be places not only of physical safety, but of emotional and psychological safety so that all may flourish. Forgive us for having participated in actions or laughed at jokes that diminished another person or group in some way. Forgive us for not defending a colleague or working to create a safe and equitable work environment. Help us  to respect not only our coworkers, but also the things that belong to them. Forgive us for the times we took or misused what wasn’t ours, for the times we didn’t value another’s possessions. Lord, we recognize that acts of stealing can include taking what we feel is ours or simply fudging a number or two. We know that such acts show that we don’t trust you as our provider, so not only do they dishonor others, but they dishonor you. May we also show respect through our speech. Guard our tongues so that we do not participate in gossip or in any way harm another’s reputation. When difficult words need to be spoken, may we do so without malicious intent, speaking truth with love. When we receive such words ourselves, may we not react with defensive anger. May all our interactions be marked by honesty, truth, and grace. God, you are our Lord, our Savior, and our provider. Help us to be satisfied with and grateful for all your blessings. It is so hard not to want more: not to desire the job, the salary, the life of another person. Help us to be not merely content, but filled with  gratitude and the knowledge that all we have is yours—so much so that we are willing to share with others. In so doing, all people will be blessed and your name glorified. We dedicate our work and our rest to you. May you be honored through them. Amen. —Joyce Borger © 2024 Reformed Worship, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission. In the later development of the Reformed church in Geneva, singing the Ten Commandments in metrical form continued, and even in Calvin’s lifetime there were a few different versions. The Ten Commandments and the Song of Simeon were the only two canticles outside of the 150 metrical psalms that were included in the 1562 edition of The Genevan Psalter published by Clement Marot and Theodore Beza (Les Pseaumes mis en rime françoise, 1562, p. 493–94). The melody and versification of this canticle are different from those of the 1542 edition. The melody of the 1562 versification of the Ten Commandments was adopted by Philip Van Marnix when he translated the psalms and canticles into Dutch and published in Antwerp in 1580 (Het Boeck der psalmen Davids, uit de Hebreische spraecke in Nederduytschen dichte, 1580, p. Bb 6 verso–Bb 8 recto). Thus the Reformed church in the Netherlands likely adopted the tradition of singing the Ten Commandments toward the end of the sixteenth century, given that it was included in their repertoire.The tradition of singing the Ten Commandments and the metrical psalms was brought by the Dutch when they introduced Reformed Protestantism to the East Indies in the early seventeenth century as they colonized Asia to get the spices that were then top commodities in Europe. The Dutch ministers who sailed to the region transplanted Reformed theology and church practices and translated the Bible, catechism books, the psalms, and the canticles into Malay, a lingua franca of the people in the region. Much of what was the Dutch East Indies later became the country of Indonesia. That’s how I became the beneficiary of the Reformed faith and tradition. It is interesting to note that in the earliest Malay translations of the metrical psalms and canticles, the versification of the Ten Commandments was always placed first, signaling the significance of singing the Ten Commandments in the earliest history of the Reformed tradition in the East Indies.Today I no longer experience reciting the Ten Commandments or singing the canticles at worship services in either North America or Asia. I am thankful that most churches in Asia still recite the Apostles’ Creed every Sunday. But I miss the recitation of the Ten Commandments as a part of the church’s liturgy. I understand that a weekly recitation or singing of the same canticle or hymn could quickly become boring for a congregation. But I believe that when it fits in the liturgy or during special services it is good for the church to sing the Ten Commandments. In the hymnal Lift Up Your Hearts, “The Lord Is God, the One and True God” Meeter, LUYH 711 is a modern versification of the Ten Commandments. The melody is one that the church in Geneva has used since 1547, and it was published in the 1562 edition of The Genevan Psalter. I encourage churches to take a deeper look at this hymn and use it in their worship services, particularly during Ordinary Time. Consider following the liturgy of the 1545 church in Strasbourg and using this hymn as a song of response to the assurance of pardon to remind the congregation that after we receive God’s forgiveness of our sins we are called to keep God’s law. Whether you sing a song, hear the commandments read, or read them as a litany, don’t underestimate their formative power and neglect to regularly include them in your worship.

On May 21, 2009, I landed at Cointrin Airport in Geneva, Switzerland. It was my first visit to the city where John Calvin spent most of his time leading the church. I went there to commemorate the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformer’s birth. There were two conferences that I attended during that trip, both centered on the theology and legacy of Calvin. Traveling to Europe on a shoestring budget, I planned my visit very carefully. I chose a hotel in Ferney-Voltaire, France, an inexpensive locale only about five miles from Geneva. I studied the bus and train lines that connect the two places. It would only take me about twenty minutes to get from the airport to the hotel and around the same time from the hotel to the conference place. Buses ran frequently during normal hours. I arrived in Geneva in the middle of the day, so I thought I would not have any problem catching the bus. After collecting my luggage, I left the terminal for the bus stop. I waited over an hour without seeing a bus. Feeling uneasy, I started to read the schedule posted on the wall of the bus shelter. Only then did I realize that that day, May 21, 2009, was Ascension Day, and between Ascension Day and Pentecost Monday buses and trains in the city run on far less frequent schedules due to what the Swiss call petite vacances, or a “little vacation.” Coming from the United States, I was oblivious to the significance of the day; we are not accustomed to remembering Ascension Day, let alone observing it. For many Christians in North America, once Easter is over, our focus is set on Pentecost. We forget the importance of Ascension Day in our church year as a day that helps us center our lives around Christ and his redemptive work for us.In his Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, Calvin calls Jesus’ ascension to heaven “one of the chiefest points of our faith” (1949, p. 49). He emphasizes that the visible ascension of Jesus into heaven is necessary so that his disciples can be free of doubt. They see that Jesus indeed physically returns to the Father in heaven. Had Jesus only vanished away in secret, Calvin explains, the disciples would have been left with unanswered questions. But with his visible ascension to heaven, Jesus confirms the certainty of our faith. In the first edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, published in Basel in 1536, Calvin clearly states that when we affirm our faith through the Apostles’ Creed and say “He ascended to heaven,” we tell ourselves that Jesus’ physical entrance to the kingdom of heaven opens for us the door that was initially closed because of Adam’s sin (trans. Ford Lewis, 1975, p. 56). Calvin believes that Jesus entered heaven in human flesh, as though he brought our names with him there so that together with him we may possess heaven through hope. Furthermore, says Calvin, as Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father and has been declared and appointed judge, king, and lord over all, the entire creation has therefore been subjected under his rule. As ruler, Jesus sanctifies us and washes us from all our sins so that after our physical death we will receive in him the glory that he reserves for us against the power of hell.According to Calvin, the ascension of Christ does not merely assure us that we will see him in heaven, but also gives us the expectation of the Second Coming. As Calvin explains in his Commentary on Acts, the two angels dressed in white who stood beside the disciples as Jesus ascended to heaven (Acts 1:11) bring the message of consolation that even though for a time Jesus is not present with us on earth, he will come again. Jesus will come as the Redeemer, and he will gather us with him into blessed immortality. Calvin says this message gives Christians patience as we face adversities and should refresh our weariness. Understanding that Christian lives are full of challenges, Calvin teaches his readers to persevere in prayer. Explicating Acts 1 and 2, Calvin shows that the disciples of Jesus waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit by praying together in Jerusalem. Their prayers, Calvin believes, were not prayers of doubt, but prayers founded on true faith. Commenting on Acts 1:14, he writes, “Neither is prayer any sign of doubting, but rather a testimony of our sure hope and confidence, because we ask those things at the Lord’s hands which we know he hath promised” (1949, p. 57). Knowing that the Holy Spirit has come on the day of Pentecost, Calvin invites all of us to follow the example of the disciples and earnestly ask God to increase in us his Holy Spirit. He uses the word “increase” in his commentary to show that the Holy Spirit has come and been given to us. The fact that we can pray is a clear sign that the Spirit is in us, but we need to pray to God that the Holy Spirit comes abundantly more every day. The ten days between Ascension Day and Pentecost, a time in which the disciples prayed to prepare themselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit, demonstrated their patience. Jesus did not send the Holy Spirit as soon as he ascended to heaven, Calvin notes. Christ wanted the disciples to wait. Calvin believes that often God allows us to languish to make us persevere in him. In so doing, God guides us to be constant in our prayers. An additional lesson from the disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem, Calvin states, is that they pray not just individually, but as a whole body, in the unity of their minds, for all people.In our worship today, it is important for churches to remember and celebrate Ascension Day (see RW 103:10, tinyurl.com/HeAscended). It may be difficult for some churches today to hold a special service right on Ascension Day because it always falls on a Thursday. But I would like to strongly invite churches to celebrate the day on the Sunday after Ascension Day, one week prior to Pentecost Sunday. Churches can design the liturgies for the two Sundays as one unit. One idea would be to choose a song like “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus” Dix, LUYH 831, GtG 260, SSS 204 and sing it on both Ascension Day and Pentecost. This hymn invites the worshipers to praise Jesus, who triumphantly reigns over the entire universe. The second stanza of this hymn tells us that even though Jesus was hidden by the cloud as he ascended, he does not leave us as orphans. He has sent the Holy Spirit to live in us and with us. Churches can sing this hymn on both Sundays to unite the two services and help people rejoice in the reality of Christ’s ascent to heaven and the Holy Spirit’s descent to us. What creative ideas do you have for showing the connection between the Ascension and Pentecost? Consider sharing them with Reformed Worship by emailing editors@ReformedWorship.org.

When we read the first two chapters of the gospel of Luke—the stories that surround the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ—we find some characters singing songs of praise to God. These are the songs of Mary as she visits Elizabeth, of Zechariah at the birth of his son John, of the angels as they announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, and of Simeon as he holds baby Jesus in his arms when Jesus was presented at the temple in Jerusalem. In the history of the church, Christians turned these songs in the Bible into canticles that have enriched the worship experiences of God’s people all over the world. Each song has a traditional Latin title taken from its first words: the Magnificat (Mary glorifying God), the Benedictus (Zechariah blessing God), the Gloria in excelsis Deo, (the angels singing praises to God), and the Nunc Dimittis (Simeon acknowledging God’s kept promise). In looking at the text of Luke 2:29–32, often referred to as the Nunc Dimittis, or Song of Simeon, we find Simeon, a righteous and devout man who, according to Luke, was waiting for the consolation of Israel and heard the message from the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he saw the Messiah. As he takes baby Jesus in his arms when Mary and Joseph present Jesus at the temple, Simeon sings, in joy and gratitude to God, that he is now ready to die because his eyes have seen the salvation that comes from God. Here is an English versification of that text: Now may your servant, Lord, according to your word, depart in exaltation. My peace shall be serene, for now my eyes have seen your wonderful salvation. You did for all prepare this gift so great, so rare, fulfilling prophets’ story— a light to show the way to Gentiles gone astray, and unto Israel’s glory. —Luke 2:29–32; vers. Dewey Westra, 1931, alt., P.D. LUYH 935 In my previous article in Reformed Worship 149 (September 2023), I wrote how John Calvin appreciated Mary’s role in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. For Calvin, Mary is an example of a humble person who serves God as a mouthpiece and an instrument of the Holy Spirit. According to Calvin, Mary’s song, the Magnificat, exemplifies the inward feeling of the heart, which is the correct way to praise God. I also discussed briefly in that article how Calvin insisted that the church sing only the versified forms of the psalms because he believed that God inspired the entire book of Psalms for God’s people to sing God’s praises, to bring their cries and laments to God, and to bless God’s holy name. Calvin strongly believed that in worship, singing is equivalent to praying.   Historical Background While the metrical psalms remained central to Genevan worship, over time Calvin and the church in Geneva added several canticles, also versified in metrical forms. First on the list of those canticles is the Song of Simeon. As early as 1542, only about one year after Calvin returned to Geneva, the Genevan church published La Forme des prieres et chantz Ecclesiastiques (in English, The Form of Prayers and Ecclesiastical Songs). This little booklet contains thirty-five metrical psalms followed by the Song of Simeon, the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Ten Commandments, also composed in metrical forms. The Song of Simeon is in the collection because it is one of the four songs recorded in the gospel of Luke, and thus as a biblical worship text, Calvin argued that it has authority equal to the psalms. Subsequent publications of the Genevan Psalter published in Calvin’s lifetime contain different selections of canticles, but the Song of Simeon is almost always in those editions. Calvin may have even versified the Song of Simeon for the 1542 edition of the psalter. It took the Genevan Psalter about two decades to finally have all 150 psalms versified. In 1562, the church in Geneva published the complete metrical psalms in Les Pseaumes mis en rime François (in English, The Psalms Set in French Rhyme). The psalter was the result of the works of Theodore Beza (1519–1605) and Clement Marot (1496–1544). It included two canticles: the Ten Commandments and the Song of Simeon. Marot was the poet who versified the Song of Simeon for this edition. Louis Bourgeois (ca. 1510–61) is believed to be the composer of the tune in this edition. While they share some characteristics, the versification and the tune of the 1562 edition of the canticle are different from those of the 1542. Both editions have the meter of 6.6.7.6.6.7 (or 6.6.7 double). This meter results in short stanza lines, which make it easy for singers to memorize. The harmonization of this canticle, as for the entire psalter, was the work of Claude Goudimel (ca. 1505–74). The 1542 version of the canticle has four stanzas, whereas the one from 1562 has only two. The earlier version expands on the theme of God’s grace to humanity beyond what is written in Luke 2:29–32. That elaboration is captured in the second and third stanzas. The later version is more concise, following the Lukan passages closely. During the Reformation, the church in Strasbourg under the leadership of Martin Bucer (1491–1551) used the Song of Simeon as the closing hymn on Sundays when the church celebrated the Lord’s Supper. The singing of this canticle came right after the prayer of thanksgiving at the conclusion of the sacrament. Singing this canticle at that point in the liturgy is fitting, considering that in the thanksgiving prayer the minister would reemphasize not just the people’s gratitude for the salvation that God has granted through Jesus Christ, but also the call for the people to exalt God’s glory and to edify each other in faith (“The Form of Church Prayers and Hymns with the Manner of Administering the Sacraments and Consecrating Marriage according to the Custom of the Ancient Church,” in Bard Thompson, Liturgies of the Western Church, 1970, p. 208). Sending the people home with the Song of Simeon on their lips served as a way for the church to remind people to glorify God and become witnesses to their neighbors, just as Simeon in the second chapter of Luke declares that Jesus has become the light to the Gentiles and the glory of God’s people. In Lift Up Your Hearts, the English version of the Song of Simeon is titled “Now May Your Servant, Lord” (LUYH 935). This English title reminds us of the Latin version of the canticle, Nunc Dimittis. The phrase comes from the first two words of Luke 2:29: “Now, Lord, may your servant depart.” This version has two stanzas, resembling the 1562 French version of the canticle. The words of this English version came from the pen of Dewey Westra (1899–1979), a multitalented high school teacher, musician, poet, and translator of poetry from English into Dutch and Frisian and vice versa (Emily Brink, “The Song of Simeon,” in The Hymn, p. 40). Contemporary Application of Simeon’s Song There are many ways we can include this hymn in worship liturgies. Following the practice of the church in Strasbourg at the time of the Reformation, churches today can use this hymn to end a service when the Lord’s Supper is celebrated. The message of Simeon in Luke 2 can strengthen the meaning of the sacrament to the congregation. Christ’s work of redemption tangibly present in the bread and wine is echoed and reinforced as the worshiper sings together with Simeon, “My peace shall be serene, for my eyes have seen your wonderful salvation.” The Lord’s Supper makes the salvation of Jesus Christ real in the eyes of faith. We can also sing this hymn as we visit shut-ins and bring the Lord’s Supper to them. When a minister and elders of the church serve the aged or ailing members of the church and celebrate the Lord’s Supper with them in their homes or hospital rooms, it is fitting that as a group they sing the hymn together. Simeon, the elderly man who carries Jesus in his arms, sings the song of praise of God’s salvation. In the same way, shut-ins may find the joy and the peace of Jesus Christ through the celebration of the sacrament and singing of the song. I also suggest using the Song of Simeon as the closing hymn for all worship services during Lent. It is good for the church to have a repeated pattern in the liturgy to mark each season. Singing the same hymn throughout the season can help members of the congregation focus on a specific biblical message reinforced over time. Singing this hymn at the end of each Sunday service throughout Lent can serve as a reminder to the congregation that as they contemplate the sacrifice of Jesus for the redemption of the whole universe, they have the assurance of salvation and the peace that only Jesus can give through his death and resurrection.

Each Advent season, churches all over the world sing a version or two of the Magnificat, the song of Mary, set to various tunes from the medieval time until today. However, in the Protestant tradition—especially the Reformed branch of Protestantism—attention to the virgin Mary is minimal. Though both the Nicene and Apostles’ creeds make clear references to Mary and her role in the incarnation of Christ, Protestants tend to push Mary to the side. She may make an appearance in a children’s pageant, but once the Advent season is over and Protestants bask in the glory of Christmas, they say goodbye to Mary for another year. But what if we followed John Calvin’s example and instead looked to Mary as a teacher even beyond the Advent season—a teacher whose attitude and words can serve as a model and guide for our own lives? Protestants’ hesitance to pay closer attention to Mary is likely rooted in the Reformation. Among many issues in the medieval church with which the Reformers had sharp disagreements was the church’s overt devotion to St. Mary. As children of the Reformation, Protestants today tend to feel uneasy if they pay too much attention to Mary, worrying they might fall into the mistakes of the medieval church against which the Reformers adamantly campaigned. In this Advent season, it might be good for all of us to look back at what John Calvin thought about Mary and her role in the Incarnation. My hope is that by learning directly from Calvin, we too can appreciate Mary as a model for Christian worship while being careful not to repeat the errors of the medieval church. Calvin is known not only for his theological writing, but for putting the singing of the metrical psalms in the vernacular in the foreground of his efforts to reform the church. Calvin believed that we can pray in two ways: by using spoken words and by singing. But he insisted that in church, people must sing only the words of the songs God gave us in the Bible—namely, the psalms (“Preface to Genevan Psalter, 1543”). In his Institutes Calvin states that singing in church is important, but it must come from the heart’s affection so that the mind focuses only on God (Institutes, 3.20.31). In fact, in the church in Geneva, Calvin instructed congregants to sing the psalms in unison and without musical accompaniment. For Calvin, Mary serves as an exemplar of proper worship even as he criticizes those who venerate her. When he begins to explain Mary’s song in his commentary on Luke 1:46–55, he does not miss a single breath before criticizing the medieval church’s excessive praise of Mary, and he calls medieval churchgoers hypocrites for “[singing] the praises with open mouth, unaccompanied by any affection of the heart” (Commentary, 52). “Affection of the heart” is the same phrase Calvin uses in the Institutes to describe how singing should happen in the church. Emphasizing that Mary did what was right—praising God from her “inward feeling of the mind”—Calvin then takes a second jab at the medieval church, saying that those who sing God’s glory with the tongue alone, without the mind or heart, “do nothing more than profane [God’s] holy name” (Commentary, 52). Calvin respects Mary deeply. In his commentary on Luke as well as sermons on Luke 1 and 2, Calvin consistently refers to her as “the virgin Mary,” and sometimes he simply calls her the “holy virgin” (see Calvin’s sermon “The Servant of the Lord” in Songs of the Nativity). In Mary’s song, he explains, we find three important lessons: Mary’s abundant expression of thanks for God’s mercy, her celebration of God’s power and judgment, and her understanding of the application of redemption for God’s people (Commentary, 52). In his sermon on Luke 1:45–48, Calvin stresses Mary’s significance in the history of redemption. He states that God was using her as his mouthpiece and as an instrument of the Holy Spirit (Songs of the Nativity, 20). In his own way, Calvin is placing Mary in the same rank as the prophets of the Bible who spoke on behalf of God, and he shows that Mary was able to assume this prophetic role because of her deep faith in God. She truly believed that God was totally reliable and that whatever came from God was always true. Calvin says that Christians should learn from Mary’s example and, like her, be assured that their happiness is closely related to faith—that is, the “full acceptance of the promises of salvation contained in the gospel” (Songs of the Nativity, 20). Mary’s song, Calvin explains, reminds us that we are always poor and helpless unless God comes down to us and reveals to us the salvation that can come only from him. Only when we understand that our salvation is a free gift from God and realize that God cares for us tremendously can we find true joy. For Calvin, this joy enables us to offer God the true sacrifice of praise. Mary sang her praises to God because her true joy overflowed in her heart and manifested itself throughout her life. Calvin recognizes that, on the surface, when we hear people singing songs seemingly directed to God in praise, it is often hard to distinguish between the true act of worship and one performed by the hypocrites. He notices that even people without any true devotion to God can appear like true worshipers when they sing. Calvin also speaks disapprovingly of the medieval church’s practice of singing in four-part harmony with organ accompaniment. The church believed they were pleasing God through that, Calvin says, but then he challenges them, asking if the manner with which they sing the songs really edifies the body of Christ. In his opinion it does not, because what they do is only a human invention, something that only comes from humans’ lips (“The Servant of the Lord,” 26). Contrasting this with Mary’s humble heart when she sang her praise to God, he points out that Mary’s song matters to God because God is the source of that song. God has warmed Mary’s heart with his kindness, and now her soul can truly sing with praise and reverence to God. Calvin further reminds his readers that in praising God they must always be conscious of their own sinfulness and be inwardly persuaded that they are fully dependent on him. Without this understanding, their songs and praises to God are but shams and falsehoods. But with this right knowledge, they will find that God’s grace and mercy bring them to true happiness (“The Servant of the Lord,” 27). This Advent season, I suggest that you find the opportunity to sing a version or two of the Song of Mary, whether corporately as you worship at church or at home with family members or a handful of close friends. There are good pieces in Psalms for All Seasons and Lift Up Your Hearts based on Luke 1:46–55. “My Soul Gives Glory to My God” Winter, PfAS 1042 is one rendition, set to the tender tune MORNING SONG. Mary’s canticle is also paraphrased thoughtfully with Psalm 75 in “My Soul Cries Out” Cooney, PfAS 75B, sung to the energetic tune of STAR OF COUNTY DOWN. As you sing, think again of what Calvin teaches us about Mary and her song, and revisit your appreciation for Mary. I do not mean for us to go back to the medieval practice of overemphasizing or elevating Mary’s place, but as with other biblical characters, let’s learn from her example about living with and before God. The Advent season is an appropriate time to do it. Calvin gives us some tips on how to appropriately esteem her. We can take her as our teacher, as Calvin instructs us, and see her as a mirror of God’s mercy toward us. She helps us acknowledge that without God we are nothing. We must give high honor to Mary, he then adds, because she was the one who bore Jesus Christ, not only in her womb, but also in her heart (“The Servant of the Lord,” 31). Let us also remember that Calvin teaches us that singing is a form of prayer. Even though we depart from Calvin’s thought when we praise God by singing in harmony and with the accompaniment of various musical instruments, it is still important that our praises to God come from the affection of our heart and are not just mere words coming from our lips. Referenced Works by John Calvin Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Vol. 1. Translated by William Pringle. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Edited by John T. McNeill. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960. “Preface to the Genevan Psalter, 1543.” Reprinted in Les Pseaumes mis en rime francoise, by Clement Marot and Theodore de Beze. Geneva: De’limprimerie de François Jaquy, pour Antoine Vincent, 1562. “The Servant of the Lord.” In Songs of the Nativity: Selected Sermons on Luke 1 & 2. Translated by Robert White. Edinburgh and Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2008.