“Oh, How Good It Is” is a call to worship inspired by Psalm 133 (“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”) that reminds us of what it is to be God’s family gathered in worship and living in community.
Living in community isn’t always easy. I sometimes see myself in the words of British Christian author, Adrian Plass:
Freely I confess my sins
For God has poured his grace in
But when another lists my faults
I want to smash his face in.
Living in community is at the same time both difficult and wonderful. Inevitably, an unpleasant disruption in our communion with each other provides the opportunity to extend grace and forgiveness. Where grace and forgiveness are offered, where acceptance and love are given, and where peace and unity are preferred, we act in community toward each other as God has demonstrated it to us. And this is a great privilege and pleasure.
One of the better ways to deepen a sense of community is by singing together. Some have argued that the modern worship movement (and, to a lesser degree, even the wider Protestant approach to hymn singing) has placed a greater emphasis, both lyrically and musically, on a personal rather than a corporate vision of what congregational singing is intended to be. Perhaps this movement has contributed to many of the unhealthy attitudes that view the local church as an opportunity to indulge personal preference instead of an opportunity to engage community participation.
The act of community-minded, congregational singing requires cooperation unlike any other group endeavor, and joining our voices in public statements of faith bonds us to each other and encourages our faith like nothing else can. And, to those looking on, it is an act of testimony speaking volumes more than any one of us could say on his own.
Kristyn and I wrote “Oh, How Good It Is” with our friends Stuart Townend and Ross Holmes (fiddler for Mumford and Sons—yes, you can use a banjo!). Kristyn and Stuart crafted a lyric where the theme of community was established in verse 1, developed into the realities of daily living in verse 2, and undergirded in vs 3 with both the heartbeat of forgiveness (which drives everything) and the doxological reference (which is the very foundation of community). In terms of the music, Ross and I worked to compose a song that is as adaptable to the piano or a guitar as to a band or even just folk instruments.
We’re excited to offer you a free download of the sheet music for “Oh, How Good It Is” as a tool for engaging your community of faith in singing together.
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Editors’ note: Keith and Kristyn Getty are modern-hymn writers with an acclaimed repertoire of 21st-century hymns revered both for their theologically astute lyrics and beloved melodies. “Oh, How Good It Is” is one of many such hymns included on the Live at The Gospel Coalition album recorded at the TGC National Conference in April. You can also sing along with the Gettys and worship God together at The Gospel Coalition National Women’s Conference, June 27-29 in Orlando, Florida.
