526

Come, Now Is the Time to Worship

Scripture References

Further Reflections on Scripture References

Two references enhance the call to worship – Psalm 95 and John 4:24.

Two other references speak about the exaltation of Christ as the one who is to be worshiped – Philippians 2:9-11 and Revelation 7:9ff.

 

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

We celebrate with joy that Christ has come to rescue us from sin and evil through the work of his son, Jesus Christ. Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 35 identifies the church as “the fellowship of those who confess Jesus as Lord…the bride of Christ…”

 
Belgic Confession, Article 21 professes how Jesus Christ is a high priest forever and provided for the cleansing of our sins; Article 10 proclaims him as the “true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we invoke, worship and serve.” Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 1, Question and Answer 2 calls us to “live and die in the joy of this comfort” and “to thank God for such deliverance.”

526

Come, Now Is the Time to Worship

Tune Information

Name
NOW IS THE TIME
Key
D Major

Musical Suggestion

For piano accompaniment only:
Introduction
  • If the rhythm in this first line is hard to jump into, consider starting at the 3rd system on the 2nd page of the song with the words, “One day every tongue will confess…”, and play to the repeat sign. Then, repeat normally back to the beginning word, “Come,…” where the congregation will begin singing.
Bass pattern
  • Notice that the bass notes offer the rhythmic and harmonic foundation for the song. Keep the bass steady throughout.
Practice
  • If the pattern is tricky at first, play just the bass notes throughout, then add the right hand melody notes. Play a third time, adding the smaller cued notes in the right hand, inserting them as written between the steady left hand beats. 
— Diane Dykgraaf
526

Come, Now Is the Time to Worship

Hymn Story/Background

In the mid-1990s, Brian Doerksen was feeling lost and disillusioned about worship music and its ministry. He had experienced the collapse of one of his major projects, public embarrassment, and a good deal of personal failures. He began to doubt the goodness and presence of God. In that time, his family moved to England to work with Vineyard music. Early one morning, while out on a walk in London, a musical line suddenly came to him, and he could sense God’s presence around him in that moment. He says, “I intuitively knew I was tuning into God's invitation, the invitation that goes out day after day…” He raced home and began to play the melody on the piano, singing it over and over again so he wouldn’t lose the idea. He sang it all the way to the school where he dropped his kids off. About a week later, he felt it was finished. The next Sunday he led it at his church. Within weeks he heard the song was being sung in South Africa, and it soon travelled around the globe. Doerksen credits this to the humility and honesty of the song, a humility all people can relate to when their lives are filled with doubt and fear.  
— Laura de Jong

Composer Information

Diane Dykgraaf was born into a hymn-singing family, and by age 10 was accompanying her school choir. She studied music and organ at Calvin College. Along with raising 5 children and teaching piano and organ, she led the music ministry in her church in Kentwood, MI. She has a love for traditional hymns, gospel music, and contemporary Christian music—anything that helps us worship. She assisted editor, Joyce Borger, and the editorial team for Lift Up Your Hearts, and did much of the copyright work for the hymnal. Her passions are music, serving the church, and engaging with the next generation in song, scripture, and prayer. 
— Diane Dykgraaf

Author and Composer Information

Brian Doerksen (b. 1965, Abbotsford, British Columbia) now lives with his wife, Joyce, and their four youngest children in the same home he grew up in. Doerksen has released six albums to date, and is perhaps best known for songs including “Come, Now is the Time to Worship,” “Faithful One,” and “Hope of the Nations.” In 2008 he received a JUNO award for Holy God (Contemporary Christian/Gospel album of the year). His first book, Make Love, Make War, came out in 2009. Doerksen spent eight years on a collaborative effort to write a musical based on the story of the Prodigal Son, which features twenty-three songs written by Doerksen. He is now based at “The Bridge” church in Matsqui village in Abbotsford, which he helped plant in 2006.
— Laura de Jong

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