Down in My Heart: Page CXVI and Why Worship Leaders Need Joy

by Jeffrey Cummings

WATCH THIS VIDEO BEFORE READING:

Page CXVI -"Joy"

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

—	James 1:2-4

This is a new rendition of a very old song. If you're a christian you've probably heard it before, and most likely sang it on a Sunday morning clapping and dancing with the rest of your gold-fish eating first grade class. I know I did. So imagine my surprise when I heard Page CXVI cover this song in such an interesting way.


For those of you unaware of the band, Page CXVI is an anonymous project designed with the sole purpose of "making hymns accessible and known again." To the band, hymns are deeply impactful and some of the most beautiful works of music in church history (stick around, I'll be posting an article on hymns soon enough). The band intentionally re-arranges the musicality and time signature of classic traditional hymns to make them resonate with a new generation of Christ followers.


In this vein, this new arrangement for the children's song, "I've Got the Joy" was designed to bring more to the surface than just the bouncy melody. In the Page CXVI blog, the nameless (lol) lead singer talks bout her process behind the writing:

"The first time I played Joy was the night my father passed away.  He

had a short and painful battle with cancer.  My dad was not perfect

but he did the best he could with what he had.  A year before he died

he was diagnosed with dementia.  The day he told me he had cancer hesaid it was a blessing.  To him, cancer was a better way to end his story than a mind with no memory of his family or his life.  So as I sat at the piano, the only place that felt safe that night to me, the weight of loss hit my chest.  I remembered my eyes were blurred with tears and I literally began to play the now familiar progression of Joy.  I kept cycling through the progression and then, as if it had

already been written, I began to sing a different melody to a song I

sang in VBS as a child, 'I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my

heart…'” 

"The truth is that I was terribly and profoundly sad.  The

reality of grief had not even entirely hit me yet.  But at the same

moment I had a deep sense of peace.  He was no longer in pain.  He wasno longer sick.  He was free from all his ailments and restored.

Although I still miss him, I know that God has weaved redemption

through death into my father’s story.  That brings me great joy.  It

was not until grief became a part of my story that I realized that joy

is not simply an expression, but an attitude and acknowledgment of the

deep peace of knowing a Savior."

This understanding of joy is crucial for us as worship leaders. We play a role that has plenty of room for things to go wrong. More so, we live in a world where there is room for plenty of things to go wrong. In moments of loss, grief, despair, and confusion, all we have left to cling to is the cross of Christ and the promise of the next life. This fact is what gives us joy. 


Notice that while the song does say, "and I'm so happy," the two are not necessarily interchangeable. Happiness is contingent upon emotion, and therefore can be snatched away in one unfortunate phone call. Joy however, is buried deep. It is a fruit of the Spirit  (Galatians 5:22), and since it was not placed by man or circumstance, it cannot be moved or shaken by man or circumstance.


Let this sink in and impact our worship leading. Remember it when our own lives crash head-on with our ministries and we find ourselves standing on a stage singing while everything seems to be going wrong. Remember it when the music is perfect and everything is going beautifully. Happiness will come and go, but the Joy of the Lord will remain. 


In those moments, by the grace of God we can sing the words that she tags at the end of this song,

When peace like a river attendeth my way,  

When sorrow, like sea billows roll, 

Whatever my lot,Thou has taught me to say 

It is well, It is well with my soul.

-Adrian