要有真理的根据
每首合格的诗都应该有三个基本条件。如果缺少其中的一个，这首诗就不是一首好的诗。
第一，必须在真理方面有根据。许多诗很合于别的条件，可是在真理上有错误。如果叫神的儿女唱那些诗，那就是把他们摆在错误中，叫他们带着人的错误而来到神面前，那就把他们带到一个不合式的情形中。当神的儿女唱诗的时候，需要使他们的感觉往神那里去；若在诗中有错误的道理，就使他们的感觉不过是自己欺骗自己，而不能摸着实际。神不能让我们凭着诗意来朝见祂，只能让我们凭着真理来朝见祂。我们只能在真理中来到神面前；若不是在真理中来到神面前，那就是错的，就摸不着实际。
比方说，有一首福音的诗，说到主耶稣的血洗我们的心。但是我们在新约中，并没有看见过主耶稣的血洗我们的心的话。主耶稣的血是不洗我们的心的。圣经里没有这一句话。希伯来九章十四节乃是说主耶稣的血洗净我们的良心－心中的天良，而不是洗净心的本身。主的血乃是洗净我们的罪。是因为罪被洗净，就使我们的良心在神面前不再控告我们。所以，血乃是洗良心，不是洗心。我们的心不是用血洗得干净的。人心比万物都诡诈（耶十七9），怎么洗也洗不干净。圣经中对于心的教训，乃是将人的石心除掉，给人一个肉心（结三六26），乃是给我们一个新的心，不是去洗旧的心。如果你到主面前去赞美说，『耶稣的血洗我们的心』，就不合真理。
有许多诗没有把握，只是盼望：盼望得救，羡慕得救，寻求得救。一点基督徒的把握都没有。我们要记得，每个信徒来到神面前，都是带着把握来的。我们是满了信心来到神面前，我们是满了把握来到神面前。如果一个人唱诗好像是在院子外面唱，那就使人觉得这个人不是神的子民，他不过是羡慕作神的子民而已。有许多诗，好像得不着神的恩典似的，一直在那里求要得着。这样的诗也把基督徒摆在错误的地位上。基督徒的地位是有把握的，是知道自己得救的。一切缺少把握的诗，不是基督徒所该唱的。
还有一点也是普通的诗所常有的错误，就是说到人死后进入荣耀。许多诗都是说死了以后进入荣耀，好像说，人能藉着死进入荣耀。但是，圣经没有说人死了是进入荣耀。荣耀的进入，是另外一件事。我们死了以后，不是进入荣耀；我们死了以后，是等候复活。主是复活之后才进入荣耀的。这是圣经中明显的教训（林前十五43）。凡是叫神的儿女有一个错觉，以为『死了以后进入荣耀』的诗，我们都不该唱，因为实际上没有这件事。
所以，好的诗必须具有准确的道理，不然就把基督徒引到错误中去。
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Conditions to be a Hymn (1) – Mark 14:26
It Must Be Based on Truth
Every qualified hymn should have three basic conditions. If one of these is missing, it is not a good hymn. First, it must be based on truth. Many hymns meet other conditions very well, but they are not in truth. If you ask God’s children to sing those hymns, you are putting them in error and asking them to come before God with human errors, which is bringing them into an inappropriate situation. When God’s children sing hymns, they need to direct their feelings towards God. If there are wrong doctrines in the hymns, those feelings will only deceive themselves and not be able to touch the reality. God cannot allow us to meet Him with hymns, but can only meet Him with truth. We can only come before God in the truth. If we do not come before God in the truth, it is wrong and we cannot touch the reality.
For instance, there is a gospel hymn talking about the blood of the Lord Jesus washing our hearts. However, we have not seen words about the blood of the Lord Jesus washing our hearts in the New Testament. The blood of the Lord Jesus does not wash our hearts, no such verse is found in the Bible. Heb. 9:14 says that the blood of the Lord Jesus cleanses our conscience, the conscience in our heart, but the blood does not cleanse the heart itself. The blood of the Lord cleanses us from our sins. Once our sins are cleansed, our conscience no longer accuses us before God. Thus, the blood cleanses the conscience, not the heart. Our hearts cannot be washed clean with blood. Man’s heart is more deceitful than all else (Jer. 17:9), and no matter how you wash it, it cannot be cleansed. The Bible’s teaching on the heart is to remove man’s heart of stone and give him a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36:26). It is to give us a new heart, not to wash away the old heart. If you go before the Lord to praise and say, “The blood of Jesus washes our hearts”, it is inconsistent with the truth.
There are many hymns having no assurance, but only hope and desire to be saved, and seek salvation. We need to remember that every believer comes to God with assurance. With full confidence and with full assurance we come to Him. If a person sings hymns as if he is an outsider, it will make one think that this person is not God’s people, that he merely desires to be God’s people. There are many hymns that seem to be unable to receive God’s grace and are always asking for it. Such hymns put Christians in a wrong position. The Christian’s position is secure that he believes he is saved. Any hymn that lacks such assurance is not what Christians should sing.
Another common mistake in hymns is that man enters into glory after death, as if man may enter glory by death. However, the Bible does not say that. Entering into glory is another matter. We do not enter into glory after we die, but wait for resurrection. The Lord entered into glory only after His resurrection, this is a clear teaching in the Bible (1 Cor. 15:43). We should not sing any hymn that causes God’s children to have the illusion that they will “enter into the glory after death”, because there is no such thing. Therefore, a good hymn must have the truth from the Bible, otherwise it will lead Christians into errors.