Singing has all the time performed a key position within the church’s liturgy. In Outdated Testomony occasions, King David organized prophet-musicians to glorify Yahweh with lyres, harps, and cymbals (1 Chron 25:1). The apostles of our Lord Jesus sang psalms, hymns, and non secular songs, and inspired their use within the church (Eph 5:19). Music lyrics grew to become the subject of heated disputes within the early Christological and Trinitarian controversies of the church, they usually’re usually some extent of rivalry in up to date “worship wars.”
The 20th century noticed a renewed curiosity in musical worship. Particularly in North America, the deal with type usually got here on the expense of goal. George Barna acknowledged this a pair many years in the past when he wrote, “Music is only a device meant to allow individuals to precise themselves to God, but we generally spend extra time arguing over the device than over the product and goal of the device.”
Why can we sing, and what does our singing accomplish in church? On this article, I need to spotlight 5 causes that musical worship is a key component of Christian liturgy.
1. Musical worship magnifies God
2. Musical worship permits for trustworthy expression
3. Musical worship is theologically formative
4. Musical worship exposes false hopes
5. Musical worship anchors us within the story of redemption
Conclusion
1. Musical worship magnifies God
First, musical worship is about magnifying the triune God. God can’t be any better than he already is, however our songs affirm God’s greatness by attributing to him what belongs to him: Glory! With the psalmist the church cries, “To not us, O Lord, to not us, however to your title give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness” (Ps 115:1).
Virtually, which means that musical worship ought to all the time be heavenly-focused. The church’s music doesn’t highlight man or this transient world, however the world to return and the God who’s bringing it to fruition. We’re inundated with details about our environment and songs about this world on the radio. The church’s music lifts us up past the earthly airplane—not in some nebulous ethereal means, however in a means that anchors our expectation in God’s unshakable kingdom.
In lots of Christian traditions, previous to partaking of the Lord’s Supper the church joins within the track of the angels taken from Isaiah 6, the Sanctus. At Isaiah’s commissioning as a prophet, he was introduced within the Spirit as much as God’s heavenly sanctuary the place he heard the seraphim singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the entire earth is stuffed with his glory!” In musical worship, the church joins the angel choirs of heaven. She affirms that God’s glory in heaven isn’t relegated to the ethereal, however that it fills the entire earth and can in the end rework this current age of sin and dying into a brand new creation. Our songs amplify God for his works of creation—and redemption!
2. Musical worship permits for trustworthy expression
God needs heartfelt worship. That is made clear by the hymnal that’s embedded within the canon of Holy Scripture, the e book of Psalms. The songs of the Psalter aren’t one-dimensional, however are made up of quite a few genres, every with its personal distinctive options. There are psalms of lament, reward, thanksgiving, belief, kingship, and knowledge. This various Psalter contains songs to precise ourselves in each season of life.
Get a flyover of the Psalms, together with its completely different genres, with Logos Psalms Explorer. Begin your free trial!
Within the preface to his commentary on the Psalms, John Calvin wrote,
I’ve been accustomed to name this e book, I feel not inappropriately, “An Anatomy of all of the Elements of the Soul”; for there’s not an emotion of which anyone may be acutely aware that’s not right here represented as in a mirror. Or moderately, the Holy Spirit has right here drawn to the life all of the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, briefly, all of the distracting feelings with which the minds of males are wont to be agitated.
God doesn’t despise our emotions however offers us means to precise them within the context of worship.
Whereas many up to date worship music units are likely to focus totally on the upbeat songs of reward, nearly all of the Psalter is made up of laments. As pastors and worship leaders do the laborious work of choosing songs for Sunday, they need to be conscious of the truth that each worshipper enters the sanctuary in a novel place. Some hearts are heavy, others are stuffed with joyful expectation. The music of the church ought to present room for each expressions.
3. Musical worship is theologically formative
One of many ideas of liturgical theology is summarized by the dictum lex orandi lex credendi, which interprets, “The legislation of prayer is the legislation of perception.” In different phrases, our prayers (and songs) form our creed—what we imagine. It’s not unusual in our day to emphasise the truth that good doctrine ought to decide how we worship. That is completely true, however it’s not a one-way road. Our songs don’t solely categorical our theology but additionally assist form our theology.
Orthodox theologian Paul Gavrilyuk writes that, “Within the early church the hymns, with their emphasis upon Christ’s divine standing, offered uncooked materials for the creeds. The protocredal statements in flip knowledgeable the theological imaginative and prescient of the hymns.” If we had been to ask which got here first, the hen (creed) or the egg (hymns), the traditionally right reply could be that hymns preceded the dogmatic statements of the creeds and helped to form their language. The creeds thus emerged from the context of the church at worship. Songs safeguarded “the religion” they usually proceed to kind us in it.
Biblically sound track lyrics plant the reality of God’s Phrase deep in our hearts, however heterodox lyrics poison our souls.
That is one more reason why the phrases we sing are of important significance. Biblically sound track lyrics plant the reality of God’s Phrase deep in our hearts, however heterodox lyrics poison our souls. Which means that worship music isn’t nearly trustworthy expression. It’s additionally about discipleship. We construct each other up within the fact whereas singing.
4. Musical worship exposes false hopes
Israel’s songs had been generally polemical. They exalted Yahweh by exposing the futility of inserting our hope in human power or some idol’s guarantees. Think about the next examples:
It’s higher to take refuge within the Lord than to belief in man. It’s higher to take refuge within the Lord than to belief in princes. (Ps 118:8–9)
Some belief in chariots and a few in horses, however we belief within the title of the Lord our God. (Ps 20:7)
The King isn’t saved by his nice military; a warrior isn’t delivered by his nice power. The struggle horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its nice would possibly it can not rescue. (Ps 33:16–17)
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human arms. They’ve mouths, however don’t converse; eyes, however don’t see. They’ve ears, however don’t hear; noses, however don’t scent … Those that make them turn into like them; so do all who belief in them. (Ps 115:4–6, 8; cf. 135:15–18)
For excellent is the Lord, and vastly to be praised; he’s to be feared above all gods. For all of the gods of the peoples are nugatory idols, however the Lord made the heavens. (Ps 96:4–5)
The Bible’s songs don’t simply talk fact, however in addition they often confront the world’s lies instantly. Whereas they expose the issues we’re tempted to place our belief in moreover God, they’re instructing us to mark and keep away from the non secular pitfalls frequent to humanity. Phrases from the favored hymn “Be Thou My Imaginative and prescient” are an instance of what this might seem like in observe, “Riches I heed not / Nor man’s empty reward, / Thou mine inheritance, / Now and all the time.”
5. Musical worship anchors us within the story of redemption
In Exodus 15, Moses and the individuals of Israel sang a track recounting God’s victory over Pharaoh on the Purple Sea. Yahweh is depicted because the warrior God (Exod 15:3) who flooded Pharaoh’s military and freed his individuals from slavery.
Likewise, within the e book of Revelation, John noticed a imaginative and prescient of heaven worshipping the triumphant Lion of Judah who’s depicted as a slain however standing Lamb. Creation bows earlier than the Lamb of God in worship, singing,
Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you had been slain, and by your blood you ransomed individuals for God from each tribe and language and folks and nation. (Rev 5:9)
Like Moses’s track, the hymn in Revelation 5 tells the story of redemption. The Lamb’s “standing” communicates the reality of his resurrection from the lifeless, and his wounds recall the sacrifice of Calvary.
The songs of the church don’t simply inform us who God is, however they need to additionally inform us about his actions on this planet. Once we put redemptive historical past to track, we’re singing about our household heritage as Abraham’s trustworthy kids. Musical worship units saving tales to music in order that we don’t lose sight of the important thing occasions that outline us as God’s individuals.
The world is in the course of an id disaster. Not sure of the place final that means comes from, many have resorted to attempting to trend goal from nothing. God’s works of creation and redemption floor that means in one thing larger than us. In a world determined for that means, it’s these tales the church has all the time been wanting to share by means of sermons—and songs.
Conclusion
Music isn’t only a device that grounds us within the religion. It’s a present from God to assist us categorical our deepest longings and joys. In musical worship, each lament and celebration discover a place, and, when working correctly, it helps guard believers from the torrential downpour of idolatrous narratives and beliefs.
These many blessings related to musical worship ought to trigger every of us to mirror on the songs we sing—and the God who delights in them.
Adriel Sanchez’s urged useful resource for additional reflection
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