The Place of Music in Worship
Psalm 145-150
Rev. Brian Bill
9/16/07
www.pontiacbible.org
[Video ends. A few announcements are made, then begin sermon. Jeff starts to tune guitar and begins sound checks.]
J: Check, check, hey can I get some more vocals in my monitor?
B: [Brian turns around and looks at Jeff]: What are you doing?
J: And could you turn him down?
B: [Turn around again]: Hey Jeff, what are you doing?
J: Getting ready to worship! Got to make sure my guitar is in tune, you know.
B: But I’m trying to preach here!
J: Brian, didn’t you get the memo? The series is called Worship Matters. It’s right here on the postcard. See, worship matters. Not preaching matters. Worship matters. Not praying matters, although it does to Packer fans. Not tithing matters, although that would make a great series. Worship Matters. So I thought we would just skip your part and get right to the real reason we are here.
B: First, worship is more than music -- it’s a lifestyle of surrender and service of worship to God. Second, what do you mean “the real reason we are here?”
J: Brian, I hate to break it to you but a lot of people want to worship, not sit through a bunch of talking. They are anxious to sing their hearts out to God. You don’t see anyone sleeping during the worship time do you? Really, if you are going to call it Worship Matters then, well, worship better be the main attraction.
B: I think you are missing the point. We are going to worship through preaching, then through our praising. It’s all worship. You see?
J: Ahhh, no. Let me get this straight. When we watched the video?
B: Worship!
J: When we listen to announcements?
B: Worship!
J: When we listen to the preaching?
B: Worship!
J: When we take the offering?
B: Worship!
J: When we sing?
B: Yes, when we sing it is Worship! Just wait, after the sermon you’ll get to lead people in praise to our amazing God.
J: After the sermon? We have to wait a whole hour?!
B: [Prayer]
As we learned last week, worship is a verb and is not just what we do here on Sunday mornings. True worship is the presenting of our bodies as living sacrifices to Him [hold up piece of wood] and living holy and pleasing lives, every day of the week. We gather together to worship God on Sundays and then scatter the rest of the week to worship Him wherever He has placed us. This is “everywhere worship” or worship as a way of life because we were not designed to operate on a weekly worship cycle but rather to run on a 24/7 worship lifestyle.
We were challenged to not just think “worship service” but to think in terms of “service worship.” Since God’s desire is to make us into the image of His Servant-Son it makes sense for us to serve like He served. Pick up the towel. Look for needs. Serve in secret. Give without anyone knowing what you’re doing.
Not only should we be involved in “service worship,” we should also be involved in “singing worship.” In his book called “Worship in Spirit and Truth,” John Frame writes: “In Scripture there are two groups of…terms that are translated ‘worship.’ The first group refers to ‘labor’ or ‘service.’ The second group of terms means literally ‘bowing’ or ‘bending the knee.’” We serve because we’re surrendered and we sing out of submissive hearts, bowing before the Greatness of God. This is captured in Psalm 95:6: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.” Our emphasis today is on the place of music in bowing before God in worship as we proclaim and cherish His words, His works and His worthiness.
Martin Luther once said: “The devil takes flight at the sound of music, just as he does at the words of theology…After theology I give the highest place and greatest honor to music.” J.S. Bach believed that music was a “refreshment of spirit,” a powerful tool for the proclamation of the gospel. Ultimately, he believed that music brought glory to God – that’s why the initials SDG (Soli Deo Gloria, which means “To God alone be glory”) are found at the end of most of his scores. The initials JJ appear at the top of many of his pieces, which mean Jesus Juva, or “Jesus help us.”
Unfortunately many of us get things turned around. We tend to worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship. Friends, nothing in life is more important than learning how to worship! Music has a huge place in magnifying God as praising appears from Genesis through Revelation. Singing out to our triune God started way back at creation in Job 38:7 where we hear this canticle of praise: “the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.” The first record of music-making in the Bible is found in Genesis 4:21: “Jubal… was the father of all who play the harp and flute” and an anthem of adoration is recorded as a refrain in the last book of the Bible. Revelation 5:13-14: “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’ The four living creatures said, ‘Amen,’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.”
Since the world was created with a symphony of joyful singing and all creation will break into song when Jesus comes again, we’re called to make music to the Lord in the meantime -- as we worshipfully await His appearing.
Let’s look at four characteristics of music and then discuss four cautions.
Characteristics of Music
1. Music is powerful. A couple months ago I was putting Megan to bed and started to read Psalm 62:1 to her: “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” I was just about to read verse 2 but before I could get there she quoted it word perfect: “He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” I asked her how she did this and she told me that it’s from a song she learned in Promiseland! Music is a powerful way to get the power of God’s Word into our hearts. I am so thankful for our children’s ministry here at PBC! You are teaching our children how to worship. Thank you.
An example of the power of music is found in 2 Chronicles 5:13-14: “The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: ‘He is good; his love endures forever.’ Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.” When music is filled with praise, God’s glory is very evident!
2. Music is personal. What I like is different from what you like. By its very nature, we all tend to prefer certain styles and types of music. And because it’s so personal, we can take things personally if someone criticizes what we enjoy. And we can hurt others when we cut down what they like. Related to this, music has a way of penetrating our hearts and is used by God to impact us in multiple ways. I talked to someone recently who came to Christ as a result of listening to Southern Gospel music. I know others who have been rocked by Christian rock and still others whose hearts are warmed by hymns. Let’s just say that for the most part, this is a non-moral issue. It’s not a right/wrong kind of thing. Just because you might cheer for the Bears doesn’t necessarily make you wrong…or maybe it does.
3. Music is pervasive. We can’t go anywhere today and not hear music. Our society is saturated with songs in elevators, grocery stores and malls. Harold Best writes: “Music is virtually omnipresent, so much so, that, as to intrinsic significance, it has become absent.” With the advent of iPods we can have music with us all the time – actually, we can have exactly the kind of music we like now that individual songs can be purchased. No longer do we have to suffer through tracks that we don’t care for.
Jeff VanGoethem, pastor of East White Oak Bible Church, adds these insightful words: “We expect to hear exactly the same thing in church that we have trained ourselves on, in our own personal lives. And so we are most happy when the songs in worship agree with our preferences and conditioning. Thus we are easily set up for disappointment when they do not.” Incidentally, using music to praise God should be pervasive in our lives. The psalmist tells us that we should never stop in Psalm 104:33: “I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”
4. Music must be used for praise. The challenge for us today is to not just have music as background noise but to actually praise God in singing. It’s so easy to treat music as entertainment, or something to be performed, rather than something to be experienced and entered into by every member of the congregation. We don’t come here to watch and listen to singers; we come here to worship as singers. Psalm 150:6 declares that everyone who is breathing should be busting out in praise: “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.” Psalm 30:12: “…That my heart may sing to you and not be silent.” Music as part of our praising is imperative, not optional. And we’re called to be joyful about it in Psalm 98:4: “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.”
It should also be pointed out that playing instruments to God is also a requirement as stated in Psalm 150:3-5: “Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.”
Cautions About Music
1. Music is not preeminent. Music is not identical with worship but it is important to worship. Music is not the most important; the work of Christ on the cross is. Music can inspire worship but music itself is not inspired – only Scripture is. Friends, we should be careful about thinking that we have to sing a bunch of songs in order to get into the presence of God, or to make “God come down.” That has already happened through our Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me say it this way: Don’t worship worship by allowing just one type of music to be your master. Music matters, but worship matters more. I heard someone say that worship is not dependent on music but rather on the finished work of the Savior.
Harold Best is perceptive when he writes: “In the present climate of musical addiction, music has come to mean something quite the opposite of what the Scriptures intend it to be: a singular act of worship…in the scriptural sense, music is perfume, not Truth. Perfume should be poured over Jesus’ feet instead of a substance we shoot into our spiritual veins to feel good by or to worship because of.”
When we put together a creative team in late August to brainstorm some ideas for this series, Pastor Jeff asked us to write down what came to our minds when we thought of the word “worship.” He then had us share what we wrote. I found it very fascinating that “singing” didn’t come up until 16 other elements were put up on the white board. Here’s some of what came out first: Loving, satisfaction, humility, tribes and nations, All that I am for all that He is, sacrifice, giving, security, silence, prayer, and believers together. Bob Kauflin says it this way: “The God we fear is more important than the music we hear.”
2. Make sure you’re not pretending. Isaiah 29:13: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” It’s easy to think that just because we sang some songs that we’ve worshipped. It’s possible to sing and still not worship and you can choose to not sing and still worship. Related to this, there are times when God is not pleased with our praises. Do you know when that is? God is not honored when we only adore Him and not act on behalf of those who can’t help themselves.
Listen to these words from Isaiah 58:6-7: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Did you know that over 40% of our school population is below the poverty line? Let’s get behind the Livingston County Food Pantry, God’s Team Livingston County, mentoring in our schools, and other initiatives that help the hurting.
Check out this often-quoted passage from Hebrews 13:15: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name.” Sometimes praise is a sacrifice, meaning it’s not always easy. But notice that we’re not to just sing; we’re also called to share with those around us in the very next verse: “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” I turn to Bob Kauflin again: “God is not looking for something beautiful from us; He’s looking for something broken.” Are you broken when you see all the brokenness around you?
3. Music styles are not prescribed in the Bible. There’s little about “style” in Scripture. That means we have great freedom. In fact the New Testament seems to be stunningly silent about the outward form of worship while radically intense about the inward condition of the heart.
4. Avoid provoking others over music styles. Romans 14:5-6 offers some good guidelines for us in this regard. Though the topic is what day we should meet and whether it’s ok to eat meat, the principle certainly applies to music: “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.” We’ll talk more about this next week.
Praising Up and Around
The Bible does not contain an exact formula for how a service of worship is to be designed but it does specify some forms that should be included. I’d like you to turn to two parallel passages. Let’s look first at Ephesians 5:19: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.” Keep your finger here and now turn to Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”
Let’s make a few observations.
* The Word of Christ is the foundation of worship.
* Heart is more important than art. We’re to make music in our “heart” and the word of Christ must “dwell in us richly.” The word “dwell” means to “set up home.” We must make sure God’s Word lodges in our lives.
* There are vertical and horizontal dimensions to corporate worship. Ephesians says we are to “speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” and we’re to make music “to the Lord.” Colossians says we are to “teach and admonish one another” as we “sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” to God. That means that we need to be mindful of each other when we’re exalting God. Specifically that may mean serving the person next to you by singing a song that you don’t like but you can tell he or she does.
* Notice that we’re to “speak” and “sing” psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
* All three categories of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs should be present in the same service. Paul uses the connecting word “and” not or. This tells me that we all need to be more flexible than most of us are.
Let’s look more closely at these three praise parameters to see how God encourages and invites diversity when we praise Him.
1. Psalms. While there are some psalms found in other sections of Scripture, the bulk of them are found in the Book of Psalms. We need to utilize these 150 Scripture songs in our times of corporate worship because it really is the first songbook of the church. Psalm 47:7: “For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.”
2. Hymns. If a psalm contains God’s Word, a hymn can be defined as poetry that praises God’s worthiness. Romans 15:9 describes a hymn as praise directly to Him: “…As it is written: ‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.’” Obviously Paul was not thinking of the hymns we sing when he wrote these words but there must have been some hymns in circulation back then. Acts 16:25: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
3. Spiritual Songs. A spiritual song is any song that is sung to the Lord or about the Lord and often contains words of testimony. We see this in James 5:13: “…Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.” Spiritual songs are often experience-oriented or focused on the teaching and admonishing elements from Colossians 3:16. They are also what are often called “new songs,” though there are a lot of new hymns being written today by people like Stuart Townsend, Paul Getty and Twila Paris.
Psalm 96:1-2 “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise His name. Proclaim His salvation day after day.” We’re called in this passage to sing to the Lord three different times. When something’s repeated in triplicate it’s done to get our attention – much like the “Holy, Holy, Holy” of Isaiah 6. The phrase “new song” can mean something that is brand new and can also mean, “delightful, precious and exquisite.”
New praise songs are essential to meet the ever-varying manifestations of God’s multi-faceted character. This expression “new song” occurs six times in the Book of Psalms indicating that fresh outbursts of rejoicing and reverence are important to God and helpful to us.
Each of these categories expresses a unique dimension of God’s nature. We focus on His Word when we sing a psalm. We extol His worthiness when we sing a hymn. And we celebrate His works when we sing spiritual songs.
Progress Involves Change
As Pastor Ray said last March, “Everyone likes progress but no one likes change” because we are uncomfortable with the uncertainties that change may bring. At one time, the Duke of Cambridge is reported to have said, “Any change at any time for any reason is to be deplored.” That sounds like the old saying, “Come weal, come woe, my status is quo.”
The following is a letter dated January 31st, 1829 to the President of the United States from Martin Van Buren, Governor of New York, and dated January 31, 1829. Pastor Dick shared this with our music team a couple weeks ago.
President Jackson,
The canal system of this country is being threatened by the spread of a new form of transportation known as railroads. The federal government must preserve the canals for the following reasons.
One, if boats are supplanted by railroads, serious unemployment will result. Captains, cooks, drivers, hostlers, repairmen and lock tenders will be left without means of livelihood, not to mention the numerous farmers now employed in growing hay for horses.
Two, boat builders would suffer and towline, whip, and harness makers would be left destitute.
Three, canal boats are absolutely essential to the defense of the United States. In the event of the expected trouble with England, the Erie Canal would be the only means by which we could ever move the supplies so vital to waging modern war.
As you may well know, Mr. President, railroad carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15 miles per hour by engines which, in addition to endangering life and limb of passengers, roar and snort their way through the countryside, setting fire to crops, scaring the livestock and frightening women and children. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel at such breakneck speed.
Change isn’t always easy, is it? Sensing the need to go back to the Scriptures, we’ve been studying this whole topic of worship. Here’s what the Elders approved this past April: “Using Easter Sunday as a model, we will implement a process whereby our two Sunday services become more similar than different. We want to help create a hunger for worship without losing our unique style and openness to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We believe there is a large group of “core” hymns and choruses that are appropriate for both services and can, depending on the instrumentation, be used in either service. Lyrics must take precedence over style preferences.”
With this proposal we included these six guiding principles:
> Let’s determine to not have “worship wars.” Paul reminds Timothy: “I desire that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger and quarreling” (1 Timothy 2:8).
> It’s very easy to start sinning when we talk about singing.
> Worship is not the same as singing and is not a synonym for Sunday morning. Romans 12:1 reminds us that “pleasing worship” involves surrendered lives, lived out as an aroma of sacrifice to God 24/7.
> The goal of our instruction must be “love” (1 Timothy 1:5). The purpose of our singing according to Ephesians 5:19-20 and Colossians 3:16 must be to worship God and encourage one another.
> Let’s remember the importance of grace toward people who think (or sing) differently than we do.
> The ultimate question should be, “Are we worshipping God in a spirit of reverence and rejoicing?” Another way to say it is this: God deserves better because He deserves the best we can give Him. Are we giving Him our best?
Let me clarify some things…
1. We are making adjustments, not wholesale changes. I need to tell you that because some of you have become very unsettled by this. The first service will maintain much of its “blended characteristics” while the second service will remain more “contemporary” in format. To say it another way, the second service will utilize drums and bass while the first service will be primarily keyboard driven.
2. We will work at mingling the historic with the contemporary in both services. Matthew 13:52: “…like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” I like how Harvest Bible Chapel states this: “We celebrate different time periods of musical expression, not for the sake of appeasing demographics, but to show how the glory of God transcends personal taste.”
3. We are committed to substance over style. We recognize that there are stylistic differences in our two services, and we will maintain some of those distinctives in each individual service. But we will be focused more on the words than on the way something is sung. The best music involves the integration of mind and spirit, when thoughts and feelings are engaged. Or to say it another way: When both “meat and mood” are combined we know that our musical selection is bringing praise and honor to God. 1 Corinthians 14:15: “…I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.” Specifically, that means that there will be some choruses in the first service and some hymns in the second…and psalms in both.
4. We must magnify God with all our might. Friends, we cannot afford to be passive in our praise when God wants us to be passionate. 1 Chronicles 13:8: “David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.”
5. We recognize that this is an on-going process. We are not saying that we’ve arrived at a set point that we will never move from. We want to always be thinking about how we can worship God more wholeheartedly and be open to new ideas and methods.
6. Look for what you can give God, not what you can receive. God is the audience, not us. If you leave a gathering saying you didn’t get anything out of it, it may be because you didn’t put much into it. When you come to give you will receive.
7. God’s preferred instrument for worship is you. That’s right. While we may have preferences about what style or instruments are best, let’s never forgot that God’s heart is that we give our bodies to Him in joyful surrender and jubilant service. To say it another way, there is one best worship style. Do you know what it is? God does have a praise preference. The best worship style is when Christ-followers engage in a lifestyle of worship.
According to one music expert, approximately 40% of Christians don’t sing in a church service. Maybe that’s because some don’t think they can sing. I’ve struggled with this my entire life. Perhaps you identify with the three-year-old who sang, “I love you Lord…I lift up my noise.” We’re told to make a joyful noise to the Lord and some of us take that literally.
In his book “Psalms of the Heart,” George Sweeting tells the story of the Choi Indians of southern Mexico. When missionaries first arrived they were shocked to discover that they didn’t know how to sing. When they started to come to Christ, these believers came to be known as “the singers.” Sweeting writes: “They love to sing now, because they have something to sing about.”
The question we should ask ourselves is not whether we can sing…but whether we have a song to sing. Do you have a song to sing?
Linda Carley shared with me some notes from their time in Kenya when they heard Ajay Torres teach on worship. He made the point that there are five words used in worship all around the world today and they should fill our worship as well. Do you know what they are?
Alleluia = Praise the Lord
Abba = Daddy Father
Hosanna = Save us
Maranatha = O Lord, come quickly
Amen = It is finished
As a transition to our singing time we want to show a clip from a video called, “Underground Reality: Vietnam.” These high school students smuggled Bibles into Vietnam and were able to join an underground church in a time of praise and worship. I’d like you to watch and then get ready to burst into jubilant praise yourself. You’ll hear some words that will sound familiar – “Alleluia and Amen.”
Watch this video…and then Pastor Jeff will get a chance to lead us in worship through praising…and I didn’t even preach for an hour!
Vietnam Video
