This weekend the Forestburg community celebrated the role music has played in our community. I imagine that most of that heritage is of country music. However, church music has a strong place in our community as well. For decades, God’s music has penetrated the hearts and lives of people in this area. This morning, as we continue thinking about our musical heritage, let’s consider the important role music plays in worship.
Since the time of David, the primary means of congregational participation in worship has been music. When God centralized worship in Jerusalem, music became a prominent feature. Through David, God organized an impressive music ministry. This first music ministry had 288 directors and 3,712 singers (1 Chronicles 23:3,5)! Much of what these 4000 Levites sang were psalms. A “psalm” was a sacred poem in praise of God intended to be sung to the accompaniment of stringed instruments. In fact, in the ancient world, all poetry was sung. Music was central.
In New Testament times music was just as important, though not quite as grandiose. The Levitical choirs in the time of Jesus were much smaller, and with the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, worship there ended. But music remained a vital part of worship for both Judaism and the early Church.
From early on, God has used music in several different roles for the purpose of worship.
First, Music Inspires Worship
All music is inspiring – in one way or another. Some music inspires work, some sleep, some depression, some a headache, and some worship.
In 2 Chronicles 5:13 we have an account of powerfully inspired worship. The huge Levite choir assembled. They took up their cymbals, their harps, and their lyres. Then 120 priests gathered and placed 120 trumpets to their lips. And when the down beat came, hundreds of cymbals, harps, and lyres were played, 120 trumpets blared, and the huge choir sang out, “God is good; His love endures forever.” I’m sure it was loud – some grumpy people probably put their fingers in their ears! But that music inspired worship in those who had come with the purpose of worship in mind. The ultimate result was something amazing, 2 Chronicles 5 says, “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.” Music inspired worship, and as the people worshiped, God showed up in a big way.
Inspiring music reveals God and points us to Him. As we make music for the Lord, the Holy Spirit inspires us through that music to encounter our Lord.
Sometimes He does it as we sing songs and hymns that we know. We sing, “I heard an old, old story,” and the Spirit says, “But is it your story?” And we can respond, “He plunged me to victory.”
Sometimes the Spirit inspires us to encounter the Lord as we learn new songs and hymns. As Gerre and the choir introduce a new song, the Spirit says, “Pay attention to these words. Let your spirit ride on the notes as the melody soaks into your being.” As that occurs, you can try speaking those words yourself, singing the phrases you’ve caught, listening to the phrases you haven’t. And all the time you can thank God that His work is ever new, and that every day He inspires contemporary Davids to sit down and to set new words to music.
Music inspires worship.
Second, Music Facilitates Worship
In 1 Chronicles 13:8, music facilitates the worship of Israel. The Word of God says, “David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.” Those who could play instruments were playing, those who could sing were singing. Everyone was worshiping with all their might through music.
My dad is not a very good singer, and he knows it. But he lets her rip in worship! And, you know what, I’m glad. I grew up seeing a real man worship. When it comes to worship, Dad puts his whole heart into it. Now, I’ve never seen Dad raise his hands or even close his eyes while singing (that’s just not him). However, during the two and a half years I led worship at my parent’s church, I saw Dad worship every Sunday. Whether it was a gospel song like “Victory in Jesus,” a hymn like “Holy, Holy Holy,” or even one of those new fangled choruses, I saw Dad with his eyes bright singing with the gusto of the hound dogs – and sometimes it wasn’t just the gusto Dad was mimicking! But as a worship leader, I was proud. Now, I didn’t want dad in the choir, but I needed Dad in that congregation worshiping with all His might!
Music is meant to help us worship with all our might. When was the last time you worshiped with all your might? Football season is fast approaching and some of you will go nuts cheering with all your might. Why do we put so much into worshiping our teams and so little into worshiping our God? The Cowboys might be God’s team, but I guarantee you God has won more games – and is much more worthy of worship.
Music facilitates worship.
Third, Music Guides Worship
In Ephesians 5:19-20 the Apostle Paul says, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
We can see two directions for our worship speech in these verses. First, we speak to on another. Second, we speak to God. And we do both through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
Our worship speech to God is primarily through psalms and hymns. A hymn, by definition, is a song that is addressed to God. If the song you sing does not directly address God, it’s not a hymn. Much of what we call hymns are actually gospel songs or some other form of sacred music. In fact, every song in our service this morning came from the “hymnal” but only one, “Have Thine Own Way, Lord” directly addresses God – and I’m not sure it really fits the total definition of hymn. What we actually sang this morning were gospel songs or other spiritual songs. We sang a lot to each other and not so much to God.
But that’s o.k. because our worship speech to one another is done through spiritual songs, and God’s Word encourages the variety.
Whether we are singing to God or about God to each other, the point is – we sing the songs we sing in a given service for a reason. Every worship service in our church is headed somewhere. That’s why the songs are usually around similar or progressive themes. Usually it’s subtle, but if you pay attention to what we are saying and doing, you will catch on. Often, Gerre builds the music around the theme of the sermon. Today, he chose to build it around the baptism and the theme of the sermon. And you can see the progression designated in the bulletin. We have sung to one another about our faith and we have sung to God submitting ourselves to Him. And we are ultimately headed to respond to God.
Music helps move us from one act to another or one thought to another. You might wonder why we string songs together. It is to guide worship. One of my favorite medleys when I was leading worship was to take the chorus, “Oh, how he loves you and me,” follow that with the gospel song, “I Stand Amazed in the Presence” and follow that with the contemporary hymn, “I Stand in Awe of You.” In that medley, the congregation progresses in thought in this way – we think about Christ’s love, then we stand amazed in the presence of Christ, the giver of that love, and then we lift our heads and address Him directly saying, “I stand in awe of You!” All the time we as worshipers are progressing from contemplation to celebration to adoration.
Each week the worship leaders on this platform are saying to you, “Take our hand, we’re going into the Holy of Holies today. It will take some work. You’ll have to use your mind and you’ll have to get in touch with the Spirit. But follow the music, it will guide you. Expect something to happen as you do.”
Music guides worship.
Fourth, Music Informs Worship
Colossians 3:16 says, “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.” Worship can teach. All of the songs and hymns we sing teach us about God in one way or another. Some teach us theology, some teach us scripture, and some teach us doctrine.
Many of the hymns teach us theology. One we don’t often sing, is “And Can it Be?” by Charles Wesley. This song sounds best in a downtown Methodist Church accompanied by a gigantic organ with 500 people singing it. But hear the words: (BH#147) You just don’t get much richer theology than that!
But we can pick up a gospel song and be informed as well. This morning we sang one of my favorites. “Victory in Jesus” is a song of testimony about what God has done in the believer’s heart and life. And did you notice, we sing the verses, and we repeat the chorus three times (not that unlike a worship chorus)? The evangelists who originally wrote many of these gospel songs repeated the chorus because they wanted to so drill the teaching of the song into our hearts and minds that we go out humming the chorus. These choruses are the gospel songs and gospel hymns in sum – “How Great Thou Art,” “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” “In the Garden,” etc. We walk away with the theology or doctrine or scripture taught by the song.
Likewise, worship choruses teach us. Last week we all memorized Philippians 1:6 as we sang, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” The words of that song are nothing but the words of Philippians 1:6! Other choruses help us to put the words of scripture into action, “We fall down, we lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus.”
No matter the style – all sacred music informs our worship.
Fifth, Music Enriches Worship
If any conversation should be a beautiful one, our conversation with God in worship should be. That beauty can be found in almost any style at almost any volume and in almost any venue.
You’ve probably heard that there is a “worship war” in churches today. Some people in this war have argued that they just can’t worship using hymns because hymns are dead and irrelevant. Others have said worship choruses are just dumb ditties that are an inch deep and ten minutes long. Both of these groups cry out for something different in music to enrich their worship.
An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended a big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.
“Well,” said the farmer, “It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns.”
“Praise choruses?” asked his wife. “What are those?”
“Oh, they’re o.k. They’re sort of like hymns only different,” said the farmer.
“Well, what’s the difference?” asked the wife.
The farmer said, “Well, it’s like this. If I were to say to you, ‘Martha, the cows are in the corn,’ well, that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you, ‘Martha, Martha, Martha, Oh, Martha, Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA, the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows, the white cows, the black and white cows, are in the corn, are in the corn, CORN, CORN!!! Oh, Oh, oooooh, yes, it’s true, the whole herd is in the awesome corn. Yes. It’s true. The whole herd is in the awesome corn.’ That would be a praise chorus.”
On the same day, a young man who regularly attended that city church, attended a small town church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.
“Well,” said the young man, “It was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs.”
“Hymns?” asked his wife, “What are those?”
“Oh, they’re o.k.. They’re sort of like regular songs, only different,” the young man said.
“Well, what’s the difference?” the wife asked.
The young man said, “Well, it’s like this. If I were to say to you, ‘Martha, the cows are in the corn’, well, that would be a regular song. If on the other hand, I were to say to you,
‘Oh, Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry.
Inclinest thine ear to the word of my mouth.
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by.
To the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.
For the way of the animals, who can explain?
There in their heads is no shadow of sense,
Harkenest, they in God’s sun or his rain.
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.
Yea, those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight,
Have broken free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed,
Then goaded by minion of darkness and night
They all my wild Chilliwack sweet corn have chewed.
So look to that bright shining day by and by
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn
Where no vicious animal makes my soul cry,
And I no longer see those foul cows in corn. Amen!’
Then, if I were to do only verses one, two, and four, and do a key change on the last verse, well, that would be a hymn.”
The people who are really fighting this war – on both sides – are ignorant of what true worship is. Because no matter the arguments they give, it all comes down to “what I like.” But, it’s not about me, it’s not about you. It’s about having true worship that informs, that guides, that inspires. It’s about having music that enriches worship. Some people, not just older folks, are enriched and inspired by hymns and gospel songs. Other folks, not just young ones, are inspired by worship choruses. I love hymns and the gospel songs, but I need fresh worship choruses to remind me of the freshness of the faith. I love worship choruses, but I need a strong hymn to remind me of the heritage of the faith. A variety similar to that offered in Ephesians 5 should be offered today. That kind of musical variety can enrich worship.
The worship experience has very little to do with the songs, it has everything to do with the presence of God in a service, your personal preparation for worship, and the focus of the leaders of worship. I have been in worship services where we sang all hymns or all choruses or a blend and I have felt I was sitting at the feet of Jesus because I was focused, the leaders were focused, and God was present. But I’ve been in services that were all hymns, or all choruses, or a blend and I left feeling like I had been to Wal-Mart either because I wasn’t prepared, or the leaders weren’t focused or were poor musicians, or God just flat wasn’t there.
Music is meant to enrich worship.
Sixth, Music Becomes Worship
This is the most important role and our ultimate goal. In worship, the whole person and action in its entirety becomes an offering to God. Everything we do in this room is about God. Everything is an offering to God. Every note played on an instrument should be an offering to God. Every word spoken should be an offering to God. Every word sung should be an offering to God. The ultimate role of music in worship is to become worship.
As the little chorus I learned as a first grader says, “Take joy, my King, in what you hear. May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your hear.”
When you keep the role of music in worship in check, you will worship in a much richer way. And you may even find yourself worshiping at times away from here as well. . . .
Last week I encountered numerous spiritual attacks. Last Sunday night I was beat down by it all. I had been seeking God all week, crying out to Him, but I closed the door to a room in our home, and cried out to Him, “God, why is this happening? What’s going on?” As I lay there praying, God said, “All of my spiritual leaders go through valleys and face spiritual attacks. But that helps them look to me.” About that time Rebecca came into the room. I am fortunate to have a beautiful wife – both on the inside and the outside. We talked, we prayed. Soon songs started coming to my mind. Interestingly enough, the first one was “The Wa Wa Song” from a musical I did as a second or third grader. “I’m gonna walk wa wa, sing la la, shout, ‘Ah,’ and clap my hands until, Jesus Christ comes again.” That led into other childhood songs that Rebecca and I remembered. Soon we moved out of childhood, and I began singing, “In and out of situations that tug of war at me, all day long I struggle to find the answers that I need, then I come into your presence and all my questions become clear, and for this sacred moment, all my doubts disappear. In the presence of Jehovah, God Almighty, Prince of Peace, troubles vanish, hearts are mended, in the presence of the King.” As we sang those songs, the music inspired worship, music facilitated worship, music guided worship, music informed worship, music enriched worship, music became worship. As we worshiped, the weight lifted, God affirmed, and the attacks seemed very insignificant and small. Soon all I could think was, “Thank you, God, for music.” May you allow music to fulfill its role to bring you into the presence of Almighty God in worship.
