Biblical Worship

 Martin Luther sought to encourage congregational music in worship.  For so long the church music was sung only by professional singers and performed by professional instrumentalists in worship.  Luther felt so strongly about giving the worship songs back to the congregation that he wrote hymns and edited hymnbooks to be used in worship.  In a Forward to a collection of chorale motets in 1538 Martin Luther gives his view on the role of music among Christians.  Here are his thoughts:

“Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.  It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits… Our dear fathers and prophets did not desire without reason that music be always used in the churches.  Hence, we have so many songs and psalms.  This precious gift has been given to man alone that he might thereby remind himself that God has created man for the express purpose of praising and extolling God.  However, when man’s natural musical ability is whetted and polished to the extent that it becomes art, then do we note with great surprise the great and perfect wisdom of God in music, which is, after all, His product and His gift; we marvel when we hear music in which one voice sings a simple melody, while three, four, or five other voices play and trip lustily around the voice that sings its simple melody and adorn this simple melody wonderfully with artistic musical effects, thus reminding us of a heavenly dance, where all meet in a spirit of friendliness, caress and embrace.  A person who gives this some thought and yet does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs.”

Luther understood the value of music in the church and how it can contribute in our praise to Almighty God.  Let us offer a worthy sacrifice of musical praise to our Great God for He alone is Worthy!

Read another quote from Martin Luther on music: http://biblicalworship.com/?p=151 

The Apostle Paul encouraged the believers to sing “psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5: 19, Colossians 3:16), but what he did he mean when he referred to these types of songs?  Most scholars think when Paul was referring to psalms he meant the Old Testament Psalms used in temple worship for generations.  We are not as clear on what Paul meant by hymns and spiritual songs.  It is clear that Paul encouraged the churches to use a variety of songs in their gatherings to express their praise and gratitude to the Lord.

Andrew Wilson-Dickson in his book, The Story of Christian Music: From Gregorian Chant to Black Gospel (Fortress Press,1992, ISBN 0-8006-3474-8), discusses the definition of the term ‘hymn.’  He states ”at the time of Paul’s letters, the hymn, in rhyming verses, did not exist.  Later, Augustine (354-430) gave a definition of the word ‘hymn.’” 

Here is Augustine’s definition: ”A hymn is a song containing praise of God.  If you praise God, but without a song, you do not have a hymn.  If you praise anything, which does not pertain to the glory of God, even if you sing it, you do not have a hymn.  Hence, a hymn contains the three elements: song and praise of God.”  (Wilson-Dickson, 25)

This is how a church leader of the early fifth century described hymns.  It is a simple definition, but one that is helpful today.  Sometimes our songs are too man-centered.  They are more about us and our desires than about the Lord.  A good test of a hymn is to see that it brings praise to God.

 For those who want to go deeper into a study of Christian song in the church throughout history, this book by Andrew Wilson-Dickson is informative.  Not only does it have a number of primary quotes from church leaders and musicians through the ages, it also is illustrated beautifully with art and musical examples. 

For more discussion on this topic of Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs read previous posts: 

http://biblicalworship.com/?p=245

http://biblicalworship.com/?p=194

A worship service not focused on the Gospel (the Good News of Christ) is not a Christian worship service.  When our people come to the corporate worship time each week, the service should be Christ-centered.  This theme should permeate our prayer time, singing, and our preaching.  David Peterson in his book, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Intervarsity Press, 1992, ISBN 0-8308-2697-1) comments about Christ-centered preaching:

“Preaching about Christ must be at the heart of a Christian theology of worship.  As in the Old Testament, the Word of the Lord is central to a genuine encounter with God.  Those who are concerned with God-honoring worship will be concerned about the proclamation of the Gospel, in the world and in the church, in public teaching and private dialogue.  If worship is an engagement with God on the terms that He proposes and in the way that He alone makes possible, preaching Christ is a key to that engagement.”  (144)

Years ago I stood behind a church pulpit that had a small brass plaque attached to the desk portion of the pulpit.  The quote on the plaque was from John 12:21, when certain men of Greek origin were searching for Jesus: “They inquired of Philip, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’”  This quote from John 12 constantly reminded the worship leaders who stood behind the pulpit of that church to lead the people to Jesus.

Believers and non-believers need to hear the good news of the Gospel proclaimed every time we meet.  We should plan our worship services so that they communicate the Gospel through thoughtful language, authentic leadership, intentional worship music, and clear proclamation of the Word of God.

Is your worship service Christ-centered?  Many Christian churches today have ‘Christian services’ that do not speak of Christ, His redemptive work on the Cross, and His resurrection.  Look at the songs, the prayers, and the sermon.  Make sure the Gospel is proclaimed.  Non-Christians need to hear of Christ and Christians need to be encouraged with the Gospel story.

David Peterson’s book, Engaging with God is focused on a biblical theology of worship.  In the book, Peterson walks through the Old and New Testaments emphasizing important biblical passages that give us principles of Christian worship.  I highly recommend this book for pastors and music leaders.

Read an article about the role of evangelism in worship: http://biblicalworship.com/?page_id=61, click on “Worship and The Great Commission.”