Further Thoughts on Christian Worship
By James Gunn
then, especially in regard to worship, the following statements should also be true.
So then, in light of all the above, when we read statements like the following, how are we to understand and practice them?
Now, when we read the last two statements in light of all the above there seems to be only one question that remains to be answered: “Does the phrase ‘psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,’ refer to three separate things, thus allowing for greater freedom in our worship, or to one thing described in three ways, thus giving us less—apparent—freedom in our worship? The answer I maintain is that yes indeed there are three separate items being described by Paul in both Colossians and Ephesians: psalms, hymns and songs. However, all three forms of spiritual praise are to be found in and taken from the book of Psalms of the Old Testament. They were distinct forms of praise within the corpus of the Psalter and, according to God’s word, found nowhere else. These psalms, hymns and spiritual songs would have formed the only body of musical praise available to the church, so many members of which were, like Paul, highly religious and pious Jews. (Paul, Nicodemus and possibly Joseph of Arimathea were all highly respected Pharisees.) It is worth noting that Christ, when he ministered among us in the flesh, was praying continuously to God, the Father. He also, when He worshipped, worshipped God the Father and did so using the Psalms (see Matthew 26:30 for instance). The only examples of Christ worshipping the Father indicate that Christ was doing so by the use of works from the book of Psalms. Verses from God’s word such as Deuteronomy 12:28, 32, and Revelation 22:18-19 tell us we are not to add to what God has given us in His word. If we believe that the bible is “the reliable, sure, dependable word of God, sufficient unto itself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, given by God for the benefit of humanity and true in every respect that God requires for His own glory and the redemption of the elect then we must accept the fact that in the Psalter we have a sufficient and acceptable means to offer up glory to God. Therefore, to add to it with uninspired hymns (not to mention videos clips, praise-bands, drama, dance and the like) would seem to be in direct violation of God’s word. It seems hard to justify a view which denies the validity of the Psalter for worship without being justly accused by God Himself, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.” Mark 7:9 If we accept the validity of this argument, does it also follow that there is a prescribed musical form in which to sing the psalms? Yes and no. We learn from passages such as Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19 that we are to sing melodically from the heart. (I will leave aside the issue of instrumental accompaniment for the time being.) The heart in biblical times did not refer to the seat of the emotions. Rather it referred to the whole person: the mind, character, emotions, physical presence and such like. As such, it was a far more comprehensive term than it is for us. We tend to think of the phrase “from the heart” as being essentially the same as the phrase “emotionally, with lots of feeling.” We may also think of it as including the quality of integrity. But that really does not do justice to the biblical meaning. When we remember such passages as “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the LORD in holy array.” 1 Chr 16:29, we are being told that worship is not for our personal benefit and emotional gratification—even though in fact we do benefit when we worship—but rather that worship must be for God because of the glory which is His due. Again, we do not deny the emotions that we often feel during worship but only that our emotional gratification is not, strictly speaking, the purpose or point of worship. In today’s world, we are encouraged to understand worship as something that is for our gratification at least as much as it is for God. For this, the broadly Charismatic movement has been largely responsible. The Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) industry has also aided and abetted this false and essentially unbiblical notion. Additionally, we are told to sing “melodically” as well as from the heart or our whole person. Music that is essentially melodic is different from music that is essentially rhythmic. Rhythmic music is tied to physical patterns such as walking, running, the beat of the heart, the sound of rushing water and often the rhythm of sexual intercourse and so forth. Therefore, it could be argued on this basis that rhythmic music based on worldly patterns is essentially contrary to the ways of the Spirit. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Heb 11:1. ”…that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” John 14:17 Given the above two restrictions then, are we able to say anything more specific about the musical form? No. So long as the tune is melodic and (presumably) fitting to the subject matter and that we sing with our whole person (that is to say we give it our all) then the actual musical form is what has come to be known as a worship circumstance, that is to say, a non-essential:
The fact that many congregations and even denominations within the broadly Reformed Presbyterian tradition are faithful to the versions of the Psalter written in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, is not proof that any of those versions, using tunes almost as old, is an elemental part of worship. It is not. We could just as easily and correctly use versions of the Psalms composed yesterday with very contemporary melodies and still remain faithful to God’s word. In fact the older Psalters such as the Scottish, the Genevan and so on are in fact loosing the perspicuity or clarity that was one of their distinguishing marks. The language of four centuries ago is frozen in time and as such is increasingly an impediment and a stumbling block for most otherwise passionate believers. Surely this situation is not a healthy one. In sticking doggedly to these admittedly beautiful and cherished yet inaccessible versions of the Psalms are we not in jeopardy of being found guilty, ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’ “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.” Mark 7:7-9? In the end, if we let our traditions interfere with the work of making disciples and evangelizing of the world (Matt 28:18-20) as well as causing our brothers and sisters to stumble (1 Cor 8:12) can we still consider ourselves faithful Christians? To refuse to give up our cherished human traditions when, by God’s own revelation, they are proven to be impediments to the Kingdom is surely to grieve the Holy Spirit.
|