Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs: How We Must Worship God Through Singing
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
-Psalms 98:4-6, ESV
Last time, we discussed covenant renewal worship and how Scripture dictates everything we do on Sunday mornings. This of course includes the sons we sing and how we sing them, which is a cause of conflict in many churches. This post will cover how we should approach worship in song: why we must sing, what we must sing, how we must sing it, and who should lead it.
Why We Must Sing
First, it is important to state that singing is not optional on Sunday morning. Scripture repeatedly commands us to sing—more frequently than any other command. And most of those commands are corporate, so we are only obeying Scripture if we are singing together. Singing has always been central to the life of God’s people, so we cannot legitimately have a worship service without it. That should go without saying, but during the pandemic some churches capitulated to sinful civil mandates that prohibited corporate singing. All authority comes from God and is given by Him for the purpose of obedience, so no one has authority to sin or compel others to sin. We must sing as part of the worship service because God has commanded us to approach Him not only in Spirit and truth but also in song: “Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” (Psalms 100:2). Therefore, we must never capitulate to sinful policies that would prohibit corporate singing in worship.
Singing is so important to worship because it stems from the greatest commandment. We must love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength—and music communicates that love in ways no other medium can. Since the beginning of time, mankind has communicated deepest love and greatest honor through singing: “When you love someone you use heightened, glorified poetic speech and you sing those words to your lover….We sing to those we love. We sing about that which we love. Just as poetry is glorified written communication, singing is appropriate whenever plain talk is not enough”.[1] Furthermore, as God’s image bearers, we are to imitate Him—and He sings: “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). God sings over His people, which gives us all the more reason to sing to Him. Finally, music engages our minds in ways mere speech cannot, so to worship God with all of our minds requires us to sing to Him. Part of this is how music enhances our ability to remember. The easiest way to memorize something is to put it into a song, which makes music the most effective means of teaching theology to the congregation.[2] Therefore, the reason we sing is the reason we do everything else: for God’s glory and our good.
What We Must Sing
Clearly we must sing in corporate worship, but what songs must we sing? This question has divided many churches in “worship wars”. Even Reformed churches vary widely on which songs are appropriate for worship. Under the regulative principle, every aspect of worship must be warranted by Scripture, which includes our songs: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16 cf. Ephesians 5:19). The debate revolves around the meaning of “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs”. Some hold that this is restricted to only psalms or songs recorded in Scripture while others would broaden it to include all manner of songs. The former is certainly safe—after all, we need not be concerned with theological inaccuracies in our songs if we are only singing the Scriptures themselves—though I would argue it is too narrow of an interpretation of the passage. That said, there is great value to singing the psalms, so it is a shame that so many churches neglect them. The psalms were originally in Hebrew, so translation must often deviate from the text in minor ways in order to work as English songs, but they are still the songs that the Holy Spirit inspired the Scripture writers to record so that His people could sing them. But since the psalms were written before Christ and do not normally mention Him, should we still sing them? When discussing covenantalism, we saw the dangers of neglecting the Old Testament. All of Scripture is about Christ, including the psalms. There has only ever been one people of God, so the songs that God’s people sang three thousand years ago are just as useful for His people to sing now. Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and when we understand the symbolism in the psalms that transcends Israel’s context, we will find the psalms just as worshipful and beneficial today. Therefore, we should frequently sing the psalms. My church sings at least two psalms in the worship service, often arranged by Brian Sauvé. In addition to the psalms, Scripture records other songs that lend themselves well to worship, like the songs of Moses, Miriam, Deborah, and Hannah as well as the Magnificat. The vast majority of wisdom and prophetic text is poetic as well, yielding ample opportunities for worship songs straight out of Scripture.
But many of the psalms (and most of the prophets) communicate deep sorrow, distress, and even anger. More than a quarter of the psalms are imprecatory, meaning that they call for God’s judgment on the wicked, sometimes very graphically. Should we sing those too? Absolutely! We commit idolatry when we do not worship God for all of who He is. Since we are in Christ, all of His attributes are in our favor, so we can and should worship Him for all of His attributes. Therefore, singing a wide variety of psalms and Scriptural songs just like expository preaching protects us from overemphasizing some God’s attributes to the neglect of others. In fact, ensuring robust and well-rounded theology in singing may be even more important than in preaching: “Poorly chosen songs in worship will negatively impact the theology of the laity, no matter how good the preaching is. But solid, biblical worship fortified by Scripture-based singing can enrich biblical faith and godliness for many generations”.[3]
We must therefore be extremely careful in choosing the songs we sing in corporate worship. Perhaps the primary reason so many American Christians have such flawed theology is that so many churches have been careless in choosing worship songs. In contrast to the depth and overt masculinity of Scripture’s songs that instill a healthy fear of God, most songs sung in churches today are shallow and effeminate, depicting God as harmless. The Lord’s service to us on Sunday morning is to strengthen and equip us, but effeminate “boyfriend Jesus” songs do the opposite. We must never forget that the Bible’s songs are battle songs. Whether we are fighting against our own sin and pride or external enemies, we must remember that we are at war, so our singing should reflect that fact with songs like “I Know That My Redeemer Lives”, “The Son of God Goes Forth to War”, and “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”. Regardless, any song we sing in worship must be theologically robust and accurate. As Bob Kauflin points out, we must ensure that every song’s tone and emphasis are also dictated by Scripture. Our songs should also preach the Gospel, declaring who God is, who we are, and what Christ has done for us. It is therefore good to sing songs that contrast our wretchedness with God’s righteousness as long as they are also Gospel-saturated. Songs must also be appropriately placed, especially in covenant renewal worship. We use specific song for commencement, praise, celebration of pardon, preparation for the sermon, response to the sermon in preparation for communion, and finally thanksgiving and commissioning, so the ministers choose songs specifically to fit those functions.
In our day, we must also be cautions about the origin of our songs. When we display the copyright information on our song slides (which we should do), we must assume that the congregation will see it and look it up later. The algorithm will then present more songs like it. So even if the song itself may be solid (like Hillsong’s “Man of Sorrows”), other songs by the artist may not be, which could promote wrong theology in our people lacking discernment. Finally, the whole congregation is to sing on Sunday morning, so the songs we sing must be singable by the congregation. While many hymns are wonderful in their depth and accuracy, some are very difficult for a congregation to sing. This is especially true of many psalm arrangements, but even some contemporary songs suffer from this problem. A worship song is not useful if people stumble over it or focus so hard on trying to follow it that they are unable to actually worship God in their singing. If a song cannot be sung by the entire congregation, it does not belong in the worship set. This also means we must be careful and intentional about new songs. We should introduce new songs regularly, but if all of the songs in a service are unfamiliar, people’s worship will be negatively impacted. Therefore only one or two songs in any service should be new. Sending the worship set to the congregation as a Spotify playlist, having a song of the month, and the leader singing through the first verse and chorus before the congregation sings a song for the first time are all good strategies to help ease the learning curve so that the congregation can focus on worshipping the God exalted in the songs rather than on the mechanics of the songs themselves. Finally, our songs should be those that all of the congregation wants to sing. This does not mean catering to ever person’s preferences, but we must be cognizant of how a song’s tempo, vocal range, and lyrics can cause people to engage or disengage. Many contemporary worship songs are effeminate not only in their lyrics but also in their tempo, feel, and vocal range. This naturally causes men to be disinterested in singing them, so we should choose songs that both men and women can joyously and boisterously sing. If we ensure that all songs used in worship are theologically deep and accurate as well as singable by the congregation, then our psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs will be honoring to God and beneficial for us.
How We Must Sing
Now that we see why we must sing in church and what songs we must sing, we must address how we must sing them. Our singing must be just as purposeful as the songs themselves because it is “a religious exercise by which, with the appropriate modulation of the voice, we worship, thank, and praise God”.[4] Notice how this definition talks of the “appropriate modulation of the voice”. While it is true that Scripture commands us to be joyful and loud in our singing but never requires us to be on key, we should always strive to give God our best. Some people simply cannot sing on key, and we should remember that God is just as pleased with their joyful and loud singing as He is with the most talented singers. And while off-key singing can be distracting, the joyful and loud singing of the entire congregation will cause their voices to fade into the mighty chorus of praise.
That chorus of praise must always be the primary and most important musical instrument in worship, so whatever instruments we use to accompany our worship songs must always aid and never overshadow that primary instrument. This means that simplicity is usually better in worship, with accompaniment of a piano, guitar, or organ to guide the congregation. A larger band with additional vocalists or even a full choir can be beneficial as well, but only as long as it does not drown out the congregation. If those in the congregation cannot hear each other singing, the music from the stage is too loud. Since those on stage are secondary to and supporting the congregation, worship must not be a concert. There is no Scriptural warrant and therefore no room in the Lord’s service for theatrics, special effects, smoke machines, elaborate light shows, flashy guitar solos, or anything else that exalts man or aims to create a specific sensory experience. We are to worship with our minds, not only our emotions: “I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also” (1 Corinthians 14:15b). As we sing, we should meditate on the words we are singing as well as their implications. Our singing should cause us to contemplate who God is, who we are, and what Christ has done for us. So just as we must be wary of stumbling through new and difficult songs, we must also be cautious of being so familiar with the songs that we sing them absentmindedly. We must sing to God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Who Should Lead Our Singing?
Everything about our singing must be intentional and guided by Scripture, including who leads us in singing. As I stated last time, every part of the covenant renewal service should be led by an ordained male church officer. The worship leader like the pastor is teaching (through song) and exercising authority over the congregation, representing Christ to the Bride, so the same rules apply: “It would upset the entire fabric of God-ordained role relationships within the church and home for a woman to speak and act for Jesus in corporate worship. The symbolism of male headship must be maintained in the corporate liturgy of the Church”.[5] Some Reformed churches do not agree with this view but still maintaining the appropriate seriousness in worship. They do this by ensuring their worship leaders are well qualified, knowledgeable of Scripture, display godliness in life, and operate under the authority of the elders. Those qualities are required regardless of whether or not a church holds that the worship leader must be an ordained man.
Musical ability cannot be the only or primary qualification. Some musical ability is required to lead the congregation in song, but most churches today select their worship leaders primarily based on musical ability. This leads to many dangers, like a bifurcation of the service between the music led by a worship leader and the rest of the service led by a pastor. When the songs don’t fit the rest of the service, there is disunity and confusion. In extreme cases, the worship leader engages in what I will call “worship homilies” by elaborating on personal meditations or speaking on the meaning of a particular song. Sometimes short clarifications can be helpful, such as explaining “Ebenezer” in “Come Thou Fount”, but when worship leaders speak at length on stage, they are essentially preaching when they have not been ordained to do so. Everything in the worship service must be done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40), which includes the singing. Those who lead worship should therefore be ordained men acting in concert with the ministers leading the rest of the service, and they should take their role very seriously.
Now that we have seen why we must sing, the types of songs we must sing, how we must sing, and who must lead us in song, we should approach our singing on Sunday morning with seriousness but also great joy. We should all sing loudly, joyfully, and to the best of our ability because God and the Gospel are worthy of our best: “It is thus needful that I stir up everyone to sing—not only psalms, but also spiritual songs. Therefore, believers, dispense with this listlessness”.[6]
NOTES:
[1] Jeffrey J. Meyers, The Lord’s Service: The Grace of Covenant Renewal Worship, Moscow, ID: Canon Press: 2003: 178.
[2] Joel R. Beeke, “Rediscovering the Laity: The Reformation in the Pew and in the Classroom”, Puritan Reformed Journal Volume 3 3, no. 1: 2011: 314.
[3] Joel R. Beeke, “Rediscovering the Laity: The Reformation in the Pew and in the Classroom”, Puritan Reformed Journal Volume 3 3, no. 1: 2011: 314.
[4] Wilhelmus à Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, ed. Joel R. Beeke, trans. Bartel Elshout, vol. 4, Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books: 1995: 31.
[5] Jeffrey J. Meyers, The Lord’s Service: The Grace of Covenant Renewal Worship, Moscow, ID: Canon Press: 2003: 97.
[6] Wilhelmus à Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, ed. Joel R. Beeke, trans. Bartel Elshout, vol. 4, Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books: 1995: 35.
