Playing for Worship
What is the role of singing and musicians in worship, and how should instruments be played to that end?
The primary work and distinctive of the Church is corporate worship. Everything else flows out of right worship. As the congregation spiritually ascends before the Throne of God in corporate worship, we are privileged to be a part of the Church Universal, the great Clouds of Witnesses. From worship flows the benefits of a restored relationship with God and with our fellow men and the blessing of the Gospel as we strive to bring the beauty of grace to bear in the subduing of the earth.
As such, worship should consist of the following elements:
• Dialogue between God and His people.
• Using God’s words to reflect back to Him that which He has said about Himself.
• Scripture: read, sung, prayed, recited, antiphonal, etc. The reformed tradition talks about the centrality of the Word, but usually only defines that as the preaching of the Word. The centrality of the Word should be evident from all of the elements of the service.
• Liturgy which reflects the flow of the Gospel: Call to Worship, recognition of the nature and character of God; God’s Law and our inability to keep it because of sin and thus our need for the Savior; instruction in the Word; the blessing of the sacraments—our heavenly food; the sending forth into the world after being equipped through worship.
• Historic and contextual content. Contemporary, not modern.
As such, the purpose of instruments is to support and encourage the corporate singing of the Church. How we play instruments in other realms of life (recitals, concert halls, stadiums, night clubs, etc.) should be different from how we approach playing in worship—simply put, the purpose and audience is different. The point of worship is Yahweh’s glory not our preferences, ideals, concepts, or desires; hence, the need to use the very words of Yahweh in praising Him.
How we approach the playing of the organ, piano, guitar, percussion, violin, etc. in worship should not be an unthinking assuming of what “works” for pop, modern, radio, or art music. The purpose and venue is different!
Very rarely does one hear a church musician “orchestrate” or harmonize various verses of a song to more properly reflect the theological truths of the words in different lines of text. More often than not, what we hear is a vanilla performance that drives towards the end without variation based on theological concepts but rather on standard practice of what “sounds good” regardless of the content of the words. In good conscience, I cannot sing text of the death and blood of Christ Jesus to flippant and unthinking music.
As I have written in other areas, what we may consider to be a sacrifice of praise may be to Yahweh like the stench of Cain’s offering or the “strange fire” of Aaron’s sons because we offer what we want to offer rather than what He requires of us.
Rather than defend the use of various practices on cultural grounds, perhaps we should more deliberately ask what it is that Yahweh desires. This is a provocation to thought and study, not a definitive exposition. After all, worship, like theology, is an art for careful wisdom and discernment.
The primary work and distinctive of the Church is corporate worship. Everything else flows out of right worship. As the congregation spiritually ascends before the Throne of God in corporate worship, we are privileged to be a part of the Church Universal, the great Clouds of Witnesses. From worship flows the benefits of a restored relationship with God and with our fellow men and the blessing of the Gospel as we strive to bring the beauty of grace to bear in the subduing of the earth.
As such, worship should consist of the following elements:
• Dialogue between God and His people.
• Using God’s words to reflect back to Him that which He has said about Himself.
• Scripture: read, sung, prayed, recited, antiphonal, etc. The reformed tradition talks about the centrality of the Word, but usually only defines that as the preaching of the Word. The centrality of the Word should be evident from all of the elements of the service.
• Liturgy which reflects the flow of the Gospel: Call to Worship, recognition of the nature and character of God; God’s Law and our inability to keep it because of sin and thus our need for the Savior; instruction in the Word; the blessing of the sacraments—our heavenly food; the sending forth into the world after being equipped through worship.
• Historic and contextual content. Contemporary, not modern.
As such, the purpose of instruments is to support and encourage the corporate singing of the Church. How we play instruments in other realms of life (recitals, concert halls, stadiums, night clubs, etc.) should be different from how we approach playing in worship—simply put, the purpose and audience is different. The point of worship is Yahweh’s glory not our preferences, ideals, concepts, or desires; hence, the need to use the very words of Yahweh in praising Him.
How we approach the playing of the organ, piano, guitar, percussion, violin, etc. in worship should not be an unthinking assuming of what “works” for pop, modern, radio, or art music. The purpose and venue is different!
Very rarely does one hear a church musician “orchestrate” or harmonize various verses of a song to more properly reflect the theological truths of the words in different lines of text. More often than not, what we hear is a vanilla performance that drives towards the end without variation based on theological concepts but rather on standard practice of what “sounds good” regardless of the content of the words. In good conscience, I cannot sing text of the death and blood of Christ Jesus to flippant and unthinking music.
As I have written in other areas, what we may consider to be a sacrifice of praise may be to Yahweh like the stench of Cain’s offering or the “strange fire” of Aaron’s sons because we offer what we want to offer rather than what He requires of us.
Rather than defend the use of various practices on cultural grounds, perhaps we should more deliberately ask what it is that Yahweh desires. This is a provocation to thought and study, not a definitive exposition. After all, worship, like theology, is an art for careful wisdom and discernment.
2 Comments:
So, what's worse? Singing "of the death and blood of Christ Jesus to flippant and unthinking music," or singing it to dull, uninspired, fifth-rate music? Does God really care so much about the style of music? Or does He care more about the attitudes of our hearts as we worship?
On the other hand, I completely agree that the American church has bought into the prevailing cultural attitudes. We have lost nearly all critical thinking skills and have left no time for contemplation. We choose a church based on what our preferences, not asking God where He wants us to be.
On the third hand, how do we even know if there was a difference between worship and non-worship music in Biblical times? Is there any indication whatsoever? I think it's important to strike a balance between honest and critical thought on this subject vs. condemnation of a worship style used in good faith (pun intended).
Mr. Wilbur,
As a leader in musical worship at my church, I certainly struggle every week to present acceptable worship to God. You bring up some good points. However, I notice a few things. I've never really seen you offer any kind of practical application of your ideas, how it would play out in formulating worship. Also, wonder if it is a little pretentious to attempt some efforts at modern worship to the "strange fire" of Nadab and Abihu. They rebelled against the clear and specific command of God. I find no clear and specific commands regarding the music of the church in the New Testament as related to style, instruments, etc.
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