Reflection

Theology of Worship

Biblical foundations for worship and why we sing hymns.

What Does the Bible Say About Singing?

Why do we sing?

  • What’s our motivation?
  • Why do we sing to others?
  • What things make singing hymns different from singing in general?
  • Does God actually like this?
  • Whom do we sing to?

How then should we sing? (What’s important and what’s not?)

  • What does God want? What kind of directives for singing has He given to us?
  • What should our attitude be?
  • What should we be focusing on/thinking about when we sing?
  • What are some common pitfalls that get in the way of the above? How can we address them?

How does the above inform our singing at performances?

Is the Focus on Coming into the Presence of a Holy God?

Without God, it’s an abomination—in Isaiah 1 God says He’s repulsed by the Israelites’ sacrifices and incense and prayers, and in Isaiah 58 He says they fast for their own pleasure and to quarrel and fight and oppress the poor.

  • Do we sing praises to God in church and then turn around and complain/gossip about people/things we don’t like? (cf. James 3)

Who Do We Sing To?

  • God (first and foremost)
  • To our fellow Christians (Colossians 3:16)
  • To unbelievers (“to all the nations”, Paul and Silas in prison)
    • It’s very unusual to sing every week and just all the time, and even Christians who don’t like singing in general do this!
  • Worship changes you—you become more like what you worship
    • Psalm 115:8 — Those who make [idols] become like them; so do all who trust in them.
    • 2 Corinthians 3:18 — And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Scripture: Why Singing Matters

  • Singing is pretty important in God’s eyes—one of the longest books of the Bible is devoted to it
  • Christian singing is worship to a holy God—this is what distinguishes it from singing in general
    • The focus is so not on you—it’s on God → this is how you avoid the pitfalls, which almost always have to do with focus on self/world over God
  • Colossians 3:16: Word of Christ dwelling in us → sing with thankfulness in our hearts to God to build each other up
    • Many translations (KJV, NASB, etc.) translate it as “teaching and admonishing one another in/with psalms/hymns/spiritual songs”
    • Hymns are sermons in song

Psalm 100

Psalm 100 contains 7 commands. What are these commands, and what are the reasons the psalmist gives for them?

  • Come into His presence, enter His gates/courts
    • Who God is (He is God)
    • What God has done
    • What our relationship to Him is

Psalm 63

Psalm 63 is more specific on what God has done; what our relationship with Him is:

  • “Beholding your power and glory”
  • Remember/meditate on what God has done
    • See also Psalm 103: God forgives our iniquity, heals our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, crowns us with steadfast love and mercy, satisfies us with good, etc.
  • Attitude of dependence on God — v8 “cling” = Genesis 2:24

Psalm 119

Psalm 119 teaches us to sing because of what God has said—the gift of His Word which is able to completely transform us (Psalm 19, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

  • Both this and Psalm 63 mention midnight—singing isn’t just something we do in church

Translating the Why’s into How’s

When the focus is on coming into the presence of our holy God and worshiping in His temple, that leaves no room for distractions

  • Exodus 24:17 — Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.
  • 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 (context: temple is completed) — And it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Attitude of Joy!

  • Singing comes from a regenerated heart that loves God and loves praising Him
  • Psalms overflow with joyfulness in God’s goodness—starts from a heart that delights in God
  • Remind yourself of what God has done (preaching the gospel to yourself)
  • Do it often! (rising at midnight, not just in church)
  • When we have hearts of thankfulness, our minds are turned to God instead of ourselves or distractions, and our joy comes through in our singing and glorifies God!
  • What a privilege it is to be given (1) the ability to sing, (2) the heart to sing, (3) the opportunity to sing with fellow believers, (4) the treasury of great hymns to sing, (5) and the opportunity to sing for others to meet not just their physical/emotional needs, but their spiritual needs as well! Blessings upon blessings contained in this single act of singing

Revelation 5:9-10

And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”

(Revelation 5:9-10)

Common Pitfalls

  • Focusing “too much” on the music: What does that mean?
    • Zoning out?
  • Distraction, thinking about other things: homework, etc. Saying the words but not declaring them.
  • Singing to residents instead of to God?

How to Address These Pitfalls

  • How to balance singing to residents/quality of music?
  • How can we apply what we are learning in hymn studies to performing?
  • What is your motivation for singing hymns? What do you hope to get out of it? Why? Why? Why? — get very specific
    • What do you mean by that?
    • How do you know?
  • Worshipping God with art versus music: WORD
    • general revelation versus special revelations
  • As much for us as it is for them!

Further Reading