W. Frank Walton
11/20/12
An atmospheric barometer measures changes in the air pressure. How much each individual member and song leader puts into worship in song is a barometer of our faith in God, as well as love for one another. The enthusiasm demonstrated by worship in song clearly indicates the spiritual energy and vitality of the soul.
“Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name” (Heb. 13:15). “Sacrifice” is our best effort, from the bottom of our hearts, for God. The church has the duty and privilege to “offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God” (1 Pet 2:5). A sacrifice costs us something in offering our very best to God (1 Chron. 21:24). God does not accept dead sacrifices of listless, dull singing (Mal. 1:5-14). I greatly appreciate the efforts of our song leader Greg Kiel and others who assist him who continually work at training men to lead singing, so we can give our best effort in edifying singing to one another, which also glorifies God.
The late, beloved R.J Stevens, one of the most effective song leaders of our generation, observed, “Some members of the churches of Christ are more against instrumental music in worship than they are for singing. Sometimes brethren have majored in minors and minored in majors on this subject. We have almost broken our arms patting ourselves on the back because we don’t use instrumental music in worship, while at the same time, put little emphasis on singing as God commanded” (“Five Things Every Song Leader Should Know,” Biblical Insights). “Worship in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24) includes both the right act and the right attitude and the right expression of the two to glorify God and edify man.
The Spiritual Power of Enthused Singing
Tim Stevens, an outstanding song leader and teacher thereof, said, “`The very best way now to rejuvenate dead churches would be to SING them into life…’.When righteous people worship God with great intensity and devotion, His nature becomes their nature day by day…Congregational singing will improve when each member puts his heart and soul into every word of every song used in worship. Poor congregational singing, in most cases, is a symptom of a deeper problem. When hearts are filled with faith, hope and love, the song service comes alive!” (“Congregational Singing,” True Worship: 2005 Florida College Lectures). Enthused singing is a window into our soul that we see the greatness of God!
What these verses all have in common in song worship?
• “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing” (Psa. 100:1-2).
• “The singers sang, with Jezrahiah their leader, and on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy, even the women and children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar” (Neh. 12:42-43).
• “They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, and they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD” (Jer. 31:12).
• “Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!” ( Zeph. 3:14).
• “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious” (Psa. 66:1-2).
• “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you” (Zech. 9:9).
• “I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, `Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God;….Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns” (Rev. 19:1, 6).
They all reveal that worship is expressed in “the sacrifice of praise” (Heb. 13:15), with the emotional fervency of “shout” (sing loudly and energetically) to the Lord. Why is “shout” and “joy” so often connected in the Psalms of worship? The emotional energy of scriptural joy in God must come out with fervency to one another! The joyful praise in Nehemiah’s time when Jerusalem’s wall was dedicated was “heard from afar.” You have to put some energy into such a “shout.” Emotion is a heart-felt response to an intellectual understanding of the truth of God’s mighty acts of salvation. It a barometer of our fervently we believe in the awesome glory of God and the profound greatness of our spiritual blessings.
Complete Dedication in Singing to the Lord and One Another
We learn from these OT examples (Rom 15:4) of worship that spiritual intensity is expressed with loud enthusiasm for the greatness and glory of God. “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name” (Psa. 103:1). “All..within me” includes our emotional energy. Enthusiasm literally means “God within.” Scriptural worship is both doctrinally accurate in truth and emotionally intense in spirit. The Lord abhors service to Him that is “dead” (Rev. 3:1) or “lukewarm” (Rev 3:16).
“Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven” (Lk 6:22-23a). To “leap for joy” conveys the natural spiritual excitement in appreciating and expressing exuberant gratitude to the Lord for the privilege of suffering for the heavenly blessings. We must sing “with grace (gratitude) in your hearts unto the Lord” (Col. 3:16b). God designed such enthusiasm to be mutually encouraging as we “speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (Col. 3:16a).
God Designed Musical Singing to Be Beautifully Edifying in the Church
While the right form and message are essential, this limited mindset denies the God-ordained aesthetics of beautiful, uplifting singing to build up His church. If all that matters are the words, then why not just pray! Prayer is not a substitute for the musical exercise of singing! God ordained a musical, aesthetic component in our song service for our spiritual edification! “Music” is defined from the New Oxford American Dictionary as “the science and art of incorporating…sounds to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” Random House Dictionary defines music as “pleasing, harmonious sounds.” In addition, music has melody, pitch, rhythm, tempo and usually harmony. If these musical elements don’t matter, as some seem to think, just try letting everyone sing at their own tempo and pitch and you’ll see how disconcerting and grating such incompetent singing is! I realize that a few are tone-deaf or cannot sing well, but this the exception, not the rule. Most of us can improve the musical quality of our singing to edify one another, while giving due emphasis on the thoughts expressed to God.
“Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful” (Psa. 147:1; cf. 33:1). Scriptural singing, as an expression of “joy” (Psa. 33:1), is uplifting and “beautiful” (Heb. nâ’veh, “comely, attractive”). With scriptural words, God gave us the spiritual exercise of great singing to have aesthetic beauty to elevate our spirits. Such spiritual singing is designed by God to be “pleasant” (Heb. nâ‛ı̂ym, “delightful, sweet, lovely, agreeable, physically beautiful”).
The fervency of proper worship in song displays the spiritual energy of our souls, how real and great God is to us, how vital our faith is, and how grateful we are to our great God for the privilege to come into His transforming, glorious throne-room at the center of the universe (Rev. 4). “Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful” (Psa. 33:1). We should do this congregationally (Eph. 5:19) as well as daily as individuals (Ja. 5:13).
By W. Frank Walton