Singing is like Breathing
Singing is as close to worship as breathing is to life itself.
Singing goes beyond speaking. Through music we express what overflows out of our heart and spirit. A melody comes rushing out and escapes the confines of conversation. It is God’s holy gift to us that we offer in worship back to Him.
The close relationship of singing to worship is evident even to the casual observer. Jesus and the disciples sang a hymn at the Lord’s Supper. The Bible records that the early Christians sang hymns to “Christ as God”.
The use of music is powerfully recorded in Martin Luther’s reformation. It is Luther who said, “Next to theology, I give the first and highest honor to music”. In fact, every revival or spiritual awakening in history (even as late as the Pensacola Revival and Toronto Blessing) [every revival] has been accompanied by a revival in song.
Worship and Music were blended beautifully at the dedication of Solomon’s temple:
II Chronicles 5:12-14
Notice that the singers, instrumentalists, worship leader, ministers and people all shared in the worship of God… and the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
Somewhere along the way we’ve lost our way. Although the church is divided into laity and leadership, it should not be divided in worship. Many members mistakenly believe that their responsibility to the church extends only to paying the bills and attending the Sunday morning service when convenient. The preacher is paid to pray for them, to preach at them, and to worry about worship.
We have forgotten one of the basic principles of the New Testament – the priesthood of all believers, with its insistence on the responsibility of each individual in spiritual matters.
In the course of a worship service, the congregation is not the audience, which pays to see a performance but rather, as was suggested by someone more eloquent than I, God is the audience and we are the actors. This is the role of a lifetime. It should be played enthusiastically with all your heart, soul, mind, body, and strength.
Perhaps we don’t more actively participate because we have a mistaken idea as to the purpose of singing. It has been used like a seventh-inning stretch or as a time-filler. Some churches use it to cover an awkward moment in the service or drown out the noise of latecomers. The purpose of singing is not to get you from 10:00 to 10:30 each Sunday morning.
Perhaps people fear the emotional power of music. They have the idea that worship should be subdued, quiet, and controlled. They feel it would be sinful for worship to cause an emotional outbreak.
I will make my stand on the other side. If you cannot experience ecstasy about your life in Christ, what will you ever be excited about? Music can make you think but it does so much more than that. It will make you clap your hands, tap your foot, and possibly even dance. It causes us to do extravagant things. If the truth were known, most people would have had a problem with the expensive alabaster box of perfume broken at the feet of Jesus. The same is true of music. We think “keep it simple”. “Don’t get carried away”.
We make it worse when we try to divide music into two different categories: secular and sacred. I don’t understand how you can make that distinction. All music is sensuous. All music arouses the senses. Why are we afraid of the senses? Are we Gnostics or Oriental Duelists? Do we believe that the soul and body can be divided and judged independently of each other… one can be saved and the other damned? That’s heresy! God created the whole man to win the whole man, body and soul.
You’ve probably noticed that I like music to be loud, joyous, and ecstatic just as much as I enjoy it soft, quiet and controlled. Let me feel every word, soar with every song, and mourn for every sin. The church should be “goose bump” headquarters.
The primary purpose of singing is to offer prayer and praise to God. Just like King David who encouraged us to dance before the Lord and to make a joyful noise, we express our deepest desires and longings to God in song. We lift our hearts in thanksgiving; we confess our sins; we call upon the Lord. Through singing you express your faith and become a witness to those around you- not just by the words you sing but also by the way you sing them.
Singing is, after all, a form of expression. It’s important to note that you can only express what you sincerely feel. Congregational singing will not flourish until every worshiper feels a personal responsibility to worship.
Worship is active, not passive. It is an act that we make in response to God’s reconciling loving kindness. While we were yet sinners, “Christ died for us.” Because God took the initiative, we are called to action both individually and as a group. When Moses stood before the burning bush he was commanded to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. His first response was inspired by the awesome presence of God. Moses’ second response was to put his shoes back on and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.
If our only response to worship is wonder and amazement we are giving God imperfect worship. Being awestruck in the presence of God is good but it should be accompanied by confession of sin, listening to God’s word, and finally consecration and dedication to do the tasks we have been called to. True worship leads to right living.
When Amos writes the words of God,
I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies…
Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream. (5:21,23,24)
He isn’t saying that God hates worship or music, he’s merely saying that singing isn’t a substitute for right living… for righteousness.
True worship is a verb… an action that calls us to righteousness. Our actions have personal and corporate consequences. While a song is being song by the entire congregation, each individual personally responds in a way that will either add-to or detract from the edification of the body.
There is nobody so insignificant that they cannot make a worthy contribution to the worship life of a church. Many people find it difficult to speak about their relationship with Christ to others. Some are shy and others don’t have enough personal conviction to convince themselves. It should be said that Sunday is the day to express your faith even if you have struggled the other six days of the week.
What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord,
I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. (Ps. 116:12-14)
The original meaning of the word worship is actually Worth-ship. Our worship must be worthy of the God whom we praise.
Worthy are thou, our Lord and God,
To receive glory and honor and power,
For thou didst create all things,
And by thy will they existed and were created. (Rev. 4:11)
Our gift of worship to God must be worthy of His acceptance. If this is true, our gifts should represent some cost to us. Sing with your whole heart even if you don’t like the song. It isn’t for you anyway. A shallow sloppy song, is hardly a gift fit to offer a King. If more work is required of you to sing a certain song, you should do no less than “offer yourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your spiritual act of worship”.
Let me conclude with John Wesley’s instruction on singing:
1. Learn the songs.
2. Sing them the way you learned them.
3. Sing with everything within you. Join in as often as possible. Don’t let sickness hinder you. If it is a cross to bear, take it up willingly and you will find a blessing.
4. Sing courageously. Beware of singing like you are half dead or half asleep. Don’t be afraid of being heard. Sing as loud as you do when you sing the songs of Satan.
5. Sing modestly. Don’t try to be heard above everyone else. You want to blend in.
6. Sing in time. Stay up with the leader. Don’t sing too low. That’s being lazy.
7. Above all, sing spiritually. Aim to please your Creator rather than any of his creation. Be sure that every note is sung to God.
[from contemporary sermon notes]
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