The first picture that comes to mind when we hear the word “singing” would usually be a happy one. But more and more, differing views about music in assembly life are turning friendly discussions into heated dissension—even unhappy divisions. This is especially disconcerting since “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19) is listed as the first evidence of being filled with the Spirit! What is happening?
For centuries, the musical heritage of a civilization was shared by all ages, passed down from father to son. The Hebrew songs, sung in a style that can still be heard in the streets of Israel today, were lisped by her little children, whispered by her mothers at their bedsides, and sung triumphantly by her armies as they marched into battle.
However, in the last century, culture has been turned on its head. Perhaps youth have always longed for the day when they could make significant changes to the way things were done, but now they no longer need wait. They have short-circuited the system and hijacked their cultures. Music styles of the young now drive society.
At the same time, Christian music, influenced by musicians like Keith Green, became a mixed marriage—the world’s hard-driving sounds linked with Christian lyrics. The argument went: music is composed of black notes; these notes are neither good nor evil; therefore any type of music may be harnessed to Christian words to be a legitimate form of the expression of faith. Sometimes they included Luther’s use of beer hall tunes for his hymns, an argument which has been disproved. But the “black dot” argument is just as suspect. Are pornographic photos also merely an arrangement of dots? We need better reasoning than that for the vehicles of our worship.
Only the uninformed would give blanket approval to all hymn lyrics. “The darkness shall turn to dawning” is a prime example of less-than-biblical lyrics, ideal for amillennialists. Likewise, we hope none would blindly reject, or accept, every contemporary chorus—like the one pleading that the Lord “take not” His Spirit from us; it seems only suitable for its Charismatic composers who do not believe in eternal security.
Most hymns and some choruses can be an appropriate and helpful part of corporate worship. But I would mention three areas of concern. First, since psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are for “speaking to yourselves” (Eph. 5:19), they are intended to warm our hearts so that we might express worship to the Lord in our own words. One could logically conclude, then, that the number of hymns would diminish as the meeting progressed, and more worship would be given in verbal expressions of thanksgiving, rather than borrowed from others.
Second, we should want appropriate words. Many choruses are “spiritual songs,” subjective rather than objective, and intended to minister to the singers rather than to bring worship to the Lord. If our worship is to be a sweet-savor burnt offering—all for Him—we will leave all such subjective lyrics for other times.
Third, there is a trend toward accompaniment at the Lord’s Supper. Some may feel this enhances the singing and cite Old Testament use of instruments, but note: OT worship was of a primitive form, largely external and designed to artificially stimulate multitudes of Israelites who were only associated by natural birth and, Saul-like, needed outside stimulation to move their inward beings. David needed no such help; he had the song within.
Also, there were no instruments ever in the sanctuary. You might make a case for instrumental use on other occasions, but at the Lord’s Supper we, unlike Israel, go inside the veil, where all distractions and additions must be left outside. I agree that some acapella attempts may barely qualify for making “a joyful sound” but the solution to poor singing is not to disguise it with instruments. We need to take some fellowship time to learn to sing the hymns properly so our objective, unadorned, biblically accurate, spiritual worship may ascend to Him.