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Music & Worship

A Biblical Call to Praise: Part 8

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Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:16

"Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs"

As we continue our look at Colossians 3:16, it is good to think again regarding why St. Paul is so strong in his command for "Spirit-filled song." His admonition to the churches of Colosse and Ephesus reflected two realities:

• The early church was a singing church.
• A significant Old Testament distinctive was its emphasis on singing in the praise of God.

Thus, it was only natural that the Apostle would want to instruct these two young churches in the use of music in worship.

As we look at the Scripture, it's clear that sung praise is an essential element in worship.

"Fifteen times the Old Testament tells us to 'Sing to the Lord.' In addition, the Bible instructs believers to make melody to the Lord and enter God's courts in song; there are some 242 such exhortations in the Old Testament alone. (Emphasis added) Add the twelve New Testament citations and you get a pretty good picture of the importance of song to God. In fact, the Book of Revelation portrays heaven as continually filled with the songs of the saints. Hence, we sing because singing is what the people of God do in God's presence." (Dr. Fred R. Anderson)

Paul's writings reflect the reality of Scripture and the early church: Singing is not a casual diversion for the saints. Singing engages the whole self in worship. It not only joins individual heads and hearts, it unites the congregation in common prayer. John Calvin wrote:

"The special service to which the tongue should be devoted is that of singing and speaking in as much as it has been expressly created to declare and proclaim the praise of God." (Institutes, Beveridge transl. Vol. II, p. 181)

CS Spurgeon adds these words to the significance of song in worship:

I think I would endorse the saying of an old Divine who said that a line of praise was better than a leaf of prayer; that praise was the highest, noblest, most satisfying and most healthful occupation in which a Christian man could be found." (Holy Song from Happy Saints.

Because the choir is involved in the weekly work of praising God in song, it is doubly blessed. Let us continually examine our song and insure that it conforms to God's high standard of music/worship!

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