Let Us Sing

Acts of Worship: Pt. 1

Series Introduction

In this series we are going to look at the worship service of assembled Christians and see what the scriptures say in regards to each of the acts of worship. The service of our Lord requires us to: Sing, Pray, partake of the Lord’s Supper, give of our means (Collection), and preach the gospel. We’ll also look at The Lord’s Invitation; a responsibility given to us by God.

Part 1: Introduction

People often wonder why singing is part of the worship service. Others wonder why some use mechanical instruments, while others do not. Is one right and the other wrong or does God really care? We’ll look at these ideas and others in this article.

Why Sing?

Why do we sing in the first place? The notion of singing has been around for centuries. Men would sing songs as they entered into battle to uplift their spirits and be united in the same cause.

High Schools and Colleges have what are known as “Fight Songs” which are relatively the same thing; they show their school spirit during sporting events and get everyone excited and involved in the game.

In the worship assembly it can be for the same reason; to uplift your spirit and be united in the same cause. Paul gives the real reason for singing in Col. 3:16, “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.” Teaching and admonishing are two things that come out of this verse. You can learn certain things by singing them. If you don’t understand the words (lyrics) of a song, you can’t very well learn from them nor teach others. Understanding a big part of it.

We also sing to God to show our appreciation for the things he has done for us; salvation from sin and provision for our daily lives. Everything that we have from the ground we walk on, to the air we breathe, and the food we eat is from God. Aside from prayer, we can thank him by singing.

We sing to uplift our spirits; in trial and tribulation, if we’ve suffered loss through death of a family member, friend, or loved one; if things aren’t going the way they should in your life.

The Use of Mechanical Instruments

This has become one of those “Hot Button” issues with members of the church since the 1950s; even before! Should instruments be played while singing?

In most of the church buildings around the country today there’s either a piano, an organ, or even a band performing music while people sing. Most of the people who partake in this as performers or members of the congregation never once ask, “Does God approve of this?” They assume it is acceptable to Him as they are performing the music during the worship service with God in mind.

We’ve already looked at Col. 3:16 above and you can read it again to understand what it says. Let’s now look at what the apostle Paul wrote in Eph. 5:19, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Notice this verse also says sing. Neither verse says anything about playing instruments. Question: If God commanded the use of mechanical instruments, don’t you think everyone would have to play one? If all are commanded to sing, then all should be commanded to play an instrument. This would eliminate the idea of a pianist, organist, or ‘Praise Band’. All would have to play, not just one or a few.

Let’s take this one step further. Going to Acts 16, we learn of Paul and Silas’ visit to Philippi. When Paul caused a demon to come out of this slave girl, they are immediately thrown in prison by those who owned her seeing that they made a living by her fortune-telling.

Let’s join the story in verses 23-25, And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Paul and Silas were singing hymns in prison. If the use of instruments were commanded by God, they would have had them already or would have requested for some to be brought in. If they were refused, then they couldn’t praise God appropriately. Since they were only singing, then that is what God has authorized us to do.

What about 2 Sam. 6:5?

Now some will reach back into the Old Testament and use verses from there which indicate that instruments were used. As an example, let’s look at 2 Samuel 6:5, Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the LORD on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals. People will jab their finger at this and say, “See, King David used instruments!” Indeed he did! But let’s look at the context of the usage.

At the beginning of the chapter, we see David and some men heading out to fetch the Ark of the Covenant, which was initially stolen by the Philistines, and to return it to its rightful place in Jerusalem. In verse 3 it reads, So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab… Let’s stop right there! They put the ark on a cart. Is that what God commanded them to do? Yes, it was a new cart but was that acceptable? The answer is NO! The ark was to be carried by the Levites on their shoulders with two poles (Ex. 25:14; 1 Chron. 15:15).

Now you’ll ask, what does this have to do with the instruments? Nothing really, except you will notice that it was David’s idea and not God’s. So, even though the music was being played before God, nothing is written that God commanded such a thing nor accepted it. And you know that Uzzah was killed by God for touching the ark when it began to slide off of the cart (2 Sam. 6:6-7).

Conclusion

        God has commanded us to sing in His worship services. It was man’s idea to add instruments; mostly to keep the tempo or make it sound lovely. God would rather hear our voices than to have them drowned out by mechanical noise.