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Psalm 150
“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!” (Ps. 150:6).
Human beings engage the world with the use of their five senses. Moreover, we use our physical senses when we participate in corporate worship. Our ears hear music and preaching; our skin feels the water of baptism; our noses smell and our tongues taste bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper; our eyes see fellow believers and the walls of the sanctuary; and so forth. Scripture has something to say about worshiping God with our senses, and perhaps the sense we use most of all is that of hearing. Corporate worship is full of sounds to hear.
When we think of sounds in worship, most of us probably think immediately about singing hymns and listening to instrumental accompaniment. In fact, Christian worship services have long been characterized by their use of music. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:16 that we are to sing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” and believers have been doing so for millennia. Believers have not always agreed on whether we can sing noninspired hymns or must limit ourselves to singing only biblical psalms, and some Christians have even thought that instruments should not be used in corporate worship. What we have agreed on, however, is that singing should occur when we gather on the Lord’s Day.
Space prevents us from engaging all the debates about using instruments and extrabiblical hymns in worship. Most Christians do use instruments and hymns, however, and they turn to passages such as Psalm 150 as a guide. This text lists a wide range of instruments, commanding us to use them to praise the Lord. From this, we may rightly infer that it is certainly possible to properly worship God with instruments. Not every church can have an orchestra, of course, but that does not mean that it cannot use a piano or other instruments that it does have.
Singing hymns is an important part of the Protestant tradition. Martin Luther led the recovery of congregational singing in the church, viewing music as a handmaiden to sound biblical teaching. He and other Reformers also wrote many hymns that have become beloved classics in the church. Countless hymns have been written in church history, but only a few live on in public worship generations after they were first composed. They continue on because the church has had a chance to filter out hymns that are not as theologically sound or do not have the same musical quality as others. Singing them gives us good teaching and connects us with the church of every age.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Not every old hymn is worth singing today, and not every new song will pass away. If the Lord tarries, some hymns written today will perhaps be sung hundreds of years from now. The important thing is that we use hymns that are theologically sound and that convey the breadth of Scripture’s teaching on topics such as God’s attributes, the work of the cross, the purpose of the church, and the Holy Trinity.
for further study
- 1 Chronicles 25
- Psalm 96:1–2
- Ephesians 5:18–21
- Revelation 15:2–4