Articles
“The Pattern of Praise”
The path to worship begins with a HYMN. Paul lists three types in Ephesians 5:19, “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” It is impossible for a congregation to worship without a prewritten hymn. God wants the church’s worship to be done “decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). There’s nothing wrong with spontaneous worship but for it to be orderly there must be some structure to it. A hymn provides that structure. We can use readymade psalms from the Old Testament or write our own hymns with spiritual content. Hymns are the prescribed vehicle of expression in worship and provide the spiritual impetus and formal structure for worship because they are filled with biblical content that brings honor to God and exhorts the church.
Next, the hymn must stimulate the HEART of each worshiper. In the Bible, the “heart” is used to describe much more than how we feel. We can “know” with our heart (Deut. 8:5), “understand” with our heart (Deut. 29:4) and “wisdom” can dwell within the heart (Prov. 14:33). Our heart is where we think, making connections and discerning between truth and error (intellect). Our heart is where we make choices motivated by “the desires of our heart” (will) (Psa. 37:4; 2 Sam. 7:4). And of course, our heart is where we feel (emotion). Therefore, wisdom tells us to guard our heart “with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Prov. 4:23)
The rest of Ephesians 5:19 says that we are to sing and make melody “to the Lord with [our] heart.” In order to worship with our heart, we must engage the various dimensions of it. We engage the intellect by understanding what we are singing. Paul says we are not only to sing praise with our spirit but with our mind also (1 Cor. 14:15). Colossians 3:16 qualifies that our expressions of worship must be “with all wisdom,” suggesting a certain level of discernment when we sing. Without this comprehension, our worship is an empty exercise that fails to glorify God or benefit the church.
However, this doesn’t mean that our worship should be entirely intellectual. We can be thoughtful in worship and careful to consider every word of the song, but unless that understanding provokes emotions like joy, love and gratitude within us, it proves just as vain. Colossians 3:16 says we are to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs “with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” The psalmist writes, “My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.” (Psa. 84:2) We can’t directly hear emotion in worship (although we can guess at its presence or absence), but God knows if our heart is engaged (cf. Isa. 29:13).
When we sing with engaged hearts, our worship can glorify GOD. This is the primary goal of our worship. Romans 15:6 says that in unified worship the church “may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God loves to hear his people express their praise to him when they do so in the proper way and with the proper spirit. He deserves our praise because of who he is and what he has done and promises yet to do. Let’s never forget that the main objective of our worship is to praise the Lord.
As we “make melody to the Lord with [our] heart” in our hymns (Eph. 5:19) we are simultaneously teaching and admonishing “one another” (Col. 3:16). Just as we sing to God, so too are we singing to the CHURCH. We need to be aware that our singing is also a means of teaching. Because there is a horizontal as well as a vertical direction to our worship, our singing must edify our brethren just as much it glorifies God.
But the language of Colossians 3:16 suggests a two-way street. We teach and admonish “one another.” That is, just as we want to sing in a way that builds up others, we want to learn to consider their voice too. This once again necessitates engaging our HEART. This “one another” aspect to our worship sets up a feedback loop. As we consider what our brethren are singing, it moves us emotionally and intellectually to take our praise to a higher level. As they listen to our heightened praise, they also worship more intensely. The reinforcement we receive from the church is a powerful tool we can use to make our worship more pleasing to God.
Thus, the path to worship can be summarized in this way: The spiritual thought of a hymn provokes our hearts, which then sings praises that are heard both by God and by the church. In turn, the church sings to us, which stirs our hearts again. This is the pattern for praise that is pleasing to God.
These points were taken from Matthew Bassford’s “The Path to Worship”
