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Tozer lamented of the popular religious music of a generation ago, “Many of our popular songs and choruses in praise of Christ are hollow and unconvincing. While Augustine believed church music a good way to raise the affections of worshippers, he warned in his Confessions, “When it happens to me that the music moves me more than the subject of the song, I confess myself to commit a sin deserving punishment.” In his Preface to the Genevan Psalter, John Calvin said, “Touching the melody, it has seemed best that it be moderated in the manner which we have adopted, to carry gravity and majesty appropriate to the subject, and even to be suitable for singing in the church.” John Wesley says in the Preface to his 1780 hymnbook that he sought to purge the hymnal of all “doggerel,” “bombast,” and “words without meaning.” A. The careful inquirer can find saints in every age who felt the weight of this reverent obligation to sing to God in a manner worthy of Him. This means that our singing must sound very different from popular music concerts and carnival tunes.
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We have an obligation to sing to God in a manner that is worthy of who He is and that exemplifies the expressions of reverence and joy found throughout Holy Scripture. This means that we dare not assume that the way we sing to God is a matter of “adiaphora” or indifference. We sing to that Holy Spirit whom God has given to us to dwell in our hearts, making us God’s holy temple. We sing to our Savior, Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for us. We sing to the Father, thrice holy and forever blessed. Likewise, we believe that the duty of holy singing by the saints of God in their weekly gatherings for worship is of such a nature that Paul’s charge would be equally fitting for this aspect of divine worship as well. Paul took such a high and sober-minded view of preaching that when he commanded Timothy to preach the word continually, he solemnly charged him in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom (2 Tim 4:1). This command excludes from our worship any expression of song or prayer that is untrue, or unworthy, of the God who is over all and blessed forever. The words of the epistle of Hebrews surely apply as much to singing as they do to any other aspect of worship in Christ’s assembly: Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire (Heb 12:28-29). Our singing to God is a most sacred thing. Singing is one of the ways we fulfill the chief end for which God made us: to glorify and enjoy Him. But singing is-thanks be to God-also the commanded duty of all God’s people in all eras of His dealings with humankind. Singing praise to God is the natural response of men who adore their Maker. Indeed, from cover to cover the Scriptures command such heartfelt responses of the affections of believing people: Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously (Exod 15:21) Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done marvelous things! (Psa 98:1) Sing praises to the LORD, for He has done gloriously (Isa 12:5) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly … singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (Col 3:16). Miriam and Moses, David and Asaph, Isaiah and Jeremiah, Jesus and Paul-they all sang their praise to God.
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From the earliest days, in both Testaments, God’s people sing as an expression of worship.