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[Note:\u00a0 <\/strong>This MS is available in larger font on our Manuscripts<\/strong>\u00a0 page.]<\/span><\/p>\n Introduction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Many characteristics distinguish mankind from all the lower forms of animal life. Among the most notable of these peculiarities are the size and capability of the human brain (which makes us superior to all other life forms) and the human voice. These two faculties, working in tandem, enable us to think, reason, and arrive at conclusions and then convert these thoughts and ideas into words, respectively. Our voices, in concert with our tongues and lips, articulate these words, with which we can intelligently communicate with others.<\/span><\/p>\n One of the unique functions of the human voice is not only that of talking, but of producing the beautiful sounds called \u201cmusic\u201d\u2014singing, to be specific. Our voices are by no means the only source of musical sounds. Beginning with Jubal (Gen. 4:21), almost from the dawn of history men have continued to invent a plethora of instruments upon which to produce a wide variety of musical tones and sounds. However, as pleasing as the utterances from such instruments may be, many judge none of these mechanical\/electronic devices, even when played by musical geniuses, equal to the loveliness of sounds of which our God-created instruments are capable.<\/span><\/p>\n God created men to serve and glorify Him. Isaiah declared of God\u2019s people that He formed them \u201cthat they might set forth my praise\u201d (Isa. 43:20\u201321). \u00a0Paul wrote that the Father summed up all things in Christ, \u201cto the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ\u201d (Eph. 1:10\u201312). The very life-purpose of right-thinking persons is to \u201cfear God and keep his commandments\u201d (Ecc. 12:13). Would we not be greatly surprised if God had given us the faculty of speech and song and not expected us to employ these in offering up \u201ca sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to his name\u201d (Heb. 13:15)?<\/span><\/p>\n Worshiping God in Song<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Singing in the Old Testament <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The practice of praising God in song goes back at least to Israel\u2019s singing \u201cthe song of Moses\u201d following the miraculous escape from Egypt through the parted waters of the Red Sea:<\/span><\/p>\n Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto Jehovah, and spake, saying, I will sing unto Jehovah, for he hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. Jehovah is my strength and song, And he is become my salvation: This is my God, and I will praise him; My father\u2019s God, and I will exalt him (Exo. 15:1\u20132).<\/span><\/p>\n Bible students are well aware that the vast book of Psalms, most of which the inspired David wrote a millennium before Christ, is the hymnbook of the Hebrews. One does not read many of the Psalms without understanding why the Bible describes him as \u201cthe sweet psalmist of Israel\u201d (2 Sam. 23:1). Upon the completion of the first temple, Solomon appointed musicians for the temple service, among whom were \u201csingers\u201d (2 Chr. 5:12).<\/span><\/p>\n Singing in the New Testament <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The Lord lived and died under the law of Moses. His custom was to attend synagogue worship on the sabbath (Luke 4:16). According to Alfred Edersheim, \u201cThere was no service of \u2018praise\u2019 in the synagogues,\u201d which implies that they did not sing hymns in synagogue worship (2). However, singing hymns of praise was not something with which the Lord and the apostles were unfamiliar. They engaged in such at least once\u2014before departing from the upper room in Jerusalem, immediately after the Lord instituted His memorial supper and before they crossed Kidron to the Garden of Gethsemane (Mat. 26:30).<\/span><\/p>\n The authority of the Old Testament, with all its trappings of sacrifices, feast days, worship, and other elements peculiar to it\u2014including the Ten Commandments\u2014was \u201ctaken…out of the way\u201d when Jesus was nailed to His cross (Col. 2:14). The Lord promised to build His church (Mat. 16:18), which He accomplished through the preaching of the Gospel on the Pentecost following His ascension (Acts 2:37\u201347). We soon learn that these earliest Christians met on the first, rather than the seventh, day of the week for worship (20:7). When we begin reading the epistles written to various congregations, we discover that one of the acts of worship in which they engaged when they assembled\u2014under the direct tutelage of the apostles\u2014was singing. The Corinthians were reminded to sing \u201cwith the spirit\u201d and \u201cwith the understanding also\u201d (1 Cor. 14:15), and this directive related specifically to their worship assembly (v. 23).<\/span><\/p>\n Paul commanded the saints in Ephesus to speak \u201cone to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord\u201d (Eph. 5:19). He addressed a similar instruction to the Colossian Christians: \u201cLet the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God\u201d (Col. 3:16). The apostle immediately followed this instruction with the admonition: \u201cAnd whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him\u201d (v. 17). The force of this statement, relative to the singing of verse 16, is as follows: Just as engaging in singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs in their worship assemblies was by the authority of Christ, so all their words and deeds were to be by His authority.<\/span><\/p>\n What do Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 teach us about singing in Christian worship?<\/span><\/p>\n What Jackson said concerning heautois <\/em>is no less true concerning heautos <\/em>in Colossians 3:16. Jesus sternly warned against \u201cperformance-oriented\u201d practices in the name of worship (Mat. 6:1\u201318), and one, a few, or a large choir\u2019s singing to the remainder of an assemblage tends heavily to that concept. The singing God authorizes in our worship assemblies involves everyone\u2019s singing simultaneously to one another. Regardless of claims to the contrary, any music besides singing in which every congregant participates simultaneously\u2014congregational singing\u2014will not build up the Lord\u2019s church.<\/span><\/p>\n When we sing songs of praise to God and to the Christ, let us think seriously of their wondrous power, majesty, and greatness that transcends our ability to comprehend fully. When we sing of grace and mercy, we should be reminded of our own unworthiness and of the marvelous love and pity our Creator had and has for mankind. We should soberly sing the songs about the Lord\u2019s return in Judgment, reflecting on the fact that we must \u201call be made manifest\u201d before His judgment-seat (2 Cor. 5:10). We may safely conclude that heartless singing constitutes vain worship. When saints sing from and with the heart, truly entering into the thoughts of the songs, the church is edified. Regardless of claims to the contrary, singing that is not heartfelt\u2014regardless of how beautiful it may sound to human ears\u2014will not build up the Lord\u2019s church.<\/span><\/p>\n In summary, regardless of how pleased men are with the additions, substitutions, and alterations men have made relative to music in worship, God is not glorified, and the church is not edified unless we offer him in song only what He has authorized.<\/span><\/p>\n Principles Governing Our Singing<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The New Testament enunciates certain principles that must govern all our avenues of worship, including singing, if they are to be acceptable. Jesus\u2019 words to the woman at Jacob\u2019s Well provide a pivotal statement in this regard: \u201cGod is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth\u201d (John 4:24). Besides including the only correct and allowable object of worship\u2014Deity, God Almighty, the Creator\u2014the Lord includes two governing rules: Worship of God must be (1) \u201cin spirit\u201d and (2) \u201cin truth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Worshiping \u201cin Spirit\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n What does it mean to \u201cworship in spirit\u201d? To answer this question, we must determine the meaning of spirit <\/em>in this passage. In the Open Forum of the 2003 Freed-Hardeman University Lectures, Todd Deaver (son of Mac Deaver) proposed that Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit. He said, in part:<\/span><\/p>\n John 4:24 refers to worshiping in the spirit. I believe that\u2019s the Holy Spirit there. He is in the Christian (1 Cor. 6:19\u201320), helping us in our worship. He is interceding for us within our hearts (Romans, chapter 8). And so, possibly, how that\u2019s supposed to be looked at in the New Testament is that the Holy Spirit is not in Heaven receiving our worship, but is in our hearts helping us to offer the worship (transcribed tape).<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n This interpretation evinces two immediate responses: (1) This is such an unusual exegesis among seasoned Bible students as to earn the rank of \u201cexceptional\u201d; (2) Did Todd Deaver hold this view before his father began touting his direct-operation-of-the-Holy Spirit doctrine in 1994? This unorthodox view certainly fits well with what has come to be known as the \u201cDeaver doctrine\u201d: by virtue of the Holy Spirit\u2019s dwelling in the Christian, He gives special direct <\/strong>help and strength to us in our daily lives in addition to what He provides through His Word. Todd Deaver\u2019s position applies the same direct<\/strong>-help assertion to our worship.<\/span><\/p>\n The almost unanimous view of brethren (and that of numerous denominational commentators as well [e.g., Reynolds, 17:169; Barnes, Luke-John, 218; Hendriksen, John, 1:167; Bruce, 1:728; Vincent, 2:121; et al.]) is that spirit <\/em>here refers to the engagement of the human spirit and mind in rational, sincere devotion to God. The reference is to the heartfelt attitude we are to possess as we approach God in worship. In an excellent article in response to Deaver\u2019s offbeat exegesis, Gary Summers addressed the assertion that the Holy Spirit \u201chelps us to offer the worship\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n Do we sing better because the Spirit is with us? If He is helping us, we all ought to be Anthony Kearnses [of Irish Tenors fame] or Pavarottis [famed Italian tenor]. Is the brother who sings off-key a false teacher? Are our prayers of a higher quality with the Spirit\u2019s help? They ought to be. Can those proclaiming the Gospel preach better? Do members give more money? Does Jesus\u2019 death for our sins become more vivid during the Lord\u2019s Supper with the Spirit\u2019s help? 1<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0God has provided the information in His Word (\u201cthe Truth\u201d) by which we learn what pleases Him in worship and in every other area of our lives. We are able to understand what He has revealed, else the \u201crevelation\u201d is no revelation at all (Acts 17:11; Eph 3:3\u20134; 2 Tim. 2:2; et al.). God has always required His people to enter into his service and\/or worship with the whole heart (Deu. 6:5; Jos. 24:14; 1 Sam. 12:24; Isa. 29:13; Mat. 15:8; 22:37; Rom. 6:17; 1 Cor. 5:8; et al.). Such is the meaning of worshiping \u201cin spirit\u201d in John 4:24.<\/span><\/p>\n Meaning What We Sing <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n When we apply this principle to our singing, it implies that we sincerely mean what we sing. This puts all of us to the test. Do we sing, \u201cI Love To Tell the Story\u201d and then rarely or never tell it? Do we sing, \u201cO How I Love Jesus\u201d on Sunday morning and then forget we so sang when it is time to assemble for worship Sunday night? Do the words, \u201cI will work, I will pray, I will labor every day,\u201d make hypocrites of us when we sing them? Can I sincerely sing \u201cI Surrender All\u201d? Am I really \u201csatisfied with just a cottage below, A little silver and a little gold,\u201d or am I so busy pursuing a greater abundance of things that I have no time or energy to lay up eternal treasures? Can I sing \u201cMore About Jesus\u201d and never open my Bible between Lord\u2019s days? How many are presently compromising the Truth of God\u2019s Word, while they loudly sing, \u201cI\u2019ll Never Forsake My Lord\u201d? To sing \u201cin spirit\u201d implies that we sincerely synchronize our hearts with the words we are singing\u2014that we genuinely mean those words.<\/span><\/p>\n Understanding What We Sing <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Obviously, we cannot sincerely mean <\/strong>what we sing if we do not understand <\/strong>the words of the songs.2 I am convinced that many brethren regularly sing words that they do not understand. Such misunderstandings are caused by several factors, including (1) figures of speech, (2) archaic terms, (3) seldom used words, (4) failure to read words correctly, and (5) ignorance of the Bible teaching or fact that may be alluded to in the song.<\/span><\/p>\n Many people through the years have asked me questions about the words of various songs with which we worship God and teach and admonish each other. In interest of helping us to sing with more meaning and understanding (thus more \u201cin spirit\u201d), I offer the following comments on the terminology in some of our songs.<\/span><\/p>\n By no means does the foregoing list exhaust all the words or phrases in our songs that bear some commentary and explanation. Some of these \u201csong mysteries\u201d can be easily solved by consulting a standard English dictionary, which I encourage readers to do when they encounter an unfamiliar word.<\/span><\/p>\n Worshiping \u201cin Truth\u201d <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n To worship \u201cin <\/strong>truth\u201d is equivalent to worshiping according to <\/strong>truth. There is no source or standard of truth apart from the revelation God has given mankind in the Bible. As Jesus prayed to His Father, He declared, \u201cThy word is truth\u201d (John 17:17b). He had promised the apostles shortly before, speaking of the Holy Spirit Whom He would send to them:<\/span><\/p>\n Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these <\/em>shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come\u201d (John 16:13).<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n I emphasize that the Son of God promised that, before the last apostle died, the Holy Spirit would reveal to them not a little, not some, or much, but \u201call <\/strong>the truth.\u201d The New Testament contains all that any human being knows or can know about what pleases God in worship. There is no other source because there has been and there will be no further revelation from God.<\/span><\/p>\n Earlier I set forth the pattern for worship in the New Testament as it relates to music. Scripturally authorized music in the church consists of singing various kinds of songs on spiritual and Scriptural themes that glorify God and that teach and admonish us as we all sing together from the heart. This statement summarizes the teaching of the Truth relative to the only music God authorizes and allows as an avenue of worship for His church.<\/span><\/p>\n However, not only must we observe the aforementioned pattern relating to our worship in song. To sing \u201cin truth\u201d requires that the thoughts, words, and messages of the songs we sing must convey only the Truth and\/or be in complete harmony with the Truth. Singing \u201cin truth\u201d does not allow us to sing whatever words will please us or others, nor does it allow us to ignore words that teach error because we are so enamored with the tune or rhythm of the song. As previously noted (Col. 3:16), besides hymns of praise to God, we are to sing spiritual songs whereby we teach one another. The teaching in the Bible classroom and the preaching from the pulpit must be only the Truth with no intermingled error. The Scriptural urgings to abide in the Truth and in the sound doctrine and the warnings against error and those who teach it are so replete in the New Testament as to need no documentation. We are obligated to take as much care to teach only the Truth <\/strong>in the words we sing as we are in the words we utter in preaching and teaching.<\/span><\/p>\n Some song leaders (and even elders) seem to operate on the assumption that if a song is in one of the song books that the Lord\u2019s congregations commonly use, we can assume that it is safe to sing. However, such is far from the truth. Many seem unaware or to have forgotten that denominational people wrote most of the songs in our books, and the words of their songs often reflect their theology. Many of us have come to superimpose somewhat \u201cautomatically\u201d Scriptural concepts over what originally were erroneous theological tenets imbedded in various songs. Without attempting an exhaustive list, perhaps a few illustrations will spur us to be more aware of the words of the songs we sing in worship.<\/span><\/p>\n Calvinistic theology: <\/strong>Many of the songwriters were Calvinists or other products of the sixteenth-century Reformation. In \u201cAmazing Grace,\u201d God\u2019s grace is said to appear \u201cthe hour I first believed.\u201d If one understands that belief <\/em>in the New Testament includes the entire plan of salvation, whereupon God bestows His grace, these words are not a problem. However, the songwriter, John Newton, very likely believed and preached salvation by faith only. There is a similar theme in the chorus of \u201cAlas! and Did My Savior Bleed,\u201d in which at the cross one is said to \u201csee the light,\u201d have his burdens \u201crolled away,\u201d and there \u201cby faith\u201d to have received his \u201csight.\u201d Isaac Watts was almost certainly preaching the doctrine of faith-only salvation in these words, but, again, as long as we override them with Scriptural concepts in our minds, we can sing them truthfully.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJust a Little Talk with Jesus\u201d has so many Calvinistic and denominational concepts in it that its errors are insuperable. According to its words, if one will just \u201chave a little talk with Jesus\u201d he will be filled with light from Heaven, have his heart bathed in love, and have his name written above\u2014all figurative references to salvation. The final verse of \u201cThe Solid Rock\u201d (aka \u201cMy Hope Is Built on Nothing Less\u201d in some books) states of the saved at the Lord\u2019s coming: \u201cDressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.\u201d Of course, no one can be saved without being washed in the perfect, pure, righteous blood of Christ, but we must also be found to have lived \u201csoberly and righteously and godly in this present world\u201d to receive His grace (Tit. 2:11\u201312). The song\u2019s author, Edward Mote, appears to be expressing in these words the Calvinistic dogma of \u201cimputed righteousness\u201d or \u201ctransferred righteousness.\u201d According to this doctrine, God \u201ctransfers the personal perfection of the righteous life <\/strong>of Christ to sinners when they believe so that His righteousness becomes theirs<\/strong>\u201d (McClish, 486). Of course, transference of personal righteousness and innocence from one person to another is as impossible as transference of personal sin and guilt (Eze. 18:20b). If one sings these words, he should have in mind the Scriptural concept that apart from the sinless life and pure blood of Christ none could not stand before His throne justified.<\/span><\/p>\n Premillennial theology: <\/strong>The Song, \u201cJesus Is Coming Soon,\u201d is notorious for its second verse, especially: \u201cLove of so many cold, losing their home of gold, This in God\u2019s Word is told, evils abound. When these signs come to pass, nearing the end at last, it will come very fast, trumpets will sound.\u201d It is objectionable enough to predict that \u201cJesus is coming soon,\u201d when He repeatedly stated that no one can determine the time of His coming, whether soon or late (Mat. 24:36,39, 42, 44) and Paul and Peter add that His coming will be as \u201ca thief in the night\u201d (1 The. 5:1\u20133; 2 Pet. 3:9\u201310). R.E. Winsett promulgates egregious error in mistaking the \u201csigns\u201d of the destruction of Jerusalem for \u201csigns\u201d of the Lord\u2019s return (Mat. 24), as his second verse does. This error is standard in all premillennialists. It is beyond me how some continue leading and singing such heresy and give no more than a wave of the hand to those who call attention to its gross error. My strong suspicion is that some are so carried away with the catchy rhythm and tune of this song, that their sensual pleasure in singing it outweighs their concern for the Truth it abuses.<\/span><\/p>\n Another song containing premillennial error is \u201cLiving by Faith.\u201d I find nothing erroneous in the first three verses of this song, and there is very much to praise in it. However, verse 4 states that \u201cOur Lord will return to this earth some sweet day,\u201d which is contrary to Scripture. The nearest the New Testament has Jesus to being on the earth <\/strong>when He returns is in the clouds<\/strong>, from whence He will call the redeemed to meet Him and be with Him forever (1 The. 4:16\u201317). Premillennial theology demands that the Lord come back to the earth, per the words of verse 4, to establish His alleged earthly millennial kingdom. An interesting fact about this song is that James Wells, author of verses 1\u20133, did not write verse 4. None other than R.E. Winsett, author of \u201cJesus Is Coming Soon,\u201d wrote this verse, obviously for the purpose of injecting his premillennial dogma into an otherwise worthy Gospel song.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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