In contemporary Christian
culture, the meaning of the word “worship” has the rather narrow definition of
singing songs to God. The word has been used to refer to that specific activity
so often that both new and old believers, and even non-believers, view singing
songs and the accompanying music as the essence of what Christians do when they
meet in services. It is no wonder, then, that generations of Christians have
grown up with the mistaken belief that the songs they sing in service are what
worship is all about. A quick check with the average Christian would probably
yield an answer such as: “worship is coming to church to sing some songs during
the service”, or “worship is trying to live right and staying on the straight
and narrow”. While these understandings of worship are correct, they do not
fully address the whole concept of true Christian worship.
From what I have learnt in the
lecture by Rev Tiong Ann on the theology of worship, there are three
components, upon fulfillment of which we are free to express our worship in any
style or arrangement that we desire. The three components are: who is God, what
he has done, how we should respond. Rev Tiong Ann reminded me of the importance
of going back to the origins of the Christian faith, which has its roots in the
Jewish traditions and culture. By examining how the Israelites worshipped God,
contemporary Christians can get a better understanding of what God meant
worship to be. There are seven Hebrew words of praise, only two of which are
specifically referring to music and song:[1]
- · Yadah means to use, hold out the hand, to throw (a stone or arrow) at or away, to revere or worship (with extended hands, thankful praise, thanksgiving)
o Psalm
61:8 So I will sing praise to your
name forever, that I may daily perform my vows
- · Todah is an extension of the hand, avowal, adoration, a choir of worshippers, confession, sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving
o Psalm
69:30 I will praise the name of God with
a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving
- · Hallal is to praise, to make a show or rave about, to glory in or boast upon, to be clamorously foolish about your adoration of God
o Psalm
22:23 You who fear the Lord, praise
him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him, and fear him all you offspring
of Israel!
o Psalm
44:8 In God we boast all day long, and praise
your name forever.
- · Barak means to kneel or bow, to give reverence to God as an act of adoration, implies a continual conscious giving place to God, to be attuned to him and his presence
o Psalm
34:1 I will bless the Lord at all
times; his praise shall continuously be in my mouth
- · Shabach means to address in a loud tone, to command, to triumph, to glory, to shout!
o Psalm
47:1 Oh, clap your hands, all you
peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
o Psalm
145:4 One generation shall praise
your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
- · Zamar is to touch the strings or parts of a musical instrument i.e. to make music accompanied by the voice, to celebrate in song and music, sing
o Psalm
71:22 Also with the lute I will praise
you—and your faithfulness, O my God! To you I will sing with the harp, O
Holy One of Israel.
- · Tehillah is to sing hallal, a new song, a hymn of spontaneous praise glorifying God in song
o Psalm
40:3 He has put a new song in my mouth—praise
to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord
o Psalm
149:1 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a
new song, and his praise in the assembly of saints
Worship is thus more than music
and song, but rather a whole lifestyle, posture, and attitude towards God. The
Westminster Shorter Catechism states that the chief end of man is glorify God
and enjoy him forever. God is glorified when we love him and obey his commands.
This surely has to encompass more than just singing and verbal declarations of
piety. It has to include our thoughts, words, and actions. It has to be our
entire lives. Any sound doctrine of worship has to be grounded in the bible,
and not based on our own preferences or circumstances.
Vaughan Roberts in his book True Worship: What is the Nature of True
Christian Worship? appeals to Christians to seriously reconsider their
understanding of worship. Worship is remembering God’s mercy. Romans 12:1
states: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and
proper worship.” Worship is not about humans trying to win favour from a
reluctant God, but rather a response from a grateful heart for what God has
already done in sending Jesus to be our Saviour. It is crucial to keep in mind
this basic remembrance of God’s mercy throughout our lives, or we will not
worship God in Spirit and in truth.
Worship is offering our bodies to
God because our lives belong to Him. Worship is rational and involves the mind;
it cannot be separated from our emotions. It begins with the mind—knowing the
truth that we are saved by God’s grace and in view of his mercy. Worship cannot
end in the mind, it must translate into our words and actions. Our whole self
has to be offered to God as our response to his sacrifice for us. Worship is
obeying God’s will in every part of our lives, and it should define the whole
of our lives—the real test of whether we are truly worshipping God is when we
are out in the world.
True worship of God requires
three things: Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the truth. Jesus is the Way, the
Truth and the Life. Nobody comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).
Jesus is God in human form; the whole of God is found in Jesus. Since he is the
only way to God, it only matters that we come to Jesus, and not to a ‘holy
place’ or similar hallowed ground. The Holy Spirit is needed to help us worship
in Spirit and in truth. Humans are by nature against God, and we will never be
able to stop worshipping ourselves, and putting ourselves as the centre of our
lives. John 3:19 states, “This is the verdict: light has come into the world,
but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil”. The
Holy Spirit brings us to Jesus and enables us to worship God and continue doing
so.
We can only worship God if we
know who he is and what he has done. The bible provides us with the truth and
the answers. Worship never begins with us; it is always a response to the
truth. True worship is never divided into its component parts: they are one and
the same; all come together and cannot be separated. For example, we must not
divide the Spirit from the truth and refer to anything emotional (like a time
of singing) as the Spirit’s work, and refer to anything cerebral (like bible
study) as the truth at work. True worship of God the Father is only possible
through God the Son, by God the Spirit as we hear God’s truth from his word,
the bible.
The place of music and song in
worship, then, is a natural outgrowth of our entire being of worship. The bible
tells us to sing and make music to the Lord. This is evident in the above
Hebrew words for praise, and in many other places in the Psalms, such as Psalm
95:1, Psalm 98:1, and Ephesians 5:19. We sing to praise God, naturally, because
of who God is and what he has done. Singing (and the music) helps us to express
our emotions towards Christ, and feel something of the wonder of the truths
that we are singing about. We also sing to encourage one another. Colossians
3:16 states, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and
admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and
spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Music is powerful in
embedding words into our brains: if we sing songs that are biblically sound, we
will help one another to have the correct understanding of Scripture that
praises God and encourages one another.
So what now? As Christian leaders
in our respective churches, we need to be very careful of the words that we
use, especially Christian jargon like worship. We need to clarify what we mean
when we say, “Let’s have a time of worship”, that we really mean, “let us sing
some songs that worship God.” We need to bear in mind that not everyone knows
what true Christian worship constitutes. If possible, try to avoid the word
“worship” when we are merely referring to the songs that we sing. True worship
is radical and total. No part of our lives are left untouched by God. May he
enable us by his Spirit, to approach the throne of grace where the Father is,
through Jesus the Son. Amen.
REFERENCES
Roberts, Vaughan. True Worship:
What is the Nature of True Christian Worship? United Kingdom: Authentic
Lifestyle, 2002.
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