For Better or Worse...

(This post has not been examined by the blog owner)

“For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part…”

Marriage. Satu kata dengan jutaan arti. Jutaan rasa. Jutaan kisah. Marriage. Lihat saja tagline satu perusahaan rokok terkenal, kau pasti tahu yang mana. Waktu aku iseng coba meng-google tagline itu, hasilnya… luar biasa! Entah berapa topik terjaring! Padahal dua kata itu dalam bahasa Indonesia, bisa dibayangkan bagaimana jadinya kalau dalam international languages! Maka, demi menghindari agar post ini tidak masuk dalam Google search untuk tagline itu, sengaja aku tidak cantumkan dua kata ampuh tersebut. Ampuh untuk mempopulerkan blog/post maksudnya!


Kapan vs Kenapa
Tagline rokok itu jelas salah alamat. Yang harusnya ditanyakan bukannya “kapan”, melainkan “kenapa”. Kenapa menikah. Apalagi sebagai mahluk yang punya awal tapi tidak punya akhir di dalam kekekalan nanti, bukankah nuansa kapan itu hanya berlaku saat ini saja, tapi tidak nanti? Kenapa, jelas lebih penting daripada kapan dalam konteks ini.

Pernahkah kau terusik melihat kegelisahan milyaran pria dan wanita lajang dalam kesendirian mereka, gelisah yang memikat mereka memasuki pernikahan karena dikejar “kapan” dan melupakan “kenapa”? Pernahkah kau terusik melihat indahnya pelukisan arti pernikahan hanya untuk kemudian menyaksikan dan mengalami sendiri bagaimana semua lukisan itu terobek-robek tanpa belas kasihan?

“For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”
Mark 12:25 NASB

Sebelum menuju ke salah satu bagian yang mungkin paling sering dibuka mengenai marriage di Ephesians, aku jadi berpikir soal “kenapa” tadi dalam kaitannya dengan ayat di atas. Kalau dalam kekekalan nanti pernikahan tidak akan ada lagi dan kita semua saling berelasi satu sama lain dengan jauh lebih indah (sampe ngga kebayang sekarang, apalagi kalo liat perpecahan relasi dimana-mana!), kenapa marriage seolah (ngga seolah juga deh, memang bener begitu!) menjadi salah satu hal paling dikejar dalam hidup ini? Bukankah lebih baik remain unmarry? Karena dengan demikian kita tidak mengejar sesuatu yang tidak kekal artinya bukan? Kalau begitu apakah marriage sebetulnya insignifikan?

Manusia vs Binatang
Aku baca kitab Kejadian dan jadi berpikir, kenapa Tuhan harus mengikat seorang pria dan wanita dalam pernikahan? Apakah karena untuk fill the earth dan dua lebih baik daripada satu? Tetapi bukankah binatang-binatang juga demikian, fill the earth dan saling berpasangan? Kalau begitu, kenapa ikatan diantara mereka tidak dibentuk Tuhan seperti pernikahan pada manusia? Betul, manusia adalah mahluk yang paling tinggi derajatnya karena diciptakan sesuai dengan image Allah Tritunggal. Tetapi apakah itu berarti bahwa dengan demikian binatang tidak perlu menikah sedangkan manusia harus menikah? Apakah dengan menikah berarti membuat kita lebih tinggi derajatnya daripada binatang?

Kalau jawabannya ya, entah mengapa terasa agak aneh, karena banyak dari kita yang berlaku lebih buruk daripada binatang dalam pernikahan, contoh saja beberapa jenis binatang betul-betul setia sampai mati pada pasangannya, bandingkan dengan manusia. Kalau jawabannya tidak, kalau begitu apa yang membedakan manusia dengan binatang dengan adanya pernikahan ini?

Man-his wife vs Christ-His church
Surat rasul Paulus kepada para jemaat di Efesus pasal 5 (lima) pastilah merupakah salah satu bagian yang paling sering dibacakan dalam pembahasan tentang marriage. Buatku, lewat bagian tulisan ini, Tuhan seolah memberikan konfirmasi lebih lanjut akan signifikansi pernikahan pada manusia.

Pernikahan memang signifikan karena Kristus sampai menyamakan relasi antara suami-istri dengan relasiNya dengan kita. Suatu relasi dimana Ia dengan rela turun dari surga mulia dan masuk dunia hina karena sudah jatuh dalam dosa ini demi untuk menyelamatkan kita dari keterpisahan kekal dariNya. Padahal relasi yang ada dalam Allah Tritunggal sudah begitu sempurna dan tidak membutuhkan manusia untuk membuat relasi itu jadi lebih sempurna, lebih mulia ataupun lebih bisa dinikmati. Tapi Kristus melakukan semua itu karena kasihNya pada kita dan kemudian memberitahukan kita bahwa seperti itulah seharusnya relasi dalam pernikahan antara suami-istri. Bagaimana mungkin kita berkata bahwa pernikahan tidak punya nilai signifikan meskipun dalam kekekalan nanti ikatan seperti itu tiada lagi?

Pernikahan diadakan Tuhan sebagai salah satu sarana untuk mempersiapkan kita, His bride, untuk memasuki hidup dalam kekekalan nanti. Lewat pernikahan akan banyak sisi tergelap dari seorang manusia tersingkap di hadapan pasangannya, seperti Terang Dunia yang dengan sinarNya menyingkap sisi tergelap dari jiwa mempelaiNya. Manusia dilatih to walk in the Light. Segala proses dan latihan yang perlu untuk mempersiapkan kita hidup dalam kekekalan nantinya akan kita alami salah satunya lewat pernikahan. Itulah sebabnya binatang tidak perlu diikat dalam pernikahan karena jiwa mereka tidak kekal. Tapi tidak demikian dengan kita…

Pernikahan anak-anak Tuhan akan menjadi refleksi akan relasi antara Tuhan dengan gerejaNya. Dunia ini akan melihat bagaimana para anak Tuhan bersaksi akan Sang Pencipta dalam relasiNya dengan ciptaanNya. Dunia ini akan menyaksikan bayangan kehidupan di dalam kekekalan nanti. Suatu bayang-bayang akan keindahan sejati yang sesungguhnya didamba setiap jiwa. Dunia ini akan menyaksikan bayangan akan kerajaan Allah yang akan terwujud nyata sempurna saat kedatangan Kristus nanti, sehingga biarlah setiap orang yang terhilang akan kembali kepada Dia lewat kesaksian ini.

Aku pernah berpikir dan meragu kenapa pernikahan harus penting, Bapa… Tapi kalau segala hal yang ada dalam hidupku (termasuk pernikahan) adalah untuk mempersiapkanku memasuki hidupku nanti, bertemu muka dengan muka denganMu, ajarlah aku menghargai pernikahanku karena hal itu sungguh berharga untukku, sebagai satu hadiah indah dariMu, meski badai dunia yang jatuh dalam dosa ini akan pula membayanginya…

“Until I see You face to face, and tell the story saved by Your grace…”

Kartumu Jelek?

(This post has not been examined by the blog owner)

Dalam buku “Leading with Billy Graham” yang tengah saya baca, ada satu kisah menarik dari Presiden AS Dwight Eisenhower tentang kartu yang jelek. Diceritakan bahwa pada suatu malam Presiden Eisenhower sedang bermain kartu (Flinch nama permainannya) dengan ibu dan saudara-saudara laki-lakinya. Ibunya saat itu menjadi pembagi kartu dan membagikan kepada Presiden Eisenhower kartu yang jelek, sehingga menuai keluhan dari Eisenhower muda yang merasa dewi keberuntungan tengah bersembunyi darinya lewat tangan sang bunda.

Mendengar keluhan si anak, ibu yang bijaksana ini berkata, “Anak-anak laki-lakiku, taruh semua kartu-kartu kalian. Saya ingin berkata sesuatu, terutama kepadamu, Dwight. Kamu berada di dalam sebuah permainan di dalam rumahmu bersama dengan ibu dan saudara-saudara laki-lakimu yang mengasihimu. Tetapi di luar sana, di dalam dunia, kamu akan bermain dengan kartu yang jelek tanpa ada orang yang mengasihimu. Inilah nasehat bagimu anak-anakku, ambillah kartu-kartu yang jelek itu tanpa mengeluh dan mainkanlah. Mintalah Allah untuk menolongmu dan kamu akan memenangkan sebuah permainan yang penting, disebut kehidupan.”


Kisah itu telah mendistorsi perhatian saya dari topik utama buku yang tengah saya baca itu, karena sebagai seorang penjudi…eee… maksud saya berjudi dengan kehidupan… eee… salah lagi! Maksud saya, sebagai anak-anak Tuhan yang hidup dalam dunia yang sudah jatuh dalam dosa, mendapatkan “kartu yang jelek” untuk dimainkan dalam kehidupan kita masing-masing adalah suatu hal yang sangat wajar. Kristus sendiri pernah berkata, “…for He causes His sun to rise on the evil dan and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45 NASB). Tidak ada yang diluputkan dari mendapat “kartu-kartu yang jelek” untuk dimainkan dalam hidup ini, anak Tuhan ataupun bukan. Tapi penting bagaimana kita memahami dan menangani “kartu-kartu jelek” ini…

Accept and Acknowledge
Saat berhadapan dengan penderitaan dan rekan-rekannya yang biasanya datang bersamaan dengan akurnya seperti rasa sakit yang mematikan, kesulitan-kesulitan hidup, kehilangan sesuatu atau orang-orang terkasih dan lain-lain, reaksi yang paling umum dari kita adalah menolak adanya kenyataan tersebut, dengan berbagai macam cara. Bersikap seolah-olah “kartu-kartu jelek” tersebut tidak pernah ada.

Tetapi sayangnya, menolak kenyataan sama dengan memperpanjang penderitaan itu sendiri. Karena keberadaan “kartu-kartu jelek” itu riil, mereka hanya bisa dihadapi dengan sesuatu yang riil pula. Bermain kartu di dalam mimpi tentu sama sekali bukan berarti tengah bermain kartu. Hanya dengan bangun dari mimpi itu dan berhadapan langsung dengan “kartu-kartu jelek” tersebut kita akan kembali memainkan mereka.

So, accept and acknowledge them! Terima kenyataan bahwa hidupmu sedang penuh dengan airmata duka. Terima kenyataan bahwa rasa sakit itu sungguh melumpuhkan. Terima kenyataan bahwa badai permasalahan tengah melandamu tanpa ampun. Dan yang terutama, terimalah kenyataan bahwa yang tengah kau alami adalah memang sesuatu yang jelek. Rasakan pahitnya. Sengatnya yang sangat tajam.

Saya tidak setuju dengan orang-orang yang berusaha “melembutkan” buruknya kenyataan hidup yang harus dialami seseorang selain tentu juga saja dengan orang-orang yang melebih-lebihkan buruknya kenyataan yang harus dihadapi dalam hidup ini. Sayangnya banyak metode pemulihan di dunia ini yang mengabaikan buruknya tragedi-tragedi kehidupan manusia. Dan banyak dari kita sudah salah kaprah memandang penderitaan yang kita alami. Saya pernah berdiskusi tentang keluarga yang dititipkan Tuhan anak-anak yang sering kita sebut kurang sempurna. Mengalami cacat tubuh misalnya, gangguan kesehatan serius ataupun keterbelakangan mental. Beberapa rekan berkata bahwa yang dialami itu harus diterima dengan penuh sukacita karena itu adalah hadiah terindah yang Tuhan beri.

Saya mengalami sedikit kesulitan menerima kata-kata tersebut. Ketidaksempurnaan si anak bagaimanapun juga adalah sesuatu yang buruk. Jelek. Menyakitkan. Mendukakan. Dan sangat wajar diterima dengan airmata. Tetapi yang indah dari semua itu adalah bahwa apapun yang terjadi tidak pernah bisa menghancurkan jiwa yang menghadapinya. Dari situlah sukacita kita bermula, bukan bersukacita dengan mengabaikan buruknya realita yang harus dihadapi.

Bahkan anak-anak Tuhan sendiripun (termasuk saya tentu) seringkali hanya mengartikan dosa-dosa kita sebagai suatu kesalahan-kesalahan yang kita lakukan di dalam hidup. Kita seringkali tidak menyadari bahwa apa yang kita sebut kesalahan-kesalahan itu sudah membuat Kristus harus mati di kayu salib untuk menanggungnya. Kita lupa bahwa kitalah yang seharusnya mati di kayu salib itu. Kita tidak gentar dengan kematian karena tidak mengerti betapa mengerikannya jalan yang sudah Kristus tempuh buat kita. Tidak heran banyak orang justru beranggapan bahwa mati adalah jalan terbaik bagi kesulitan hidup ini.

Mengabaikan realita ini akan melatih kita semakin tidak menghargai apa yang sudah Kristus lakukan buat kita. Penderitaan luar biasa yang dihadapiNya demi kita. Dia mati untuk menghidupkan kita dari kematian kekal, seperti Sleeping Beauty yang dibangunkan dari mimpi kekalnya. Kenapa kini kita mau tertidur lagi menghadapi “kartu-kartu jelek” kita? Accept and acknowledge.

By His Very Own Permission
Kadangkala kita memandang apakah kartu-kartu kita jelek atau tidak juga dipengaruhi siapa yang membaginya. Kalau kita tahu bahwa si pembagi sama sekali tidak berkuasa menentukan kartu yang mana bagi siapa, kita cenderung lebih kurang sakit hati menerima kartu-kartu jelek tersebut. Tetapi jika kita mengetahui bahwa si pembagi kartu mampu mengatur agar kita tidak menerima kartu-kartu jelek itu, kita akan jauh lebih sakit hati menerima kartu-kartu jelek kita. Kita akan bilang, musuh dalam selimut lebih mematikan daripada Enemy at The Gate = D...

Saya coba membayangkan perasaan nabi Habakkuk saat Tuhan berkata, “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days, you would not believe it you were told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize the dwelling places which are not theirs.” Habakkuk 1:5-6 NASB, oh LORD God, nothing but unspoken desperation, would it? Betapa gentar, hancur, remuk dan kecewanya perasaan nabi Habakkuk melihat apa yang akan dilakukan Tuhan. Membiarkan satu bangsa yang begitu kejam menghancurkan umatNya sendiri.

Tapi satu fakta yang tidak bisa terhindarkan adalah bahwa “kartu-kartu jelek” dalam kehidupan kita hanya mungkin tiba pada kita dengan seijin sang Pembagi yang Agung itu sendiri. Tanpa ijinNya tak ada secuil pun penderitaan yang sanggup menyentuh kita. Ini akan membawa kita pada pertanyaan berikutnya, “Kalau realita penderitaan begitu mematikan, mengapa Ia yang sanggup menghalau hingga tuntas mengijinkan penderitaan tiba pada kehidupan anak-anak yang dikasihiNya begitu dalam sampai mengorbankan yang paling dikasihiNya sendiri di kayu salib?”, dan banyak orang-orang paling bijaksana pun akan terdiam menghadapi pertanyaan ini.

Mengapa? Karena tidak memahami realita dosa. Tidak memahami bahwa Tuhan Allah yang penuh kasih adalah juga yang penuh keadilan. Tidak dibiarkanNya satu dosa pun lolos tanpa penghakiman yang adil. Tapi masalahnya disini tidak ada seorang manusiapun yang akan sanggup memahami hal ini tanpa Tuhan sendiri membukakannya. Sudah dibukakanpun tetap banyak yang tidak kita mengerti. Bahkan hingga kita tiba di surga nanti, tetap akan ada banyak hal yang tidak kita mengerti seperti Tuhan. Yang diciptakan bukanlah Sang Pencipta itu sendiri.

Oleh karena itu dalam menghadapi realita “kartu-kartu jelek” yang diijinkanNya sampai dalam genggaman kita, terimalah kenyataan bahwa dengan segala keterbatasan yang kita miliki sebagai ciptaanNya, satu hal yang tetap bisa kita pegang, bahwa Tuhan Allah bukanlah pencipta baik dosa maupun penderitaan. KekudusanNya justru tidak mengijinkan dan membiarkan adanya dosa. Dia tidak bersukacita atas penderitaan kita, justru memilih mati untuk menanggung semua itu untuk kita. Agar mengembalikan kita ke dalam posisi sebagaimana kita diciptakan, anak-anakNya yang kudus seperti Dia.

Sehingga yang diperbuatNya bukanlah mengakibatkan penderitaan lahir, menjadi sumber dari penderitaan kita. Melainkan justru menggunakan penderitaan itu untuk membawa kita kembali kepadaNya. Disitulah kuasa dosa dan maut dikalahkan dengan telak oleh kasihNya, karena Ia mampu membawa kita menang bukan karena kartu-kartu kita bagus, tetapi bahkan lewat kartu-kartu yang terjelekpun Ia sanggup memampukan kita untuk menang. Disitulah luar biasanya Tuhan!

“But in all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”
Romans 8:37 NASB

Terjemahan lain (NIV, LAI) mengatakan bahwa kita “more than conqueror” dalam pertempuran kita dengan penderitaan dan dosa. Saya sering bertanya seperti apakah kiranya menjadi lebih daripada pemenang (atau harafiahnya penakluk), bukankah pemenang itu adalah segala-galanya? Saya kemudian teringat bahwa pemenang ada yang bisa menang karena memang kemampuan dirinya yang sangat memadai sehingga memang pantas untuk memenangkan suatu pertempuran. Tetapi kita sebetulnya bukan menang karena kita pantas, karena kita mampu, karena kita bisa. Tapi karena kita dimampukan, dibuat pantas, kita dijadikan pemenang, lewat Dia yang mengasihi kita. Itulah pemenang yang lebih daripada pemenang.

Satu hal terindah yang saya rasakan Tuhan perbuat melalui kesulitan-kesulitan yang saya alami adalah dengan begitu murah hatinya Tuhan mengijinkan saya mengalami kemenangan dari semua itu, merasakan menjadi seorang yang menang. Bahkan dengan cara yang luar biasa. Overwhelmingly! Hingga saya pun tercengang saat melewati semua itu. Bagaimana mungkin saya bisa melalui masa-masa itu? Satu jawabannya.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. Since youa re precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west.”
Isaiah 43:2-5 NASB

Because He is with us, all the way.

Come What May!
Kalau kita tahu bahwa kartu yang kita miliki dalam permainan jelek, kalau kita tahu bahwa Allah mampu bekerja membawa kebaikan lewat kartu yang jelek itu, maka kita pasti tahu bahwa saat kebaikan itu tiba, kejelekan kartu itu sudah tidak lagi menjadi masalah. Bukan soal kartu yang kita miliki itu jelek atau baik, melainkan dengan kartu yang jelek itu kita dimampukan memperoleh kartu-kartu yang baik.

Ingat Joseph yang kartu-kartunya begitu jelek. Tuhan tidak menggantinya. Saya coba bayangkan apa “tumit Achilles” Joseph, apa yang membuat dia jadi putus asa. Terus-menerus jadi orang yang dipersalahkan untuk kebenaran yang dia nyatakan? Apakah rasa sakit karena seolah dipermainkan Tuhan dengan permainan “give and take away” yang berulang-ulang? Apakah karena tunnel gelap yang dilalui tak juga berakhir meskipun sudah begitu banyak pelajaran berharga yang dia dapatkan? Tetapi Alkitab tidak pernah mencatat itu. Karena itu tidak penting. Tidak sepenting daripada menyatakan apa yang lahir dari jalan buntu di hidup Joseph, apa yang mampu Allah lakukan lewat kartu-kartu jeleknya. Dan saya percaya waktu Joseph menoleh ke hari-hari sebelumnya dimana dia mungkin pernah berseru apa yang Tuhan mau kerjakan lewat kartu-kartu jeleknya, ia akan dimampukan untuk melihat bahwa bahkan pada saat ia tengah berteriak itu, Tuhan justru tengah membawa dia menjadi pemenang dalam pertempuran hidupnya.

Apa yang terlihat di awal tunnel gelap tempatmu kini berada tidak bisa kau jadikan patokan atau ukuran akan keadaan di ujung tunnel sana. Satu hal yang pasti, tunnel itu punya satu ujung lain selain dari ujung tempat perjalananmu berawal. Di dalam kegelapanlah engkau justru dilatih menjadi lebih kuat, lewat berbagai keterbatasan yang kegelapan hadirkan. Waktu dulu di kelompok pecinta alam, ada satu perlombaan tahunan mendaki gunung Gede yang kami coba ikuti. Ada satu kelompok yang tampil luar biasa. Mereka bukan mendaki saat perlombaan dimulai, mereka berlari hingga puncak tercapai. Tahu apa yang mereka lakukan saat berlatih? Mereka latihan berlari di pasir dengan kedua belah kaki dibebani. Mereka menang karena latihan Spartan itu. Seperti itulah kegelapan melatihmu dan memampukanmu menjadi lebih dari seorang pemenang.

Di ujung tunnel nanti kau mungkin akan berhadapan dengan gelap yang sama. Kitab Kejadian mencatat, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:22 NASB)”. Pagi dan malam saling bergantian selama dunia ini masih ada. Tapi tidak ada tahu kapan harimu akan menjadi terang setelah gelap begitu lama.

Tapi ini yang akan kau mengerti. Tidaklah penting pagi dan terang itu selama Dia selalu dekatmu. Semua yang hadir dalam hidupmu hanyalah untuk semakin membawamu kembali kepadaNya. Menjadi serupa denganNya. Dalam topangan kasihNya tidak ada apapun yang sanggup menggoncangkan hidupmu hingga hancur. Justru itu semua akan semakin membuatmu kuat dan berlari terus hingga pertandinganmu selesai.

Kartumu jelekkah kini? Wait for the Lord. Be rest assured. For He will bring them for a glorious end…!

Time

(This post has not been examined by the blog owner)

"Pulang..., anak-anak menunggu...," that is what someone used to tell me whenever I had to stay longer at the office. It was actually a kind of joke between us as I have yet any children. I even laughed at this notion and it became one of the jokes that often successfully helped me to be a bit refreshed. However, supposed I do have children and work in long hours, I believe I am not the only one to whom such saying is addressed to. Here is what I think of it...


There Is Time For Everything

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven."
Ecclesiastes 3:1 NASB

Everybody knows that there is time for everything. That verse is one of the famous ones. Put it in the context of the title above, we know that there is time to focus on our work and there is time to focus on other things, such our relationships. The ever wise God has provided 24-hour a day to be enough for any activities required to be done each day. Unfortunately, as men try to outsmart God, men also try to make that 24-hour inadequate. There are too often works undone. There are too often complaints how short a day is. I believe there is noone who has never deliver such remarks about time. Yes, there is a time for everything, but it is supposed to be more than 24-hour a day to accomplish what we desire!

My approach for such thought is, either God is not smart or wise enough to give me only 24-hour in a day or I in an attempt to get everything done have been unwise to make use of my time. I figure the later is correct and so I rest my case. Unless I fix my eyes upon what things truly matters in eternity, I will keep spending my time for things that can only satisfy me so shortly and temporarily. The Preacher in Ecclesiates knew it too well, too. And he had spent a great deal in telling us what things that really matters and what are not. If you still do not know what they are, come and join me in reading that book again!

A Time For Who

"When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son!' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!' From that hour the disciple took her into his own household."
John 19:26-27 NASB

I read one good article in Roi'el Ministry blog exposing the verse above so I will not say much here. Personally, I take that verse as having to allocate my time not only for things but a lot more importantly for people. Jesus had his mission which was the most important mission ever done. But that mission was for what or whom? For mankind. And upon executing that mission, His earthly mother well-being was not abandoned by Him.

The former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew is known to say that a man who cannot run his own family should never run a country. I couldn't agree more with him. In regards to my own life, I have to be honest that more often than not, even if I get to go home as scheduled, I do not spend that remaining hours for my loved ones. And the word 'remaining' itself should actually be troublesome, shouldn't it? Why not the prime time? Are my loved ones less important than my works that they only get the crumbs and not the bread?

And there is time for God. But I had better be well-informed here that, it is not my time for God, but actually His time for me! I really need to remind myself from time to time what a privilege it is to be allowed to connect to Him! He has all these things that requires His attention, yet He allows me to have some times together with Him. I have more than one occasions where I learnt that even when praying would be the only thing that could soothe my troubled soul, unless by God's mercy, no words this tounge could utter. I was merely overwhelmed by the troubled feelings and only God's soft voice that would took me out of that pit of desperation. It is truly such a privilege to spend my time with You, dear Lord... Please forgive this ungreatful sinner that too often takes You for granted. And if God of the universe cares enough to spend time with my loved ones, who am I to think that my loved ones do not deserve my 'prime time'?

A Time For What
Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever.
Westminster Shorter Catechism Q.1

The Preacher had gone through a lot. Possesed more than any living men could ever do. Showered himself with pleasures only very few of us could ever taste just the bit of it (Eccl. 2). But unless the Lord allows him to enjoy his own works, he could only feel as what he told us in that verse.

As I already am able to set aside my 'prime time' with my loved ones, the next question would be what I do during those times. What I do is supposed to always reflect my determination to glorify God and to enjoy Him. What is the use of spending time with my loved ones by not putting their interests more than mine? By willing to do things that will please them and not only me? By glorifying God through my willingness to be His channel in sharing His love? By enjoying God through the whole course of events and interactions with my loved ones?

I often expect that unless things are pleasing to my heart then it is not worth-doing. But we all know too well that in spending time with our loved ones, even when the activity is initially planned to bring joy, it could turn the other way around. When it happens, we have choices to either let it be worse or turn it back around as a chance to glorify God. In doing so, we will then learn to enjoy God. To be satisfy with whatever things we have and do.

Last not but least, as men we are in this thing so called "time and space". God created us to be in it. However, eventhough we have a beginning, we are destined to live in eternity, be it in God's eternal glory or condemnation. As believers therefore, we will do well if we trust God in preparing us to welcome that life. Let our focus be on things that bear eternal values and not only earthly material things that will one day be gone. Just one small example, have any of the deaths ever carry all their possessions with them to the grave? Naked as we come into this world, naked shall we be when we return to our Creator... Let us hope to be getting wiser in dealing with our time. Help us dear Lord to understand the true value of everything entrusted to us...

Music in Worship

by

Jeane Christiana Obadja, BTh.

Singapore Bible College

May 1981

I. THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

OF CHURCH MUSIC

A. THE OLD TESTAMENT EVIDENCE

Most of what is known about the use of music in Hebrew worship is learnt from the Old Testament. For the Hebrews, music is only significant when it is to worship the LORD. Unlike the Greeks, they did not associate music with morality or with magical properties. Here are some references found to prove the importance of music in Hebrew worship. The first mention of music in the Bible is in Genesis 4:21, where Jubal is called “the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe”. His father, Lamech, is the first singer mentioned in the Scripture (vv. 22, 23). Singers, musicians, choir conductors, ministers, and people all shared in the worship of God. Moses and the children of Israel sang praises to the LORD after they had triumphed over the Egyptians [Exodus 15:1-19], and were joined by Miriam with timbrels, dancing, and singing (vv. 20-21). Deborah and Barak sang praise to God when Jabin the king of Canaan was overcome [Judges 5:1-31]. The company of prophets who met Saul after he was anointed king came with instruments – harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre [1Samuel 10:5]. A psalm of thanksgiving was sung by David for victory over Saul [2Samuel 22:1-51]. God Himself is represented as singing [Zephaniah 3:17] and the angels [Isaiah 6:3]. The psalms were the songs of the Hebrews and source for texts of church music.[1]

Altogether, the words ‘music’, ‘musician’, ‘musical instrument’, ‘song’, ‘singer’, and ‘singing’ appear more than 600 times in the whole Bible. There are about 13 different instrument mentioned, which can be classified as ‘string instruments’ [Psalm 150:4]; ‘brass instruments’: trumpet (v. 3); ‘woodwind instruments’: pipe (v. 4); ‘percussion instruments’: timbrel and cymbals (vv. 4-5); ‘keyboard instruments’: psaltery and harp (v. 3). References to music are found in 44 of the 66 books in the Bible.[2]

1. Music in the Tabernacle

With the capture of Jerusalem under David and the establishment of the Tabernacle, the worship service increased greatly in musical display. If we think of the Levites as directing the services, they are the music committee who had the task of making music in praise to God. Under King David’s leadership, the first large choir and orchestra were organized for use in the Tabernacle worship. “… Four thousand shall offer praises to the LORD with the instruments which I have made for praise” [1Chronicles 23:5b]. “And they shall stand every morning, thanking and praising the LORD, and likewise at evening, … continually before the Lord.” (vv. 30-31b).[3]

2. Music in the Temple

When Solomon became king and built the first temple, the musical display of the worship services increased even more. According to the third chapter of the eighth book of Josephus, in this first temple, there were 200,000 trumpets and 200,000 robed singers trained singers trained for taking part in these services.[4] The music of the Temple was entrusted to professional musicians, but the congregation participated in the music.

a. Instrumental Music

Some of the instruments were used chiefly for signaling the entrance of the priests, to signal the congregation to prostrate themselves, etc. Other instruments were used with the singing, such as the large harp (nebhel), the lyre (kinnor), and a strange reed (mashrokita). The shofar, made from a ram’s horn was one of the signaling instruments and is the only one remaining in the use today.

b. Choral Music

The professional singers sometimes sang with one choir answering another (antiphonal singing) or the choir answering a soloist (responsorial singing). The psalms were sung by the choir for the most part in the First Temple.

c. Congregational Music

The congregation generally sang the first verse of the psalm as a refrain after each subsequent verse was chanted, and responded with “Halleluyah” after each clause of the Hallel psalms [Psalms 113-118], which were used on festive occasions. In the Second Temple, the congregation took a greater part in the singing of psalms, usually responsively.[5]

A similar account is also found in 2Chronicles 5:12-14,

All the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

Following the return from Babylonian captivity, temple worship was restored to the Hebrews with the building of the Second Temple. Although the Temple was not as elaborate as the First, yet the musical display had an important role in these services as well. The Psalter is often described as the “Hymn Book of the Second Temple”. Many psalms were composed in this post exilic period and many others were gathered from earlier times. All these were formed into collections, which now are known as the 150 Psalms in the Bible. There is no evidence, however, that all of these were used in the Temple worship service.[6] The Jewish Talmud describes the traditions of the psalm singing of this Second Temple as follows: When a sign was given on the cymbals, twelve Levites stood on the step of a stairway leading from the place of the congregation to the outer court of the priest and played the nine lyres, two harps and one cymbal. While they did so, the priests poured the wine offering. Younger Levites played other instruments but did not sing. Others added their voices to the treble part, but did not play instruments. The pauses of the psalm {Selah} were indicated by blasts of trumpets at the right and left of the cymbalists.[7]

3. Music in the Synagogue

The Temple was sort of the ‘mother church’, but worship was also conducted in the various synagogues. Instrumental music has not been used in connection with this worship. After the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, instrumental music seemed to have been forgotten. Chanting still survives to this day, and apparently, many of the melodies are still kept.[8]

4. The Characteristics of Music

The organic relation between music and worship is revealed not as a theory but as a condition is the ritual of religion as well as in the life of the Hebrews [1Chronicles 29, 30; Ezra 3]. According to Erik Routley, Old Testament music had three characteristics: (1) It was natural and proper to ‘ecstatic conditions of mind’. The Psalmist could rejoice in the ‘singing’ of the hills and valleys. (2) The music was liturgical. (3) The music had not only power to speak, but also power to act. The influence of music is seen in the story of David as he charmed away Saul’s evil spirit by playing on his harp [1Samuel 16:15—16:23].[9] It was also used for military purposes such as in the conquest of Jericho [Joshua 6] and in confusing the enemies in Gideon’s times [Judges 7:19-25]. An interesting account to show that the battle is God’s is in 2Chronicles 20:20ff;, when a choir went out before the army and sang: “Give thanks to the LORD, for His loving-kindness is everlasting”, and the LORD set ambushes against Judah’s enemies.

B. THE NEW TESTAMENT EVIDENCE

The first century Christians carried on the tradition of the using of music in their religious services as had their forefathers in the Old Testament days. The Psalms record the prayer and praise of the Hebrew worship and remain a beautiful chief source for Christian songs in New Testament days.[10] The apostle said:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,

teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,

singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs {singing and making melody}

with thankfulness in your hearts to God

[Colossians 3:16 cf. Ephesians 5:18].

The matter of general understanding about music is particularly evident in the four Gospels, for they deal with the period of the closest association with Temple and synagogue worship.[11]

In addition to psalms, is the singing of canticles. They have become known by their Latin titles, such as: The Magnificat – the Song of Mary, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” [Luke 1:46-55]; the Benedictus – the Song of Zechariahs, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people …” (vv. 68-79); Gloria in Excelsis – the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest…” (2:14); Nunc Dimittis – the Song of Simeon, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace…” (vv. 29-35). Other references to music in the gospels are found in the restoration of Jairus’ daughter [Matthew 9:23]; the singing of the hymn after the Last Supper (26:30); the singing of the people as Jesus entered Jerusalem [Mark 11:8-10]. The four gospels have furnished texts for many oratorios about the birth, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Christ, as well as for other music settings about His life and teachings. When Paul and Silas were imprisoned at Philippi, they prayed and sang hymns [Acts 16:25]. Other passages from Paul’s letters are lyrical and have musical flow,

He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels,

preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory

[1Tim. 3:16]

If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him;

If we endure, we shall also reign with Him;

If we deny Him, He also will deny us;

If we are faithless, He remains faithful –

for he cannot deny Himself.

[2Tim. 2:11-13]

James in his epistle also exhorts the merry to sing psalms [James 5:13], and the frequent references to music and singing in the Revelation are noteworthy.[12]

At this point one may ask for the criteria by which any particular portions of the New Testament are considered as ‘psalms’, ‘hymns’ or ‘spiritual songs’. Their meanings and uses overlap and therefore no distinction should be pressed too far. Modern scholars agreed that these terms are used loosely to cover the forms of musical composition.[13] One important trait they have in common is that they focus on the upward praise and adoration of God in Christ for who He is and what He has done. In addition, this praise includes minimal personal reference.[14]

(1) “Psalms” {psalmos} refers to a song of praise, originally accompanied by a stringed instrument. It may refer to the Old Testament Psalms or other Christian odes patterned after the Psalter [Romans 15:11 cf. Psalm 117:1]. Most of the psalms originated in communal happenings (the history of Israel) or individual experiences (David as a shepherd). These psalms may be classified in three basic types: (a) praise (b) prayer and (c) proclamation. The psalm of praise is sometimes called the hymn, which is liturgical in character and usually begins with an invitation to praise. Then follows the reason for praise, for example, the wonder of God’s creation [Psalms 8, 105].[15]

(2) “Hymn” {humnos} needs to have three elements: (a) praise (b) praise of God (c) to be sung. It is a sacred poem, expressive of devotion, spiritual experience, and religious truth and fitted to be sung by an assembly (H.B. Marks).[16] It is used primarily in worship services. The text is usually set to music without the use of chorus (refrain) techniques. For example, 1Timothy 3:16,

He was manifested in the flesh,

vindicated by the Spirit,

seen by angels,

preached among the nations,

believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

The content of hymns enhances the Gospels and Epistles. For example, Hebrews 1:3,

He is the radiance of the glory of God and

the exact imprint of his nature, and

he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

After making purification for sins,

he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

(3) “Spiritual Song” {pneumatikes ode} refers to snatches of spontaneous praise which the inspiring spirit (spiritual, here, means inspired by the spirit) placed on the lips of the enraptured worshipper, as 1Corinthans 14:15 implies: “I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also” (the song of Paul and Silas in jail).

Thus, the body of Christian song began to take shape from the vocal expressions of the early Christians. The practice of singing, particularly praising the LORD, is well documented in the Scriptures. In various places in the New Testament, the hymn like structure of the writing gives the implication that these scriptures were sung or chanted.[17]

Awake, O sleeper, and

arise from the dead, and

Christ will shine on you.

[Ephesians 5:14]

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible,

The only wise God be honor and glory forever and ever.

[1Timothy 1:17]

Ephesians 5:14 is usually regarded as the most cogent example of early Christian hymnology. The verse naturally falls into three lines on the ground of style with a swinging trochaic rhythm in the Greek and the employment of a rhetorical device by which the first two lines end with the same sound. As a whole, the verse contains an invocational appeal addressed to the Christian and summoning him to action.[18]

C. THE CHURCH HISTORY EVIDENCE

When we come to look at the immediate background to the New Testament and all the antecedents of the Church’s appearance in the world of the first century, they would lead us also to expect that the early Church would be a hymn-singing community.[19] In the second century (AD 112), the Roman historian Pliny the Younger told of Christians in Bithynia (Asia Minor) who sang a hymn to Christ as to God. A strip of papyrus, discovered at Oxyrhynchos in Egypt in 1918, is evidence concerning the character of the music to which the early Christian hymns were sung. This fragment reveals the closing part of a hymn to the Holy Trinity.[20] This was dated as early as the third century. Those practices, we may believe, go back to the New Testament Church, although there is until speculation concerning the nature of the songs of the early church. As Donald Grout has said,

It is likely that some of the hymns of the early Church were sung to what would now be called folk melodies, and it is possible that some of these melodies eventually found their way into the official chant repertoire.[21]

Many early church leaders harbored strong feelings against using anything except the Psalms for their singing. This was due to the spreading of heresy (Aryanism) through musical means. Therefore, in an effort to refute Arian heresy, the practice of antiphonal singing was introduced at Antioch early in the fourth century, and the chanting of the psalm verses became the responsibility of the congregation. Here, also, began singing of hymns with texts in verse form. Knowing the technique used by the Arians to influence the population by teaching their doctrines through music, Ephraem Syras (AD 373), the foremost Syrian hymn writer, employed the popular tunes of the heretical groups and substituted orthodox texts for the people to sing. So it became clear that sacred singing could be used fro good as well as for ill. Less then forty years after the founding of Constantinople, the Council of Laodicia, AD 367, prohibited the participation of the congregation and the use of instruments in the service. It further provided that only the Scriptures could be used for singing. With this restriction, hymn writers were limited to the canticles and the psalms, and this account for the absence of hymns of personal experience during this period.

The greatest contribution of the Eastern church to Christian song was the Byzantine hymns. In the fourth and fifth centuries, these hymns emerged as short prayers sung between the readings of the psalms (troparia). In the sixth century there developed the kontakion, consisting of a short introduction followed by eighteen to thirty stanzas and ending with a refrain. In the eighth century there appeared the canon, a long poem of nine odes (hymns), each originally consisting of from six to nine stanzas. The outstanding writer of kontakion was Romanus (c. 500) and the chief writers of canon were Andrew of Crete (c. 650-730) and John of Damascus (c. 780).[22]

One of the purposes of antiphonal singing was to attract people to the Orthodox congregations and to counter the current heresies. The practice of antiphonal singing in the Eastern Church was adopted by the Western Church in the fourth century at Milan by Ambrose (374-397). From Milan, this practice spread to Rome where it was officially adopted during the papacy of Celestine I (422-432).[23] By the end of the fourth century, the pattern of Christian song had developed along four basic lines as recorded by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367): (1) Canticus (unaccompanied singing); (2) psalmus (instrumental music); (3) Canticus Psalmi (antiphonal music with the voice leading).[24] All of the references to music in the writings of the early church fathers fall into three groups: (1) descriptions of early musical use: (2) praise of music; and (3) protests against musical abuse.[25]

Hymn singing and antiphonal singing were such effective means of Christian witness and both practices were closely related. As Basil the Great (329-379) said:

For never has anyone of the many indifferent persons gone away easily holding in mind either and apostolic or prophetic message, but they do chant the words of the psalms, even in the home, and they spread them around in market place.[26]

To devout Christians, music was an important part of religious life. It is important to note that during the Middle Ages, congregational singing was practically unknown. The hymns were sung only by the clergy or choir. It was only when the Bohemian Brethren, the followers of John Hus (1469-1415) saw singing as a means of restoring the congregation, that they began to write many hymns for use in their religious gatherings. The clergy preached the gospel from the pulpit, but they also used the hymns as homilies. This is a classic example of the direct use of hymns in the congregational singing that the preaching of the gospel is not just from the clergy to the people, but also from person to person through the unifying singing. This will be later called the use of music in evangelism.

At the end of the Middle Ages, congregational singing was on the increase because church music was gradually influenced and confused by secular or popular songs. Secular music has derived much of the style and form from the church music so that we hardly distinguish between the sacred and secular songs. It is now clear, therefore, how the stage was being set for the days of the Reformation and its great use of hymns by the laity as well as the clergy. Taking its cue from the secularization of sacred songs in the Middle Ages, the Reformation built upon the basic principle that the sacred and secular idioms could be combined in church music with no real hindrance to the content and message of the song. Augustine wrote,

When I remember the tears I shed at the psalmody of thy Church, in the beginning of my faith; and how, at this time I am moved not with the singing but with the things sung, when they are sung with a clear voice and modulation most suitable, I acknowledge the great use of the institution.[27]

Until the eleventh century, singing was done in unison. The singing of parts, which arose about that time, led to a number of developments, which reached maturity in the music of Palestrina (1525-1594). Around 1,600 instrumental music began to develop. This produced a new type of music in the church, which was harmonically oriented.

During the Reformation, Luther sought to restore congregational singing. He said it as a means of indoctrination as well as a source of joy. Luther declared, “Next after theology I give to music the highest place and greatest honor.” Experience proves that next to the Word of God only music deserves to be extolled as the mistress and governess of the feelings of the human heart.[28]

The opponents of the Reformation did not exaggerate when they said of Luther: “Luther has done us more harm by his songs than his sermons.” In contrast to Luther, however, Calvin sanctioned the Psalms as the only text suitable for congregational singing and he opposed part singing and the use of instruments. Nevertheless, his view on this use of music revealed a positive persuasion:

If the singing comes not from the heart it is worth nothing, and can only awaken God’s wrath. Singing in itself is good and useful; our tongues must praise God and as we honor Him by a common faith, we must also unite in glorifying Him before men that they may hear our confession of His name and be inspired with the desire of following our example. … Those melodies, which are introduced merely to give pleasure, are not agreeable to the majesty of the Church and must be infinitely displeasing to God. (Institutio 1536).[29]

As a result of Calvin’s inspiration, many metrical settings were given to the Psalms. The influence of the Psalter became a part of the Reformation in Europe and in England. Yet by the middle of the seventeenth century, Christians in England became indifferent to Psalm-singing. Thomas Mace (Musick’s Monument, 1676) stated: “Tis sad to hear what whining, yelling or screeching there is in many country congregations.” Many like Bishop Cranmer removed congregational singing from the liturgy. They felt that hymns were unscriptural and popish. However, by the end of the seventeenth century Isaac Watts gave to England the hymns, which recharged congregational singing with new interest. He bridged the gap between the singing of psalms and the singing of hymns. Because of this Watts has become known as the father of English hymnody. Hymns like “When I survey the Wondrous Cross”, for example, have given hymnology its rightful place in worship in people’s hearts. Significant contributions of hymns to the church music were from the Wesleys; they have lifted congregational singing to new heights of meaning.

In the nineteenth century, movements like the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association), Salvation Army, Sunday Schools, and other mass evangelism movements demanded new types of songs different from those of Watts and Wesleys. They needed songs, which could be easily sung by the masses. Out of this need arose the gospel songs and other gospel choruses used especially by children and young people.

The most recent influence of twentieth century hymnody has been the folk hymn. It has been on continual increase but added a conflicting mixture of jazz and rock style, which are permeating the current church music scene.[30]

In addition, it would be admitted that even during the greatest period of church music, the factor of entertainment most likely was present – not in the minds of the church leaders or composers, but in practical effect in the lives of church members. We are still in this situation to a large degree, but we shall see in the next chapter that there is a way to use this situation to advantage rather than attempt to return to former practices. To achieve this goal, we should seriously consider the relation between church music and worship. We need, therefore to understand the meaning of worship itself and how we worship.

II. THE THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP

AND ITS PRACTICES

A. THE MEANING OF WORSHIP

A church member said,

“I’ve never adored the Lord before.” (There were tears in her eyes).

“I’ve attended worship services all my life, but I never worshipped until today.”

Anne Ortlund said,

“Christian, it’s up to you, when you come to church to worship. Nobody can do it for you. All those helps – songs and music, prayers, sermons – lead you to the water, but they can’t make you drink. You, personally, must lift your heart to God. ‘How can I please you today, Father?’”[31]

What is “worship”? The word “worship” is derived from the Anglo-Saxon “worth-scipe” meaning one worthy of reverence and honor. When we worship, we are declaring God’s worth. The angels sang “Worthy is the Lamb … to receive power and wealth and might and honor and glory and blessing!” [Revelation 5:12]. Every area of life belongs to the kingdom of God in the sense that worship is practicing the presence of God in every experience of life. “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and therein, saying, “To Him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshipped.” (vv. 13-14). The whole life of the universe, seen and unseen, glorifies and worships God as its Creator, Sustainer, and End.[32] Worship is an end in itself; it is not a means to something else. “We worship God purely for the sake of worshipping God” (The Opus Dei).

To worship is:

To quicken the conscience by the holiness of God,

To feed the mind with the truth of God

To purge the imagination by the beauty of God

To open the heart to the love of God,

To devote the will to the purpose of God.[33]

A theological definition of worship is given as follows:

An act by a redeemed man, the creature, toward God, his Creator, whereby His will, intellect, and emotions gratefully respond to the revelation of God’s person expressed in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, as the Holy Spirit illuminates God’s written word to His heart.[34]

Worship, however, is not a theology; it can only be experienced. A living experience may be analyzed theologically but it can never be completely contained in formulas and liturgies. There is no adequate definition of “worship” but certain aspects of worship need to be described. The essence of worship as inner experience and the outward acts of worship are inter-related:

(1) Worship is both revelation and mystery.

“Man experiences the presence of God in revelation and stands in awe of God in the face of mystery.”

(2) Worship is both revelation and response.

“God takes the initiative in revelation, and man responds in worship.”

(3) Worship is both receiving and giving.

“The purpose of worship is not primarily to receive blessings from God but to make offerings to God.” It is the offering of one’s total self to God – one heart, one mind, and one might.”

(4) Worship is both celebration and eschatological fulfillment.

“It is, in its very essence, the continuing decisive working out of salvation in history, which ends in the eternal adoration to God.”[35]

It is the highest privilege and priority for man to worship God as an act of faith and this is the reason why true worship “never palls on the reverent soul”, for “he who is weary at worship is not worshipping, just as he who tires of loving is not loving.”

Segler said,

“Christian, if you leave church with your faith stronger, your hope brighter, your love deeper, your sympathies broadened, your heart purer, and with will more resolute to do the will of God, then you have truly worshipped!”[36]

The patterns and principles in public worship should be tested constantly by the spirit and practice of men who have faith in the Bible. Since the first man was created, God desires man to commune with Him. In the Garden of Eden, God asked, “Adam, where are you?” [Genesis 3:9]. The sons of Adam worshipped God. The Lord accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s, evidently because of the motivations in their heart (4:2-5). Enoch lived in constant fellowship with God (5:24). Noah built an altar unto the Lord and offered burnt offering on the altar (8:20) in celebrations of His deliverance. The Old Testament story begins with the idea of a personal God who created man for the purpose of communion with Himself. Man’s worship response included the building of altars, offering burnt offerings and dedication of oneself. Without further listing, the names of the worshippers and the practice of their worship, it already shows clearly that even before the ritual law of Leviticus was given, the Old Testament has stressed the necessity of worship. Perhaps the meaning and purpose of worship in the Old Testament is best summed up in Deuteronomy 6:4, “The LORD our God is one LORD.” He revealed Himself to Israel as YHWH of the LORD, the covenant God. The covenant in which He demanded sincere worship. “You shall not bow down to them (idols) nor worship them, for I the Eternal, your God, am a jealous God.” [Exodus 20:5, Moffatt]. Some forms of public worship were surely observed in the wilderness. They used a ‘tent of meeting’ as the sanctuary [Number 11:26] and later with the building of the tabernacle, congregational worship was established as an institution. God then consecrated Aaron and his sons to the office of priesthood [Exodus 28:2-3].[37]

In the historical books of Israel, we find that they worship of the LORD was not always kept in its purest form because the people were influenced by foreign gods. Many forsook the LORD, the priests acted corruptly and they placed their confidence upon the ark; thus indicating false worship. The judges and kings appeal several times as the leaders in worship for they were sanctified and called to bring God’s people to the true worship of God. Deborah and Barak recited a song of worship to God [Judges 5], David set up the first altar for the LORD in Jerusalem [2Samuel 24:25] and Solomon built the magnificant Temple dedicated to the worship of God. The Temple, then became the central place of worship for the entire land. Their acts of worship included music, solos, anthems, shouting, dancing, processions, the playing of musical instruments, preaching, recitations of Israel’s history with prayers, confessions and saying of creeds and vows, sacred meals and washing. Silence was also observed in Israel’s worship – “The LORD is in His holy temple; Let all the earth keep silence before Him” [Habakkuk 2:20]; “Be still and know that I AM God” [Psalm 46:10].[38]

With the capture of Jerusalem and still later the building of the second temple following the Babylonian captivity, the worship service continued to be an extremely elaborate and ritualistic affair.[39] As a corrective in Israel’s worship, a number of prophets protested against the empty ritualism of the people in these acts of worship [Amos 5:21-24] “ I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice” [Hosea 6:6]. Individual responsibility was stressed, “The soul that sins shall die” [Ezekiel 18:20]. Having condemned their false worship, both Ezekiel and Malachi appealed to and challenged the people to return to genuine worship [Malachi 4:2].[40]

The book of Psalms is rich in content of personal worship. The poetry is related to the entire history of our worship and the foundation of Christian hymnology. The title of the book is Tehillim , which in Hebrew means ‘cultic songs of praise’. According to Mouwinckel the majority of the Psalms are composed for use in the actual worship services in the Temple. For example: “Extol the LORD our God, and worship at His holy mountain (Zion)”, is the call to come into His presence with singing, “Enter the gates with thanksgiving and … with praise, for the LORD is good and His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations [Psalm 100:4-5].

Obviously, some patterns and practices in the Old Testament worship are no longer appropriate in Christian worship. The concept of worship that Jesus taught the Samaritan woman in Sichar was a starting point of the new pattern of worship for the people of her day when He said “… the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father” [John 4:21]. The place of worship is no longer prominent as in the traditions of the Jewish religion for God made a covenant with the people of Israel and said, “There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, and from between the two cherubim … I will speak with you.” [Exodus 25:22]. Thus, the mercy seat was the place of worship where God and man could commune with each other. Later, God gave Moses specific instructions for the construction of the building of the Tabernacle. It is, therefore, also unnecessary to praise the LORD with the musical instruments mentioned in Psalm 150. In principle, we are to worship Him wherever we are (in spirit and in truth) and with whatever means we have.

We also need to note that in the ‘before Christ’ are the content of the Hebrew worship was expressed as the result of the patriarchal experiences in history and their expectation of the coming of Messiah. We will see how this Old Testament worship is different from the New Testament worship.

With the beginning of a new era at the birth of Jesus Christ, a new spirit pervaded religious consciousness. It was a spirit of joy of having a personal relationship with God through His Son. No longer was worship confined to the Temple, but rather each believer himself became a temple of God and His Spirit [1Corinthians 3:16]. It is a distinct fact, however, that in the ministry of Jesus on earth, He was concerned about the sanctity of the Temple of God. Yet there is no indisputable evidence that He ever offered sacrifice in the Temple. But it is important to note that the coming of Jesus into Jerusalem was in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy [Mark 11:1-11] and part of that fulfillment was His action in claiming the Temple as His Father’s House, thus declaring Himself to be the rightful Lord of God’s sanctuary. This is also seen in such matters as His claim to forgive sins, His refusal to follow the Jewish Sabbath laws and rituals, which made worship so difficult and burdensome. It is not surprising that His followers adopted the same attitude of the new concept of worship. Peter and John went up to the Temple at the hour of prayer but there is no mention that they went to sacrifice there [Acts 3:1]. The sacrifice of himself, which is called the spiritual worship [Romans 12:1]. The offering of sacrifice is no longer found on the earthly altar but in the heart of every believer who continually offers praise and thanksgiving for the perfect sacrifice has been offered on the cross by One who is both the High Priest and the Lamb.[41]

In His earthly ministry, the Lord also taught in the synagogues and made it His regular practice to worship there on the Sabbath [Mark 1:21-28]. The pattern of the synagogue worship had influenced the Christian worship. There are three main elements in every case of the worship: (1) Praise (2) Prayer, and (3) Proclamation. The evidence we see in our Christian experience of worship in the synagogue and the pattern of the Temple worship such as offering, priest, and the use of music and also the sacramental experience in the Upper Room.

In the later development of Christian worship we learn that there were a number of distinctive characteristics of the public worship such as:[42]

(1) the assembling together of Christians [Hebrews 10:25] – all the liturgical parts in the worship service are to lead the worshippers to an awareness of God’s presence.

(2) the assembling of Christians by the ministry of the Holy Spirit [Philippians 3:3] – He inspires prayer [Romans 8:26], leads them to the truth of God’s Word [1Corinthians 2:10-16]; brings the unbelievers under conviction to God (14:25).

(3) the concern for up building one another [Ephesians 4:15-16] – To glorify God is to seek the welfare of the whole assembly (edification). We are not only one body in Christ, but also members one of another [Romans 12:5]. This can be shown in the diagram below:[43]

GOD

“The purpose of the Church

and worship is to relate

man to Christ (commitment)

and to relate man in Christ

to one another.” (fellowship)

CHURCH MAN

B. THE MEANS OF EXPRESSING WORSHIP

The three elements in worship, i.e., Praise, Prayer, and Proclamation lead the worshippers to their dedication or commitment to Christ and helps them upbuild one another. In order to express these attitudes in worship, man uses various means such as music, singing hymns, the reading of Psalms, preaching and teaching God’s Word, conducting sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, tithing/offerings, public commitment, reciting the 12 statements of Apostolic Faith, saying together the Lord’s Prayer, the Decalog or the Great Commandments, and so on. In a worship service these do not necessarily come in the above order.

In this paper, the emphasis is only given on music as one of the means of expressing worship. To give us a broader view of understanding music as it relates to worship, it is necessary to learn the historical development of music, in this case, particularly “sacred music” or “church music”. History presents convincing witness to the great influence of music in worship.

III. THE THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP

AND ITS PRACTICES

A. THE ROLE OF CHURCH MUSIC IN WORSHIP

Why use music in worship? We have learned how the people of God in the Bible and the Early Church congregation have used music very widely in their worship, but why use music at all? It must be admitted that there is no direct Scriptural answer to this question. The Old Testament offered examples of the using of music as part of the temple worship but did not give the reason why it was used. Mention of music and a few comment about hymns and spiritual songs in the New Testament do not help us find the reason why we should have music. Neither does church history show specific information about the role of music. It is commonly and undeniably known, however, that music is used in worship or worship service throughout man’s history. Let us, then, attempt to clarify the issue by examining various ways in which music can function.[44]

1. Means of Communication

Music is not an isolated factor in worship but rather it is a part of a total experience. It reinforces the enlightenment of the moment to the one who meditates on God in all aspects. It speaks to man’s total being as it develops a positive attitude toward music through the senses, especially hearing; it communicates an intellectual significance through the mind and so leads to praise, prayer, and commitment through the heart, which is opened by the Holy Spirit.[45] This is observed clearly in the choir anthems or solo special as well as the playing of musical instruments. The danger, however, is that music can become a bothersome intrusion for wandering minds and cause them not to focus upon God.

Music, such as congregational responses, hymn singing and service music, serves as an act of worship, and becomes personally expressive. Throughout church history, people have learnt about God’s love, the doctrine of salvation and the teaching of Christian life through the sacred poems or psalms expressed in the singing of the congregation. Indeed, when we sing the words of the church hymns, we express our feelings towards God. Thus through music we communicate our inward feelings to the One we worship. We must admit that music, with or without words, has great power to affect our emotions. It stimulates our thinking and sparks our imagination; it prepares the heart to worship and break down barriers between us and God and His people who sit near us.[46] The effectiveness of music as a means of communication, however, depends so much on the participation and attitudes of the congregation as a whole. According to Robert Mitchell, one of the most basic functions of church music is to involve individuals or those who worship in the making of music as participation. It is an active involvement in a situation rather than passive observation. Participation in congregational music can encourage individual worshippers to truly worship God and to reinforce some Christian teachings from the hymns they sing deeply into their personal life. Music, therefore, can communicate its message and give impact to those who participate actively in the congregational singing. This is also seen in the experiences of the people of Israel when Moses spoke the words of the song in Deuteronomy 32 in the ears of all the assembly:

“For I will proclaim the name of the LORD,

Ascribe greatness to our God!

The Rock, His work is perfect;

For all His ways are justice.

A God of faithfulness and without iniquity

Just and right is he.”

Every song written should have a purpose. It was God who asked Moses to write the song in Deuteronomy 32:1-43. The reason why God asked Moses to write this song was given in 31:19 – “Now therefore write this song, and teach it to the people of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel.” Moses wrote the song according to God’s feeling towards His people, which was seen in 32:5ff. To show how God felt about His people, here are some lines of the song:

“They have dealt corruptly with Him,

they are no longer His children

because of their blemish;

they are a perverse and crooked generation

Do you thus requite the LORD,

You foolish and senseless people?

Is not He your Father, who created you,

Who made you and established you?”

(vv. 5-6)

From the above example, we may learn that whenever a song writer composes his songs, he should have some thoughts or lessons that he wants to convey to the singers of or listeners to his songs. Some writers are able to communicate their thoughts through their music, with or without words. Others can only communicate their message through the words of the song. But there are some who cannot communicate their songs because the words are difficult to understand. They may be only concerned for the music and do not bother with the words they use as long as they fit into the music. The danger, therefore, is only when we treat music as entertainment or nice smoothing melody. Thus it kills the purpose of music as a means of communications. It would be better for the composers to care for the words more than the music although the latter is still significantly important. We see in our church hymn-books that many hymns are composed by two persons. One writes the lyric and the other supplies the music. God gives different people different gifts. They are to work together co-operatively as one Body. When words are spoken with music, they will give greater impact and communicate the message more lively. In order to accomplish this purpose, we need to give careful thoughts to the combination of the words and melody.

The final aspect we need to note here is the interaction between the singers, a solo or a choir, and the participants or congregations. In an evangelistic meeting, for example, the choir will usually sing the gospel songs for they want to communicate the redemptive ministering message to the non-believers. Some of the Gospel songs are:

“He Lives” - A.H. Ackley

“I Am Amazed” - B.D. Ackley

“I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say” - Horative Bonar

“I Surrender All” - W.S. Weeden

“Speak to My Heart” - B.B. McKinney

Whereas in a revival meeting, the choir may choose to sing:

“Go Tell It on the Mountain” - Jon Drevits

“So Send I You” - John W. Peterson

“Sowing for the Master” - Knowless Shaw

“Take My Life” - Ridley Havergal

“The Regions Beyond” - Margaret M. Simpson

Thus, music communicates to us with various. According to Lovelace and Rice, music has an affinity to language, for both are forms of communication evolving from the impulse to give voice to the feelings and to express thoughts.[47]

Music, therefore, contributes to the spirit of witnessing and evangelism as well as an exhortation to the Body in the local churches. Many people have been touched by the Spirit of God and influenced towards a deeper commitment through the singing of Christian songs. John Wilson speaks of its ministry today as ‘inward’, ‘outward’ and ‘upward’. As an inward expression, Paul talks about speaking to ourselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs [Ephesians 5:19]. Although we sing together, its significance is to the individual person who sings. The Lord may use the message of the songs to speak to us individually. Sons can give us new inspiration about God, comfort and joy. As an outward direction, many are inspired testimonies and these give opportunity for Christians to share their faith with others. In Colossians 3:16 we are asked to teach and admonish one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. The choir is a classic example; as they sing they communicate the message of the songs to admonish the listeners in the congregation. Therefore, music should convey the message, which the choir believes just as hymns are written according to the writer’s belief. Finally, as an upward experience, Paul exhorts us to sing with grace or with thankfulness in our hearts to the Lord [Colossians 3:16]. The joy of Christians is expressed in their praise and adoration to God. With a grateful heart because of the grace He has bestowed upon us, we can freely sing unto Him in thanksgiving. The Church should communicate this experience to the non-believers that they may also believe and accept the truth and be unified with the believers.

Consequently, singing should become a common practice at all functions of the Church. There should be an infiltration of singing into a total life of the Church because music as a language has the opportunity of transcending barriers, which ordinarily keep men from communicating with each other. It has the unique ability to unite believers of varied feelings, aspirations, and hopes, bringing them together in a common bond of love and for God and for one another. Even between the choir and the congregation, there should be a unity of the Spirit in the one Body.[48]

2. Unifying the Body

Congregational singing is the primary musical expression in worship.[49] All members of the Body ought to be encouraged to join in singing hymns or spiritual songs to show the close togetherness in a spirit of Christian unity. Lovelace and Rice declares that congregational singing in most churches does not fulfill its role so as to show the real purpose of music in worship. Hymns and anthems are chosen to please the congregation or to secure a specific emotional response. Music in worship must contribute vitality to the living organism.[50] The purpose is to communicate the message in an awareness of God’s presence and to unite the congregation for a worship experience as well as to express the conviction of the congregation. It is the ‘together’ experience of singing church songs.

In congregational singing music must serve as an act of worship and aid to worship and it should encourage a spirit of reverence in worship. It does not mean, however, without music we cannot worship in reverence because music itself is only one of the many expression of worship. Other means are through prayers, through the Word, through sacraments, through the offering of gifts, etc. Music, on the other hand, can destroy the atmosphere of worship. It is probably the carelessness of the music director or the pastor in choosing hymns, or the attitude of the congregation in singing the good hymns. Therefore, we must carefully and seriously prepare the hymns we are going to sing in the worship service as seriously as we prepare the sermon. A song service for any worship should provide the means of unifying the members by providing a common channel for individuals to join together in worship through prayers, praise and communicating the Word. Thus, the singing of hymns should not only provide individuals with an outlet for expression of personal soul attitudes and experiences, but also an expression of co-operative souls of the whole congregation. From the kind of music or hymns people sing, we can tell the kind of people they are. This applies also in congregational singing.

In order to achieve the purpose of congregational singing so as to unite the members together, the music director or the pastor must be aware of his responsibility in leading the songs. The organist especially is an important person in the role of accompanying the song leader because of the exactness of the music depends on the melody.[51] A careless leader may produce careless worship and the singing service is only a waste of time or even worse it destroys the worship service.

Another aspect of music as unifying the Body is also seen in the ministry of the message the music brings forth. When a group of singers, solos, quartets, or a choir is singing before the congregation, their primary purpose is to combine expressions of personal or group testimonies with the invitation for the listeners to enter a similar experience with Christ. So the function of the singing here is to say that ‘we are One in the Lord’, so to speak.[52]

3. Singing unto the Lord

All the earth shall worship thee

and shall sing unto thee,

they shall sing unto thy name. [Psalm 66:4]

According to Revelation 14:2-7, even in the day of judgment we shall be singing unto the LORD in worship. He (the angel) said with a loud voice,

Fear God and give Him glory,

for the hour of his judgment has come;

and worship him who made heaven and earth,

the sea and the fountains of water. (verse 7)

We have been talking about the function of church music is to unify the body which shows the horizontal relationship among God’s people as a united body to worship together in singing to the Lord. This must come before everything else. For if the motivation of heart is right, then the Lord will hear our innermost need and grant our heart’s desire. Then the expression of heart through singing may bring blessings to others who listen intensively and bring admonishment to their souls. A major effort, therefore, is to emphasize the motivation and attitude of heart in singing the church hymns. A music conductor usually trains his choir members with great expectation that they can sing well and sing harmoniously but forgets to remind them about their attitude in singing, which is the key to harmonious singing. As a result the choir often sings beautifully in melody but brings no impact to the congregation. It is just like a performance to entertain their eats. The question we ask to check a good choir is not “Is it beautiful?” but rather “Is it effective?” or “Does it bring blessings?” In our congregational singing we are to remind ourselves of the devotional aspect of our singing whether our singing is worthy of His listening, glorifying God or just merely uttering words and melody. God does not listen less to our praising than our praying. Praising God through singing is a way to express our thanksgiving and adoration. If our motive is wrong, how can then our praising to God be acceptable by God and bring others to God? There are some factors we want to see as hindering us from singing our best to God.

a. Our mental laziness

Unconsciously, we often sing without exercising our intellect. We are often defeated by a familiar tune of the song and without realizing it we have sung an untheological lyric or doctrines we do not agree with. Just for example, in the film “Jesus Christ Super Star”, there are a lot of worldly pop songs sung in co-operation with the story such as “I don’t know why he loves me?” by Magdalene. Many young Christians love this song and as they sing, they think about ‘Jesus’ as ‘just a man’ who can also fall in love with a woman like Magdalene. Indeed the song is nice and enjoyable but if we refer the ‘he’ in the song to Jesus, it is a blasphemy against the Son of God, because we dismiss His divinity. In evaluating the film as a whole, it is not to worship God with music but to worship rock music as god. The term ‘love’ that the film uses is ‘erotic’ not the ‘agape’ nor ‘philia’ love which the Bible used to describe God’s and Christians’ love. As we pray in spirit and truth, we, too must praise God in spirit and truth, understanding with our mind what we pray and whom we praise.

In order to understand what we sing, we should know the meaning of the words. Many of our church hymns were produced one or two centuries ago and sometimes the words may cloud our mind. For example, the word ‘vouch-safe’ in the hymn “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”, “fraught” and “repine” in “He Leadeth Me” or even a nautical image like “Let the Lower Lights Be Burning”. Do we bother to look up the meaning of the words in the dictionary? A classic example is in our Christmas songs when the word ‘mild’ is used repeatedly to describe the baby Jesus. According to the Webster Dictionary, one of the meanings of ‘mild’ is ‘not harsh’. We equate His gentleness as in “Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild’ with being unassertive. But Jesus could be very assertive as when He confronted the Pharisees and the money changers in the temple. We are to be careful also when we teach our Sunday School. Do we let them sing as they hear such as “Lee On, O King Turtle” when the song is actually “Lead On, O King Eternal” or to sing “The Cross-eye Bear” when it is “The Cross I Bear”? Can we thus sing with all our hearts when we do not understand what we sing?

c. No Preparation

This mostly happens in the Youth Fellowships. The song leaders usually select the songs not long before the meeting starts. They might not consider choosing songs as crucial as preparing sermons. Random selections will reflect the song leader’s attitude in singing and will obviously not to praise God wholeheartedly. Sometimes the hymns or songs chosen contradict their emotional mood, for example when they sing “It is Well with My Soul” whereas they still have grudges against their siblings or fellow believers. When there is no sincere preparation of heart, will there be any good choices of songs? In Amos 5:23 we read how God reacted furiously against His people, because their worship songs were far from their real life? They only sing praises for the melody and hardly apply the words into their own life. In order to please the One we worship in our singing, we must “tune up” three things:

(1) Singing with our heart and mind

We should know our theology as we open our heart and mind to a hymn’s content to worship God effectively. We should not simply possess a passion for singing but a passion for truth in our singing.

(2) Singing with simplicity

We should substitute for the archaic words with the simpler words to help people understand the song better. If the words are difficult to change, at least we can explain the meaning before we sing them.[53]

(3) Singing with preparations

We should carefully select the songs we are to sing in our worship service, our Youth Fellowships, moreover in our Sunday School. The preparation of heart will be reflected in our attitude in singing the prepared songs and might bring glory to God and blessings to the congregations, including the singers.

Thus, we need to sing wholeheartedly and to fully understand what we sing for His Glory and Honor in our lives.

4. Instrument to Express the Inexpressible

Music has an affinity to language, which is able to express thoughts. The mind of man cannot comprehend the wonder of God. It is difficult to express our love towards God or man through words. Again our vocabulary is inadequate to describe God’s wonderful deeds. Music is the means of communicating these non-verbal thoughts or emotions. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes for us with sighs to deep for words [Romans 8:26]. Music also speaks to the soul what words cannot penetrate. For example, when David played his lyre, the evil spirit departed from Saul and he was refreshed [1Samuel 16:23]. Our common experience with television and the cinema makes us familiar with the power that music has to touch the essence of the moment on the screen.[54] We learn that love is a violin, modern jazz means trouble in the streets, war is brass with cymbals or trumpets, both worry and fear are cellos, and the modern rock and roll expresses rebellion and dissatisfaction. The same process is at work as we use music in worship. Music should be used in accordance to the mood of the songs. If we sing the hymn like “Stand Up For Jesus” or “Onward Christian Soldiers” with the tune of “Silent Night” or “Abide With Me”, it will immediately spoil the effectiveness of the hymnal message. We need, therefore, suit the music to the mood of the lyrics and the instruments used to suit the music. This principle is not only important to the composer, but also to those who sing the songs. When used with sensitivity, it can communicate with great richness the variety of human emotions both the composers and singers. In congregational music we often encounter this attempt to seek a particular emotion or feeling. Usually in the hymnal books, an instruction is given above each hymn suggesting how it is to be sung. The congregation is invited to sing ‘devotionally’ or ‘reverently’ or ‘with dignity’ or ‘solemnly’ or just given the instruction whether they hymn is to be sung soft (piano) or fast (marching); all these instruction will express the mood of hymns which is not written in the lyrics. Better than words, music can suggest the feelings of love, peace, joy, and it might be appropriately used to accompany worship “in spirit and truth”.

The church director and the pastor are to be aware of the danger to substitute the music for the message so as to stimulate the hearers to react. We are not, by any means, to use music to stir people’s emotion to respond to the preaching of God’s Word. The difficulty perhaps lies in the impossibility of clearly defining the persuasion and the manipulation at the point where the motivating pressure is concealed. In any case, the point is not to suggest that the rational proclamation of the truth should be divorced from feeling or human emotion, but rather that the feeling should not be sought, inspite of rational encounter with God’s truth. The church musician will find it pointless to identify every use of music in terms of this issue.[55] He should be watchful when it arises, the trigging tendency to use music as a fishing respond-rod, and not allowing music speaks in its own Excellency. At this point music should have a solid content as its powerful message.

5. Complimentary of Speech

Although music is an instrument to express thought like in speech, yet the appeal of music and speech are in opposite directions. In speech, the mind is primarily aroused by the meaning of the words, then the imagination works upon the idea and an emotional response may result, whereas in music, the emotion is immediately stirred and the imagination begins to relate the sound to some mental picture.[56]

Throughout Church history, people have learnt about God’s love, the doctrine of faith, and the claims of Christian life through music. When we falter for the words of the song, sometimes it expresses no feelings. Music helps put the two together.[57] We must admit, however, that music without words could often stir up emotion without understanding of mind about what we feel. This is often used as one of the psychological functions of music in a worship service to manipulate the congregation to experience an aesthetical atmosphere, which may not relate to the worship of God at all. We will discuss about the abuse and misuse of music in one of the following chapters. It is a fact that sacred music has a unique ability to unite believers of varied feelings and biases, hopes and aspirations bringing them together in a common bond of love and devotion for one another and for God.[58] Like the Colossian passage, Paul discusses hymn singing after an opening doctrinal discourse. The context for his specific exhortation regarding hymn singing is the whole chain of Christian grace to be found among God’s chosen people and especially their culmination in love, unity, peace, and gratitude. Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” The results of the rich indwelling Word are teaching and counseling. This wise teaching and counseling is translated into musical expression. “As you teach and counsel” and “as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” are parallel clauses signifying ways through which the indwelling word may be expressed. This suggests a closer connection between teaching-counseling on one hand and singing on the other. The rich indwelling Word produces teaching and singing; teaching-counseling with wisdom and singing with gratitude are natural ways to let the Word indwell as richly.[59] This implies that music and sermon must go hand in hand. Should we find a comical incident if the sermon talks about “Launch Out Into the Deep” and the song “Pull for the Shore” or when the challenge is given at the end of the sermon “Who will go for Me?” and the choir sings “Sweet Hour of Prayer”. Should the congregation sing “Almost Persuaded” in the baptismal service or the pastor should choose to sing a simple chorus like “Lord, I want to be a Christian” in his family gathering. Music and speech are joined in perfect union urging the mind and heart into one direction. Excitement in speech finds its counterpart in quicker tempos in music. The use of high and low pitches heightens the emotional impact of words and the quality of the voice in speech.

speech

EMOTION IMAGINATION INTELLECT

Music

[Lovelace & Rice, p. 20]

Music is an emblem used to highlight the sermon. The pastor and the music director should ideally prepare the worship service together. They are to choose hymns, which support the sermon. Some song might prepare the flocks’ heart before they listen to their shepherd’s preaching, and other songs could help them respond to the message, renew their commitment, strengthen their faith, confess their wrong doings, abandon their bad habits, serve better and bless others. All these depend on how much the sermon touches their mind and how well they could express their feeling through singing the hymns. Well chosen hymns could speak volume in responding to the sermon. Lack of co-ordination between the two elements could slacken the worship service as a whole.

B. THE MINISTRY OF CHURCH MUSIC

The following values of church music are apparent to increasing number of church members as vital to the total ministry of the church. First of all, church music provides an atmosphere of worship for believers. The congregation can sing their praise, petition, and perseverance for the Lord together. This ‘togetherness’ of singing hymns adds vitality to the worship experience because when the congregation sings together, the barriers are broken down, a unity is fostered, the morale is raised, the attentions are focused and the spiritual fellowship is enhanced.[60] Secondly, church music also contributes to the spirit of witnessing and evangelism. There is a three-fold task of music in evangelism:[61]

1. Identification

To identify with the non-Christian world, is it wrong to sing secular songs, which are not contradicting Christian faith? As human beings, we like many things in common, such as freedom and happiness. Aren’t we allowed to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ in a birthday party or sing “Old McDonald Had a Farm” with children or sing “The More We are Together” in the church’s camps? People like to hear and to sing familiar songs. Paul says, “To the Jews I become like a Jew; to the Gentiles I become like one, to all men I become like them in order to save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel [1Corinthians 9:19-20]. What we need to make sure is the content or concept of every song we sing, so that we do not slip into the slope of worldly philosophy. This is a step of cultivating friendship before we come to the real essence of the gospel. This task is to be done before we invite our non-Christians’ friends to any evangelistic convention.

2. Proclamation

After identifying ourselves with our audience, we can choose simple choruses to proclaim what Christians believe and what God has done to all men as sinners through Jesus Christ or what assurance we have in Christ. Gospel songs like “Just as I am” and “Happiness is to know the Savior” [often sung by the big choir in the Billy Graham Crusades]; “Near the Cross”; “For God So Loved The World” and other scriptural songs, “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God” [Mt. 6:33]; “He is Lord” [Phil. 2:13]. “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”, etc. When we sing this kind of songs, we already bring the message of the gospel across to the hearers and the next step will be their respond to God’s merciful call.

In my own experience last year, singing in a Cantata with the Singapore Orchestra was a great eye-opener for myself, because some of the instrumentalists are non-believers, one of them was even an Atheist. As the title of this cantata was something about ‘miracle still happens today’, indeed it happened that day, when the Atheist saxophonist turned to Christ because he heard the wordings and he responded. I was not even uttered any words from my mouth, because no voice came out. No miracle healing for me, but for him, it was a spiritual awakening.

3. Appeal

Songs like “Lord, I Want to Be a Christian” or “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” are usually sung after the message of the gospel has been preached. As they sing, they are to consider whether or not they want to follow Jesus. It is not always necessary that they will decide immediately after they sing the choruses, especially when they have only heard the Gospel once. This is more for those who have been listening to God’s word on several occasions and they are at the point of making their decision. However, the ministry of the gospel songs may help people consider the message and help them respond to the appeal given in the songs. Never do we use music to manipulate the people or arouse their emotion in order to influence their decision. To make a true disciple we expect a genuine conversion and not an emotional decision. These latter two tasks in the ministry of the church music are usually done in a gospel rally. These can also be carried out in the simple form of worship service. The testimony of worship in our singing of the gospel songs may bring forth our faith to the non-believers. Gospel in music can be so powerful, because it is not only speaks to the mind but also to the heart.

Church music also affords an opportunity for the cultivation of the musical talents of church members. The church music director should teach the congregation about the music ministry in the church, so that they are responsible to use their talents and to tell others about Christ and His Church through music. Since the ministry of music touches all phases of the church life, it also opens an opportunity for Christians to teach Biblical truths and theology, giving testimonies, praying, and to help interpret the Word of God just as the preacher does. Christians with songs in their hearts find their service to God enjoyable, inspirational, and consequently more effective.

It is not my intention to fully discuss all aspects of the church music ministry. By what we have previously discussed, we will just focus on the use of music in the church in order to get a proper understanding of its effectiveness. Before we discuss even further about the why and the how we use the church music, we need to know the what (content) and the when (intent). Charles Gold listed the following practical differences between the hymn and the gospel song to help us use them effectively and timely.

H Y M N

G O S P E L

1. Primary purpose is to glorify God.

Both objective and subjective in character.

2. Used primarily in worship service.

3. Music is stately,

dignified and devotional in character

4. Notes of even time value.

Comparatively few notes of 8^th or 16^th value.

5. Text is usually set to music without use of

chorus or refrain technique.

1. Primarily a song of exhortation, testimony, warning, persuasion. Usually subjective in character.

2. Used primarily in revival meetings, evangelistic

services and fellowship periods.

3. Usually rhythmically fast.

A pervasive enthusiasm.

4. Notes of varied time values.

Containing, at times, dotted 8th and 16th.

5. Verse with chorus or refrain pattern predominating.

Realizing that hymns and gospel songs serve a variety of different functions, we should be sensitive in planning their use. It is not only the case of the best tune of text, but also the aspect of being appropriate for the situation.[62]

To quote Erik Routley, he has suggested that a good hymn is one that has been “well written, well chosen, and well sung.”[63] A well-written hymn may firmly establish a great deal of fundamental theology in the consciousness and affections of a congregation through the hymns sing again and again; thus well-written hymns may also refute heresies of false teachings.

Augustine, in his commentary on Psalm 148 wrote:

Do you know what a hymn is? It is singing to the praise of God. If you praise God and do not sing, you utter no hymn. If you sing and praise not God, you utter no hymn. If you praise anything, which does not pertain to the praise of God, though in singing you praise, you utter no hymn.[64]

This statement is based on a classical definition of a hymn: a song, a song of praise, a song of praise addressed to God. Upon this concept, the development of Christian hymnody has brought some criteria as follows:[65]

a. A hymn must be faithful to the Scriptures.

b. A hymn must be reverent and devotional.

c. A hymn must be a poetic, lyrical expression.

d. A hymn must be express spiritual meaning.

e. A hymn must have structural soundness.

f. A hymn must be based on mutual experience.

C. THE USE OF CHURCH MUSIC

1. The Proper Use of Church Music

There is a slight difference between the ministry of Church Music and the use of music in the ministry. Naturally, church music will minister to the need of the church in teaching and counseling as well as to meet the need of the non-Christian world in evangelism, whereas in the use of church music there are two possible uses: The positive use (proper biblical use) and the negative use (misuse and abuse). The important value is not whether we can use it but what is its use (the content), how we use it (attitude) and why we use it (the motivation). We have already discussed about what is its use in the ministry of church music and now we shall see the how and why we use it. The right attitude in singing should be that we sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving [Colossians 3:16]. If the church has experienced God’s love and grace, she should express her gratitude in the congregational unison singing through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. All people in the congregation must sing for God demands everyone and everything on earth to praise and honor His Name [Psalms 148:11; 150:6] and they should sing it wholeheartedly [Ephesians 5:19]. A wholesome attitude toward music can be developed through relating music and worship together. God acted first in creation and in history calling us to worship Him. As a result of God’s acts, we are called to respond individually and corporately. We worship Him for who He is and what He has been doing in our life through church music. Singing is an expression or act of giving thanks, confessing sins and praying for guidance or consecrating oneself to God’s will. While a hymn is corporately sung, each individual must make a personal appropriation and application to himself if it is to have its fullest meaning and value. The use of personal pronouns helps the singers value the songs.

2. The Misuse of Church Music

It will be perhaps fruitful at this point to examine some of the present attitudes or motives toward worship and the use of music in the worship service. The wonder and awesomeness of church music can sometimes become a stumbling block in many churches because of the wrong attitudes of the congregation in singing the church songs.

a. Music Being Used as a Servant

- singing a few hymns till everyone arrives

- singing spiritual songs for non-religious purpose such as for playing games, changing

seats, exciting children, or enjoying the rhythm to keep people awake.

- stanzas are omitted to save time. These disrupt the message of the songs.

b. Music Being Used to Attempt Worship Experience

To plan a rigid worship experience may lead to a man-made psychological manipulation or response, which is not necessarily a response to God’s call. For example, in an evangelistic meeting when music is used as a background to influence the audience to move forward. Sometimes the fancy lighting and sentimental music bring people to an aesthetical experience which is not necessarily from God’s working Spirit. In such situations, music can be very misleading and quite often bring a superficial worship and a false dedication. They move forward not because they understand the message but as they are manipulated or influenced by the music and atmosphere they make a decision based on their ‘feeling’.

c. Music Being Performed For a Show

This includes the choir or other special musical items as they are performed week after week. Many church choirs due to the lack of musicians or singers have asked or even employed non-Christians to join the choirs. Being not satisfied with the church music, some even invite a secular band to give their performance in a Christian gathering just to attract the non-Christians to come and taste the ‘Christian’ programs. Although they may play or sing Christian songs, yet unfortunately they may change the tempo of the songs into more jazzy or rocky. Is it wrong, then, to use a musical-band to accompany our church music?

Firstly, it is already out of place for non-Christians to play or sing in the Christian gathering. Secondly, if we believe that there is a strong relationship between music and worship and the ministry thereof, there will be no place whatsoever for the worldly folks to join the fellowship, because they do not understand the message of the spiritual song and obviously cannot deliver what they do not believe to the audience. On the other hand, if Christians play the band, there is a tempted tendency to show off more than to express worship, because the more people play the instruments on stage, the more people will be attracted to their performance. It is easier to be distracted to watch as spectators than to focus as worshippers. Some young pastors have casually included contemporary songs just to suit the taste of the young audience. Should we be surprised if they even include the rock and roll type of music in the church program to attract teenagers and youths? The pastors might excuse themselves saying that they should catch up with the newer fashions or else they could not reach the young generation. After all, our purpose is to let them hear God’s message in church. The worship service if often turned into a fun session or a relaxed program.

We need to always ask three-string questions, “What is its use?” “How do we use it?” “Why do we use it?”, to check whether we still hold the real purpose of the church music. Music in worship should be the participation of the whole congregation and not merely the choir or the instrumentalists. We are to understand, therefore, the main purpose of a choir and the position of a choir conductor in the worship service inside or outside the church.

IV. THE CHOIR

A. THE PURPOSE OF CHOIR

“It was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD, and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever," the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.” [2Chronicles 5:13-14]

This describes the singing of the Levitical choir with its 288 choir members [1Chronicles 25] and 4,000 musicians [1Chronicles 23]. Their choir conductors were Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun and they used some musical instruments such as cymbals, harps, lyres, and trumpets to accompany the choir. As they offered music to the LORD, the glory of the LORD filled the temple. This is one of the purposes of a choir: that is, to help the congregation spend some time to worship God. Since the choir members are also individual worshippers, there is no performer or spectator. They all worship together, Calvin said, “As to public prayers, there are two kinds; some are offered by means of words alone, the others with songs”.[66] So when the choir sings, the congregation listens attentively and reverently to the words of the song and both worship God and shall receive the blessedness of the glory of the LORD in the house of the LORD.

A choir also fulfills a prophetic ministry. It can interpret the gospel through the truths of the anthem texts. Probably we can put this in Paul’s words, “The choir teaches and admonishes with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” [Colossians 3:16]. A notable illustration of this prophetic ministry was the singing of the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral on May 24, 1738. This was the day when John Wesley was so moved by the singing that at the end of the day he recorded the entire text of the anthem in his Journal.

Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord. O let thine ears consider well the voice of my complaint. If thou, Lord will be extreme to mark what is done amiss, O Lord, who may abide it? For there is mercy with thee; therefore shalt thou be feared. O Israel, trust in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his sins.[67]

From the experience of these May days in 1738, John and Charles Wesley went out to evangelize Britain. In addition to this prophetic ministry, a choir fulfills a priestly role.[68] The Levitical priests, which included the temple musicians, have now been replaced by the priesthood believers. The concept of an elaborate system of worship has been replaced by worship in ‘spirit and truth’ [John 4:19]. What place does this leave for the choir? Throughout much of the life of the Christian church, it has been assumed that this priestly function should continue. Thus, many of the medieval cathedrals located the choir near the altar, where the clergy as singers sat facing each other and made their musical offering to God. The laity did not participate. In nineteenth century mass evangelism, the role of a choir was the same as that of the evangelists. The task of the singers was to testify to their faith through music and to invite response on the part of the audience. It was common in England and America that the primary function of a choir was to assist the congregation singing and on some occasion they offered special musical selection.

In recent years, the modern version of this concept has appeared wherein the choir is located in the congregation and perceived as part of it. These two quite different traditions have affected church architecture where the placing of the choir is considered crucial. The place of the choir demonstrates its identification with the congregation or a separation from it. This is rooted in the issues of identity and function. In order to find the best answer of where a choir should be seated in the church, we need to ask, “Why have choir?” “What is the choir’s function?” The answer will be variously depending on the church standing for worship. First, we need to grasp the meaning of worship, before we add music into it. Kierkegaard suggested that true worship is that which goes on between every person in the congregation and God. Thus the role of a minister and choir is to serve as ‘prompters’.[69] Romans 1:12 taught us that a true worship is when we present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice. In other words, worship is a daily act of living for God. The most important thing is not the where we worship, but the why that motivate our attitude in the worship service. The minister and choir should be able to lead the congregation to worship in the togetherness and unity. They should therefore have the same objective for their congregation and work as a team. Awareness of this leads to diminished assessments of personal worth, competition, or envy. Bringing each individual in the congregation and choir members to total commitment to Christ should be the objective in every worship service, and the glory of the Lord will fill the sanctuary. This will bring us to the importance of choosing the choir members as well as the musicians. To be the leader of congregational singing, choir members presumably have more talents. They have more opportunity in rehearsal and know more about reading music notation so that in their leading of the congregation, their confidence and freedom of expression will be a positive example during the hymnal singing or other acts of corporate musical worship.

Having a musical gift, opportunities are given to the choir members to exercise and develop their singing and musical playing to serve the Lord in the church service. The choir help the congregation maintain the atmosphere of worship by proper singing, for unless singing is well organized, there is no harmony in the worship service but brings carelessness and failures, distraction and self-glorification.

If we believe that the choir exists to carry on a priestly role, those who participate should be set apart as in the Levitical tradition. In other words, being engaged in witnessing to the congregation concerning their faith, it is a reasonable expectation that choir members should preferably be men and women of faith. However, if the choir is perceived as being one with the congregation, the restrictions upon its membership should reasonably be neither more or less than the restrictions appropriate for any member of the congregation. Even so, this also means that only Christians or those who have faith in Christ could become the members of the “Church” not just any church organization. It does not mean that non-believers should not come to church and ‘worship’ with the believers. Likewise, there will be non-believers joining the choir. Should we ask them to leave the choir? Our decision will very much depend on our personal view of the choir’s role in the “Church”.

At times, it is taken the role of a prophet, and other times, used the priest’s role or could be just an ordinary church member’s role. Whatever role it takes, the members should hopefully be encouraged to continually taking steps in their Christian growth, since the day they were converted and after taking their membership class, and desiring to serve their Savior in their local church more effectively.[70]

Having seen the positive values of a choir, we need to be aware of the dangers that a choir may have if we abuse and misuse its functions as follows:

1. to entertain the congregation.

2. to show off talents or spiritual gifts (during talent-show)

3. to kill time or to be the servant of late comers.

4. to be one of the programs without which it is not a worship service; no need to wait till the members are prepared or ready to sing, they are obligated to perform on stage.

5. to call anybody who is willing to sing in the choir, regardless their pitch control is shaky.

6. to worship in music and not to use music as just a means to express the heart in worship.

7. to have a choir in the church is a strong tradition, therefore no choice not to have one.

It is possible to have a beautiful choir but a dull worship service, because the congregation is not able to catch the words of the anthems. What they see is a group of people moving their mouths following the moving of the arms of the music director and voicing some music nice to human’s ears but meaningless to mind and heart. We know that music is to complement the sermon, therefore music without any message is just a noisy gong or clanging cymbals. Such music exists only on the most basic levels: music to dance; music for reading; music while eating; talking on the phone and listening to music at the same time. It does not occupy us; it does not command the full attention of our mind and spirit.

Indeed, a choir is to sing; to sing to worship; to help the people worship the Lord. Therefore, they need good preparation in practicing the anthem, and good anthems would highlight the pulpit-message, and speaks to the listeners’ heart. The basis for the choir’s music is to sing good anthems, which can inspire the soul, enlighten the mind, and express the finest emotions of the congregation. To these anthems must be added worthy musical settings in which melody, rhythms, harmony, and form serve to highlight, delineate, under gird, and set aglow the words. Any anthems must be suitable for the purposes of worship, to the acoustics of the sanctuary, to the limitations of the choir and musical instrument (organ), to the liturgical requirements and to the understanding and appreciation of the congregation. The best anthems will be durable, simple in motive, beautiful and worshipful, effective and will help us return to the function of music, which Martin Luther stated as follows:

putting music upon the living and holy Word of God, therewith to sing, praise, and honor the same, so that the beautiful ornament of music, brought back to its right use, may serve its blessed Maker and His Christian people.[71]

The starting point is the text. Consider that because the music is sweet and soothing to our ears, no one seems to bother about the wordings. The problem here is not so much on the poor texts, but rather they are not sung properly nor clearly. Remember the choir of angels singing about two thousand years ago in Ephrata; as they sang, the good news was preached. The shepherds received the good news and immediately left for Bethlehem to see baby Jesus [Luke 2:8-15]. Thus, it is important to choose good anthems, study them as the choir practice in singing, present them clearly, and worship fully. In order to organize these things, a choir needs a music conductor. The next chapter will give us some glimpse of what qualities a choir conductor should have.

B. THE CHURCH MUSICIAN

1. The Church Musician and His Roles

“Okay-let’s-get-started-we’ve-got-lot’s-of-work-to-do-here-tonight-Easter-is-coming-up-and-we-haven’t-started-on-reading-the-music-notes-and-I’m-afraid-some-of-the-altos-have-to-sing-sopranos-tonight.”

Anne Ortlund asked the Church Musicians several questions, “Minister of Music, are you just music or do you a minister? When you look at “Mrs. Lone Lee”, whom do you see? An alto? Or do you see a wife with three daughters and a sick husband? Are your people human beings (to be ministered) or things (to be used)? How can you persuade choirs, full of people to dedicate themselves to the kind of commitment necessary to the job?

To minister to the choir members, a choir conductor should, first of all, take time to worship and to lift them to God. Secondly, he should take time to make sure their hearts are ready to sing.[72] When their hearts are eased and the burdens are lifted up, they are ready to express their joy in singing. This will make a difference in a final song. The point is that unless the Holy Spirit ministers to the choir members first through the song they sing, it is hard to minister to others in the same manner. A choir conductor, therefore cannot just be someone who has sung in a choir before, but as a minister of music, he is not only able to give his members knowledge of music, teach them to master the music, but the most important thing is that he should also know the text of the anthems and how they can be applied to the singers.[73] This is the best opportunity for the conductor to explain the mood of the song, by giving the composer’s background, and the meaning of the lyrics. He could challenge them to do the same as they present the song in the church service. If they have been ministered to and blessed by the song they practice, they most likely would better influence the worshippers as they listen, because the choir sing it with conviction and the divine power echoing stronger from the choir’s stage into the pews.[74]

2. The Church Musician and His Pastor

It was said earlier that music is a complement to speech. Thus, there must be a significant relationship between the minister of the Word and the minister of Music. If the pastor is aware of the significant role music can play in the total life of the church, he will give much support to building a worth-while musical program. We should look back to David’s days to see how he organized a giant musical program with 4,000 orchestras [1Chronicles 23:5] and to compare them with ours. They were to offer praises to the LORD in His house. It is important to note that David chose the people for the service of the house of the LORD according to their skills. In this case, the musicians were from the tribe of Levi. They were trained in singing to the LORD and all are skillful [1Chronicles 25:7]. Chenaniah was the minister of music of the Levites because he knew music [15:22]. Other music directors were Heman, Asaph, and Jeduthun [25:1-6]. They should prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals. David also showed his role. He directed the prophecies (v. 2). We then see the picture of the Old Testament Temple leaders who were equivalent to our church leaders nowadays. David was acting as a pastor whereas Chenaniah, Heman, Asaph, and Jeduthun were the church musicians. If the pastor and the musician are ideally playing their parts in the church life, there would be a collaboration and mutual confidence in both. The tone of the worship service will very much depend on their team work. There are not two ministries but one. Their service is not for the applause of the choir, nor the pride of the conductor, but for God’s alone. The ultimate purpose of music, therefore, is Soli Deo Gloria! As David and Asaph best of all through their combined gifts, prophesy and directing the orchestra, the worship service in the house of the LORD led the people to the great experience of worship. The congregation would see the LORD high and lifted up. His glory would fill the Temple.

The pastor will find it rewarding to discuss with the choir about his duties in relation to the church life. The choir needs to be reminded of its task in sharing with the pastor, the responsibility of leadership in the worship service. It would be almost impossible for the pastor to be specifically trained in all of the various departments of the church and therefore, having a committed church musician as his partner should be a great blessing. But, if he is to assume the responsibility for coordinating the elements of the worship service and administrating the entire church program, he should at least possess a basic knowledge of the function of the church music. He should master the relationship between music and worship and develop insights about its purposes and overall structure of the church system, the values of congregational singing and methods to stimulating it.

For ministers who recognize the need for a basic understanding of church music and for those who want to serve in this area, they will find it helpful to read periodicals or attend workshop and music seminars.[75] A church without music is not a singing church. Singing or playing musical instruments is one way to express our adoration to God. If our purpose of going to church is not to worship God, music is not needed. A church is a place of prayer and praise.

3. The Church Musician and His Education

It is not enough for a musician to know his skill and responsibility. It is not sufficient to have a good relationship with the pastor of the church. Paul admonished Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of truth” [2Timothy 2:15]. This verse has been frequently quoted by those in the Christian ministry as their mandate to be diligent in the fulfillment of their calling. This timeless message should find application in the lives of the twentieth century individuals called to minister in the Church through some channels of fulltime Christian service. Each individual as a minister in the Church has a responsibility to be continually involved in some sort of learning and growing process so that he may be able to present himself as God’s workman who has no need to be ashamed of his accomplishment. The necessity of being well grounded biblically and theologically and having sufficiently developed one’s musical skills is the key of a successful ministry of the gospel through music.

One of the sad labels that has too often been placed on our church musicians is that ‘they are in that field because they are not qualified to serve elsewhere in music’.[76] This negative remark should be removed. First of all, it is imperative for anybody to realize the privilege of having been called by God to serve as a minister of the Word or Music in the church. Whatever ministry we involve in does not make us greater or less important, because it is all for the building of the Body of Christ. Secondly, God has given us different gifts to minister in His Church and He demands our commitment to fully use our spiritual gifts. What matters is not what we are doing but whether we are working together as ministers of God to edify the church. These should be shown in the worship service whether our work or ministry brings result, impact, or change in the people’s heart, so that more and more people would dedicate themselves for God’s service in the Church and for the Church.

In short, a church musician has a great task to communicate the message of Christ to both believers and non-believers through music. A Christian musician should always strive to bring the quality to his song writing and singing performance to a standard higher than the world’s. Musicians are missionaries, too. Therefore, they need to make full use of their talents to participate in evangelistic rallies to deliver the gospel of Jesus Christ in music. However, the temptation of self-glorification is scorching. Many people tend to idolize their favorite singers and performers. It is very common that a good peace of music is highly credited to the composers and performers. This is where music is easily worshipped and a musician is madly idolized. As Christians musicians, their lives must prove worthy of the Lord through the music they write and the lyrics we sing. Music, therefore, should be of secondary importance and giving God all the worship in praises is more importance and is the ultimate goal. Before anything else, there must be commitment and a firm belief that one is a Christian musician and not a Christian Musician.

Because contemporary Christian music is so much like secular, there is the danger of singing it for the music and not for the message, which is why the caution about being a Christian first and a musician second. Yet so many times, we have seen sloppy singing groups, unrehearsed choirs, and unprepared soloists – all a weak testimony for Christians who are supposed to excel in all they do for the Lord.

Music is still relevant in worship, but the music must be suitable. Whether the music is louder than the message depends a great deal on who is performing. Performers are witnessing not only on stage but also by their lifestyle.

CONCLUSION

All through the ages, music has been used in the worship of God. In the Old Testament times, we learn how music has become a part in Hebrew culture and religion. Choirs and orchestras in the time of King David took a significant and meaningful role in their public worship service. One of the marks of God’s people is that they were called to ‘praise his name’ [2Samuel 22:50 cf. Psalm 18:49 – “For this I will extol Thee, O LORD, among the nations, and sing praises to Thy Name”]. The important thing for us to appreciate today is that music in the Old Testament was purposefully employed; it was functional. In the New Testament times, the concept of worship has become more personal. It was based more on the individual’s soul expression and inward attitude rather than a tangible or ritual act. This concept was revealed by Christ Himself to the Samaritan woman [John 4:24—“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth]. The realization of this New Testament truth had a stimulating effect upon the early Christians. Despite the many controversial issues regarding the use of music in worship, we have learnt from our church history how great theologians and musicians have taught the congregations about music as a rich way to express their worship to God. We are to be grateful to our church fathers who have restored the congregational singing in its rightful place in the worship service after its declension in the twelfth century.

In our church today, there have been many disputes regarding the kind of music the church should use in worship service. Sides are often taken along age lines, with young people agitating for ‘folk’ or ‘pop’ styles of musical worship, whereas the older folks hold on to ‘dignified’ or ‘solemn’ music. Surely, the Bible should be accepted as normative on this as on other topics. Like the reading of the Scriptures, the preaching of the Word, the prayers and the offering, music should be an effective means of expressing our adoration and devotion to God. It is not a matter of the kind of music we should sing but our attitude and motive to singing will be regarded as the kind of worship we offer to God. Good church music should have the aspect of worship in it. It communicates theological or biblical truths to the worshippers and moves their hearts to respond to what they have sung. In other words, good music and message should stimulate the people to act and not just to feel good after hearing them.

Music should serve to impress the words upon the heart by working on the emotions, in order to engrave them on the mind and to stimulate them to act. In order to meet this purpose, good church music, therefore, should be biblical in lyrics and compatible with the text. The experience of David with Saul points toward the power of music. It should also deepen our relationship with God and with God’s people. To worship God with music, we should firstly prepare our heart to get ready to participate in the singing of praises to God. We should therefore sing in spirit and truth; understand what we sing and sing wholeheartedly.

Finally, there should be responses from both the singers and the listeners. The choir should take an active role in the leadership of a worship service and not just to provide special musical items. Individually, each choir member must firstly be stunted with the lyrics he sings before the singing brings good impact to the whole congregation. The church musicians should know their role to lead their choir members to achieve the choir’s function in the church service.

As God has given us the gift of music, let us make use of this gift to the fullest. Let us not sing as a matter of ritual matter in worship, but as an expression of worship. Let us not worship music as god but worship God through music.

I WILL SING UNTO THE LORD AS LONG AS I LIVE.

Psalm 104:33

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anonymous. “The Roles of Music in Worship” (from the Music Workshop of Jimmy Owens. Singapore 1980), 4p.

Campbell, K.M. “The Role of Music in Worship”, The Evangelistical Quarterly (LII/No.1/January-March 1980), 43-46.

Clarkson, Margaret E., “What Makes A Hymn ‘Good’?”, Christianity Today (June 27, 1980). 22-23.

Coleman, Robert. “The Creation Hymn”, Decision (September 1980).

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[1] Robert Douglas, Church Music Through The Ages, (Tennessee: Convent Press, 1967), pp. 6-7.

[2] Kenneth W. Osbeck, The Ministry of Music, (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1961), p. 18.

[3] Massey H. Shepherd, The Psalms in Christian Worship, (Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1976), p. 19.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Douglas, pp. 7-8

[6] Shepherd, loc.cit.

[7] Osbeck, p. 19.

[8] Douglas, p. 8.

[9] Franklin M. Segler, Christian Worship – Its Theology and Practice (Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1967), p. 93.

[10] Paul W. Wohlgemuth, Rethinking Church Music, (Chicago: The Moody Bible Institute, 1973), p. 30.

[11] Douglas, p. 9.

[12] Ibid., p. 10.

[13] Wohlgemuth, loc.cit.

[14] Nolan C. Huizenga, “A Biblical ‘Tune-Up’ for Hymn Singing”, Christianity Today (June 27, 1980), p. 20.

[15] Shepherd, pp. 14-15.

[16] Wohlgemuth, p. 48.

[17] William Jensen Reynolds, A Survey of Christian Hymnody, (NY: Holt, Rineheart and Winston, Inc., 1963) p. 5.

[18] Ralph P. Martin, Worship in the Early Church, (Grand Rapids: WmB. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964), p. 47.

[19] Martin, p. 41.

[20] Reynolds, p. 7.

[21] Donald P. Ellsworth, Christian Music in Contemporary Witness, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979), p. 29.

[22] Reynolds, pp. 7-9.

[23] Ibid., p. 10.

[24] Douglas, p. 12.

[25] Ellsworth, p. 34.

[26] Ibid., p. 33.

[27] Ibid., pp. 43-44.

[28] Segler, pp. 94-95.

[29] Wohlgemuth, p. 14.

[30] Wohlgemuth, pp. 14-16.

[31] Anne Ortlund, Up with Worship, p. 99.

[32] Segler, p. 8.

[33] Ibid., p. 4.

[34] Osbeck, p. 177.

[35] Segler, pp. 7-12.

[36] Ibid., p. 12.

[37] Ibid., pp. 15-17.

[38] Ibid., pp. 18-20.

[39] Osbeck, p. 179.

[40] Segler, pp. 21-23.

[41] Martin, pp. 20-23.

[42] Ibid., pp. 130-135.

[43] Wohlgemuth, pp. 55, 64.

[44] Robert H. Mitchell, Ministry and Music, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978), p. 77.

[45] Wohlgemuth, p. 37.

[46] Ibid., pp. 65-66.

[47] Lovelace and Rice, p. 19/

[48] Ibid., p. 81.

[49] Segler, p. 102.

[50] Ibid., p. 97.

[51] Osbeck, p. 63.

[52] Mitchell, p. 84.

[53] Winnie Teo, “In Time with God”, Impact (December-January, 1980), p. 38.

[54] Lovelace and Rice, p. 19.

[55] Mitchell, pp. 85-90.

[56] Lovelace and Rice, p. 19.

[57] Wohlgemuth, p. 65.

[58] Ibid., p. 66.

[59] Huizenga, Nolan C., “A Biblical ‘Tune Up’ for Hymn Singing”, Christianity Today (June 27, 1980), p. 21.

[60] Ibid., pp. 38-46

[61] Leon Oblen, ‘Music and Evangelism’ (Jimmy Owen Workshop).

[62] Wohlgemuth, pp. 49-50.

[63] Mitchell, p. 26

[64] William Jensen Reynolds, A Survey of Christian Hymnody, p. 129.

[65] Ibid., p. 130.

[66] James R. Sydnor, The Training of Church Choir, p. 9.

[67] Ibid.

[68] Ibid., p. 10.

[69] Mitchell, pp. 50-52.

[70] Ibid., pp. 52-53.

[71] Lovelace and Rice, pp. 132-133.

[72] Ortlund, pp. 90-91.

[73] Sydnor, p. 7.

[74] James D. Taylor, “The Minister of Music: Choral Conductor”, Creator (May 1979), pp. 36-40.

[75] Cecil J. Riney, “The Minister’s Role in Church Music”, Creator (Fall, 1979), 14-15.

[76] Lloyd Larson, “Study to Show Thyself Approved – The Church Musician and Continuing Education”, n.p.