Singing is an important part of our worship. The
following texts of scripture call us to sing:
- Deuteronomy 31:19—“Now write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it” … and then follows the song of Moses.
- Psalm 33:3—“Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”
- Psalm 96:1—“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.”
- Ephesians 5:18-19—“…be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart….”
In the vision recorded in Revelation John
often hears the saints above and below singing praises to God.
There are many surprising twists and turns to
church history, and some of them have to do with singing. Before the Protestant
Reformation, laypersons were expected to stand mute as the music was given to
the priests and cantors. The clergy sang long-winded Latin sequences that were
incomprehensible to the people.
Under the influence of the reformers the church
in Geneva banned all music from worship so that there was no singing at
all. John Calvin and other ministers, concerned about a coldness of worship, tried
unsuccessfully to introduce congregational singing for the edification of the
people and the praise of God. At first they were unsuccessful in convincing the
council to allow singing in the worship service, but their persistence paid off
and the council relented. The following, dated 1541, was recorded in the
minutes of the church council:
It will be desirable to
introduce songs in order the better to incite people to prayer and to the
praise of God. To begin with, the little children shall be taught, and then in
course of time the whole church will be able to follow.
Worship without singing is cold and sterile. To
quote Calvin, “…we know from experience that singing has great strength and
power to move and to set on fire the hearts of men in order that they may call
upon God and praise him with a more vehement and more ardent zeal.”
And so, we sing, also in Reformed churches—thanks
in part to John Calvin. But what are
we going to sing as we worship God? How
are we going to sing? What principles and criteria are we going to apply to the
matter of singing?
