Singing In Worship

Introduction
I. Christianity is the singing religion.
A. Singing unto the Lord is old.
1. Moses and the children of Israel - Ex. 15:1
2. David - Psalms 95:1; 96:1-4
B. In the O.T. singing was mainly by priests and accompanied
by instruments; in the N.T. every Christian, as a priest,
is to sing and it is unaccompanied.

II. The power of singing is great.
A. Singing can be a great influence, not only in public
worship, but also at home, at work and at play.
B. There is a saying: "Let me write the songs of a nation,
and I care not who writes the laws."

III. There is a need for emphasizing singing in worship.
A. Many (who are capable) do not sing; others do not sing
acceptably.
B. We need to develop our appreciation of singing and our
ability to sing.

Body
I. The Purpose Of Singing in Worship
A. It is an act of praise to God.
1. It is a means of expressing our happiness to God.
a. Christians are happy people; we have so much to
be happy about.
b. In songs we can express this happiness. Jas. 5:13 "Is
any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry?
let him sing psalms."
2. It is a means of expressing our gratitude to God.
a. We sing: "Count Your Blessings".
1) In this song we express our gratitude for what
God has done for us.
b. We sing: "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow".
1) We can express our thanks to God in songs such as
these just as we can in prayer.
3. Yes, it is a means of petitioning God.
a. We need forgiveness so we sing; "An Evening Prayer".
b. We need grace and holiness, so we sing: "More
Holiness Give Me" p. 44

B. Singing is an act that influences.
1. Our minds are like computers - what comes out is determined
by what went in.
a. The difference in being brainwashed and our learning
something is that in being brainwashed we allow someone
to program our minds to believe a certain way without
having thought it out and put to test, whereas in
learning we week the answer (truth) to something and we
evaluate evidence and accept what is rational to us.
b. Repetition is a means of "programming" or feeding
information into a mind.
1) In war time, when men are taken captive, attempts are
sometimes made to change them politically by
continuous repetition - sometimes successful.
c. Some believe it is possible for people to be influenced
by words that are not even understood as sung.
1) For instance, some punk rock singers are Satan
worshipers and they are promoting their way through
singing of songs, some of which cannot be understood
until played in reverse.
2) Subliminal messages....are not picked by the
conscious mind but are believed to be picked up by
the subconscious.
a) I took punk rock record and put it on a turn table
and played it in reverse. Evil message was heard.
b) Words that could not be understood...were then
understood, and the message was not something
good people should want influencing their children.
d. A way to influence ourselves in a good way, is to
sing songs such as: "Who Will Follow Jesus"
(185) "I'll Put Jesus First" (142) "I Want To Be A
Worker..." (114).

2. Singing influences in worship by teaching. Col. 3:16 -
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you..."
a. There are songs to teach the things necessary to
become a Christian.
1) Faith - "The Solid Rock" (120) "Faith is the Victory"
2) Repentance - "Lord, I'm Coming Home" (598)
3) Obedience - "Trust and obey" (644)
4) New Birth - "Ye Must Be Born Again" (547)
5) Encourage obedience by singing "Almost Persuaded"
b. There are songs to teach reverence to God's word.
"Do All In The Name Of The Lord" (551) (Col. 3:17)
c. There are songs to teach the acts of true
worship: "True Worship" by Billy Moore (p. 9; R E A D)
d. And there are many songs of praise.
e. Every part of he worship service should be directed
toward the edification of the saints, and by
meaningful singing from the heart, we should be made
stronger and better able to live the Christian life.

3. Singing influences by promoting the unity of the church.
a. Singing identifies us all with the cause of Christ,
and impresses upon us the fact we are all of the same
mind.
1) Illustrate: Singing national anthem together
unites us as American Citizens.
b. True harmony in song means true harmony in the cause.

C. Singing is an act that affects the individual Christian.
1. It is a means of reminding us that there is a God.
a. We can never forget God as long as we sing of Him and
His existence, power, mercy, etc.
b. Such songs as: "Christ Arose" (155); and "I know Whom I
Have Believed" (338).
2. Singing for the Christian (like prayer) is a source of
comfort, courage, trust, consecration, and hope.
a. A singing Christian is usually a consecrated Christian!
b. Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16:25).

II. The Content Of Singing In Worship We are taught to Sing:
Eph. 5:19 - "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the
Lord;"
Col. 3:16 - "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to
the Lord." A. Psalms - such as those in the book of Psalms.
1. For example.:
a. # 79 - "Lord Is My Shepherd" (23rd Psalm)
b. # 75 - "The Law Of The Lord" (19:7-14)
c. # 76 - "O How Love I Thy Law" ((19:7-14)
d. # 77 - "Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah" (148:)
2. These are psalms from the Book of Psalms, but psalms
are not necessarily limited to the O.T. - some may be
found in the N.T.

[We are taught to sing:]

B. Hymns
1. These were musical settings of either inspired or
uninspired words of praise to God.
a. Augustine listed three essentials of a hymn:
1) It must be sung; 2) It must be praise; 3) It
must be to God.
b. Examples of hymns:
1) # 11 "Praise Him Praise Him"
2) # 173 "He's My King"
2. In the epistles of Paul there are probably fragments
of hymns in such passages as:
a. Eph. 5:14 - "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that
sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ
shall give thee light."
b. I Tim. 3:16 - "And without controversy great is
the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the
flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels,
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the
world, received up into glory."
c. II Tim. 2:11-13 - "It is a faithful saying: For if we be
dead with [him], we shall also live with [him]: If we
suffer, we shall also reign with [him]: if we deny [him],
he also will deny us: If we believe not, [yet] he abideth
faithful: he cannot deny himself."
C. "Spiritual Songs" (Barns) "Odes or Songs relating to
spiritual things, in contradistinction from those which were
sung in places of festivity and revelry." [spiritual songs can be:]
1. Psalms or Hymns or both.
2. Might not be either, such as # 507 "Are You Sowing...?"
3. General term - all we sing should be spiritual songs;
not necessarily inspired, but of spiritual content.

III. The Manner of Singing In Worship

A. We must sing with the spirit. 1 Cor. 14:15 - "What is it then? I
will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding
also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the
understanding also." 1. To sing with the spirit means that our singing must be spiritual:
it must come from the heart; it must be fervent; it must be sincere.
2. The word "singing" is found in Eph. 5:19 "...singing
and making melody..." Col. 3:16 "...singing with grace
in your heart..."
a. We are taught by express command to "sing".
1) Even Webster's definition of the word shows it
to be active as opposed to passive.
(a) "To produce musical tones by means of voice;
(b) "To utter words in musical tones and with
musical inflections and modulations;
(c) "To deliver songs as a trained or
professional singer."
2) We are taught to sing in worship.
(a) Since the scripture says, "Speaking to
yourselves..." it is clearly evident that it
is necessary to produce words that can be
heard, if one is to do as Paul commanded.
b. In almost every congregation there are some who
do not sing.
1) They argue thusly: "Although I'm not singing
audibly, I am making melody in my heart, and
as long as I do that I am fulfilling the
requirements of Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16.
2) If one can do it, all could, and if all did
it would be a silent singing service.
(a) Of course the idea is absurd because it is
not singing!
c. By their reasoning they would substitute the
word "singing" for "melody" in Eph. 5:19; making
it read, "...Singing and making "singing" in
your heart..."
1) This isn't correct - singing is one thing and
making melody in your heart is another thing.
2) In singing you speak words that can be heard
and understood; the melody in the heart cannot
be heard by man - God only hears it.
d. We learn from Acts 16:25 that when Paul and
Silas were singing in Jail, "...the prisoners
heard them..."
1) Did the prisoners hear them making melody
in their hearts? No, they heard singing!
2) Likewise, Col. 3:16 says, "...teaching and
admonishing one another..."
(a) Is one taught or admonished through the
making of melody in the heart?
(b) No, it is the singing of Psalms, hymns,
and spiritual songs that teaches and
admonishes one another.
e. Singing is a part of worship as is taking the Lord's Supper
and giving.
1) If one is able to attend I can think of no
reason why couldn't take the Lord's Supper.
2) Only one way one can be exempt from giving...
3) Only one way one can excuse self from
singing is if can't sing.
(a) But, I never knew a member who couldn't sing.
(b) If you can talk you can probably sing.
(c) It isn't necessary that you have a
beautiful voice and be heard throughout
the auditorium - important thing is....
4) If you don't have the strength to sing
every song, then sing as man as you can -
some are easier than others...
(a) If you find that it is a strain to
follow the song leader (who sings
soprano) maybe you need to song alto
or base.
(b) Breathing control - air from lower
part of lungs

[manner of singing]

B. We must "sing with the understanding" (1 Cor. 14:15).
1. We are to "teach and admonish one another" in singing
and to do this what is sung must be understood.
2. It is equally true that the singer must understand
what he sings if he is to be edified.
3. More than that, before we can "make melody in our
heart to the Lord" we must understand...
a. It is easy to just mouth the words and hear the
music without the message sinking in.
1) We hear songs on the radio that are difficult to
understand.
(a) Young people must get their kicks from the noise...
2) A song is no better than the message it presents.
(b) My favorites are those that are easy to
understand and that have a good message.
b. To sing with the understanding necessitates study.
1) Sometimes it is difficult to contemplate on the
message because of the difficulty of the tune.
2) Parts of some songs need to be explained....

C. Since we teach by singing it is necessary that we
sing only scriptural songs.
1. A false doctrine can be taught in a song as well
as from the pulpit.
2. There are only a few songs in our book that
possibly teach false doctrine, but the old books
were not so closely guarded. "When We All Get
To Heaven" (universal salvation)

Conclusion
I. The Power of Singing is Great. Singing is:
A. Means of petitioning God.
B. We influence ourselves and others.

II. God has always been strict in regard to worship.
A. Since singing is a part of our worship, we ought to do
our best to:
1. Develop our appreciation of it, and
2. Our ability to sing.
B. One of the greatest joys of heaven will be to join the
chorus of the redeemed and sing around the throne of
God forever.
1. It is difficult to picture someone who refuses to
participate in this form of worship commanded of God,
being among the chorus.
2. For our own sake and the church, let each one of us
strive to make our worship in song the very best.

III. Invitation

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