A Treatise On Exclusive Psalmody Part 2: The 2nd Commandment & The RPW

In the last article which can be read here we briefly spoke about the 2nd commandment and God’s intention for it. We also touched on idolatry. Today we are diving deeper into the 2nd commandment and how this ties in to the church’s perspective on worship.

An Exposition of The Second Commandment

As seen above, the general subject of this commandment is religious worship. In this commandment God is dealing with the negative side, i.e. forbidding false worship and idolatry, and “this of course implies the corresponding duty of observing the true worship of God.”[1] As we contemplate true worship there are several duties that are imposed on God’s people. One of those dutes is the responsibility to preserve true worship, which is done by strictly adhering to what the scripture appoints for God’s people and “scrupulously avoiding all corruptions or human changes in matters which God has appointed in his word”[2] (Deuteronomy 32:46-47; Matthew 18:20; Acts 2:42; 1 Timothy 6:13-14).  The reason given to us in this command for being so cautious to preserve true and pure worship is precisely this: God is a jealous God. He is so jealous concerning the worship of himself that he is “not willing to allow us to do as we please in matters of worshiping him.”[3] Yet, this obligation placed upon us by our sovereign and supreme God, is sadly disregarded in our present day. What is upheld in its place is the dignity and freedom of man to act according to the dictates of his or her own conscience, and sincerity in our day has become more important than divine truth. This data is showcased extremely well in that 42% of confessing evangelicals strongly agree that God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Isalm.[4] This reality is a direct effect of syncretism and religious pluralism, which is a result of the false worship which is squarely contrary to the statements of the Bible, the chief of which being our passage of discussion, the second commandment.

This nullification of the purity in worship amongst the catholic (universal) church has been the result of believing that it is not limited by the scriptures in matters of worship and what's more, some “have come to regard divine worship as more or less a matter of indifference, to be determined according to human preference or convenience.”[5] In this regard, it has become increasingly common for evangelicals to believe that whatever is not forbidden in the Bible is legitimate in the worship of God. And, as said and documented above, this belief accounts for the introduction of many human corruptions into divine worship.[6]

The Regulative Principle of Worship

In the history of the church, there have been two main diverging theories regarding the worship of God: 1) The Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) and 2) The Normative Principle of Worship (NPW). These principles first emerged in controversy between the Reformed and Lutheran churches in Europe, and was given sharp focus in the debates between the Puritans and Anglicans in late 16th and 17th century England.”[7] These occasions were the cause of the RPW’s codification in both the Westminster Confession of Faith and the 1689 London Baptist Confession. 

WCF 21.1 The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is good, and doeth good unto all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might.a But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited to his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.b 

a. Josh 24:14; Psa 18:3; 31:23; 62:8; 119:68; Jer 10:7; Mark 12:33; Acts 17:24; Rom 1:20; 10:12. • b. Exod 20:4-6; Deut 4:15-20; 12:32; Mat 4:9-10; 15:9; Acts 17:25; Col 2:23.

LBC 22.1 The light of nature demonstrates that there is a God who has lordship and sovereignty overall. He is just and good and does good to everyone. Therefore, he should be feared, loved, praised, called on, trusted in, and served—with all the heart and all the soul and all the strength.1  But the acceptable way to worship the true God is instituted by him,2 and it is delimited by his own revealed will. Thus, he may not be worshipped according to human imagination or inventions or the suggestions of Satan, nor through any visible representations, nor in any other way that is not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.3

1Jeremiah 10:7; Mark 12:33. 2Deuteronomy 12:32. 3Exodus 20:4–6.

The NPW, which was opposed to the reformed view, was a notion of the Catholic and Anglican church (Church of England). The reformed and puritan view of worship may be best understood by comparing it to the statement of the church of England, in the Article 20 of the 39 Articles, which says: “The Church hath power to decree Rites or Ceremonies, and authority in Controversies of Faith: and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's Word written . . . ” (emphasis added). In other words, what is confessed here is that the church would not do anything that is expressly condemned and forbidden (NPW) rather than only doing that which is expressly commanded (RPW). For example, the scriptures do not condemn singing “Highway to Hell” by ACDC[8] in worship, so according to the logic of the NPW it is perfectly acceptable to sing that song. Certainly, many will object to this occurrence for varying reasons, many of which would be sound biblical reasons. However, it is in keeping with the logic of the NPW to sing that song and this stands in stark contrast against the RPW.

Another illustration of these two views would be that of two builders. Mr. NPW must use the materials of the Word of God, but has no blueprint and may use other materials. Mr. RPW must use only the materials of the Word of God and has a blueprint. As they begin to erect their structures they will begin to diverge drastically in everything that they produce. From this we can conclude, without the use of any special genius, that these two builders will differ drastically in their end result. Also, it is easy to see, without the use of any special genius, that the one who builds according to God’s word (God’s blueprint) and nothing else will be most pleasing to the Lord. 

Embracing the RPW

It is a very weird thing for Christians to live according to the Bible. I do not mean in worship, but in all of life as well. The doctrine of the sufficiency of scripture can be defined as follows: “In the Bible alone God has given humanity all things that are necessary for the proper understanding of who He is, who we are, how He has acted in the past and what He expects from us.”[9] Or it can be put as simply as what we find in the WCF 1.2 which says that the scriptures are “the rule of faith and life.” Either way you put it, in our day and age it seems ever increasingly uncommon for people to desire - let alone say - that they believe the Bible will give them instruction and direction regarding everything they will ever do with their lives.

When considering the RPW a distinction must be made. In the rest of life (excluding the church and worship) God gives us excellent precepts, principles, commands, and directives by which our lives must be governed and lived. However, in our everyday life we do not find God giving us exact ways to do each and every thing. For instance, when it comes to our vocations, the Lord does not tell us what vocation to have, how precisely to do each and every thing in those vocations when to arrive at work etc. That being said, however, he does not leave us without infallible precepts to govern each of those things.

For example, a father is prohibited from taking a job that would take him away from his wife or children for extended periods of time. If you are a plumber the Lord does not tell you how to thread a steel pipe but rather he tells you to do it for His glory and to become an expert in whatever your doing. The Lord doesn’t tell us that we must be at work at 9am sharp, but rather he tells us to obey those who have authority over us. This does not mean that God’s word is not infallible, or sufficient, but rather it takes into account the complexity of life, in which God gives us his word for wisdom and guidance.

Yet, when we come to worship - the realm in which the secular world has no input or say - God gives explicit instruction for every matter.  In the worship of God, we find the limitation on human initiative and freedom which is not a characteristic of the rest of life. Consequently, many look at this principle as being oppressive and bizarre, and therefore it is refused and looked at with suspicion because it seems so contrary to the rest of life. But, as we will see, there is an absolute difference between the six days of labor, and the one day of worship we are commanded to observe (Exodus 20:8).

[1] Vos, Johannes G. 2002. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. Edited by G. I. Williamson. N.p.: P&R.

[2]ibid

[3]ibid

[4]Ligonier Ministries. n.d. “The State of Theology.” The State of Theology. https://thestateoftheology.com/data-explorer/2020/3?AGE=30&MF=14&REGION=30&DENSITY=62&EDUCATION=62&INCOME=254&MARITAL=126&ETHNICITY=62&RELTRAD=62&EVB=6&ATTENDANCE=254.

[5]Vos, Johannes G. 2002. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. Edited by G. I. Williamson. N.p.: P&R.

[6]ibid

[7]Waldron, Samuel E. 1995. The Regulative Principle of The Church. N.p.: Wisdom Publications.

[8]Weber, Katherine. n.d. “Perry Noble No Regret Over Playing AC/DC 'Highway to Hell' for Easter Service: 'I'd Do It Again - But Better!'” Christian Post. https://www.christianpost.com/news/perry-noble-megachurch-ac-dc-highway-to-hell-easter.html.

[9]Steward, Don. n.d. “What Is the Sufficiency of Scripture?” Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/bible-special/question25-what-is-the-sufficiency-of-scripture.cfm.

The next installment of our treatise on Exclusive Psalmody will focus on the theological framework for the RPW and the biblical support for the RPW. This information is integral to understanding how the Lord desires to be worshiped by his people!