A Treatise on Exclusive Psalmody Part 7: Conclusion
The Christian church is commanded by God to worship him. We have no choice. It is our great obligation as well as our greatest delight. Worship is the activity that will occupy the greatest portion of our time, both here and in eternity. We are being made into an eternally worshiping body of believers. Therefore as we are beckoned by God to come and worship him, it is imperative that we take great pains to ensure that we are doing it in a way that pleases Him, regardless of how it may or may not please us. And lo, if we truly be found in Christ, whatever pleases the Father will inevitably please us.
In scripture, God requires sacrifice for sin. This is obvious from the very beginning with Cain and Abel until Christ made his final and perfect sacrifice. God requires it. However, God never leaves his people to guess what the sacrifice must be. He makes very plain his instruction of not only what the sacrifice ought to be but how it ought to be presented. You will not find in scripture an instance of sacrifice in which God has not specifically defined what the sacrifice must be or a time when God does not give the sacrifice himself for his people. This is crucial when we come to the New Testament. For we are still required to offer sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1; Hebrews 13:15). Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” When we come to the house of worship every Lord’s day we are offering up to God a sacrifice - a song as a melody from our hearts as the “fruit of our lips” (Ephesians 5:19). But this is no sacrifice that we have the liberty of determining ourselves. No, rather this is a sacrifice that is in keeping with each and every sacrifice to God we see in all of scripture. He defines what it is and how it is brought. And he has clearly shown us in his word, by giving us the very words to bring to him as a sacrifice of praise from our lips: the Psalms. God will not accept a wrong or unauthorized sacrifice.
Additionally, we are told to worship in spirit and in truth. When we worship in spirit we must understand that it is only those who have been renewed by the Spirit that can worship in spirit. Therefore any affection we have, or any longing for Christ we possess, has been given us by the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit working affection in us, not our own spirit which was fallen due to sin. We have been made new creatures by the renewal of our spirit by the Holy Spirit. So worshiping in spirit is not worshiping in an ecstatic or ethereal sense, it is worshiping according to the renewed spirit we have in us by God himself. And the Spirit tells us to sing praises with his Psalms[1] that he has graciously given to his people in order that we would sing pleasing words back to Himself.[2] Likewise, when we worship it is to be done in truth. Of course, God’s word is truth, Jesus is truth, and so when we worship it is not only to be done according to God’s word but also in the same manner we see Christ worship while on the Earth by the divine example we receive from him: the singing of the Psalms.
Finally, I end with two hard sayings and the encouragement of the Gospel
First, In regards to the second commandment, Johannes G. Vos says,
“False worship means not only worshiping a false god, or practicing the rites of false religion, but attempting to worship the true God in any other manner than that appointed in his word, the Holy Bible…[and] it is the Christians duty to disapprove, detest, and oppose all false worship not merely by a general or theoretical testimony against it, but by a practical testimony against it, that is, by dissenting and abstaining from participation in it as a matter of conscience as he shall give [an] answer to God on the Judgement Day”[3]
Second, it is obvious to me that if we are not doing things the way the Lord has required, especially when it comes to worship - which as Vos said is false worship - this can be labeled as nothing other than sin. And What is sin? Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.[4] So, to sing man-made songs - which is the complete usurpation of the work of the Holy Spirit - is a sin against God and a detriment to the right worship of God that he supremely deserves.
In spite of this, as I said at the beginning quoting WCF 16, our worship is only made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. This means that even when a congregation (rightly) sings Psalms exclusively it is still wrought with sin and defilement because we are sinful creatures. Our praise is only made acceptable to God because of the mediatorial work of Christ on our behalf. So we eagerly pursue obedience to God, trusting that Christ makes our efforts to please him, actually pleasing to Him by virtue of His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. And because of this, although we may have many failures and infirmities, we are accepted by the Father because of the beloved.
I want to thank you very much for reading this 7 part series on worship. I understand it has taken a lot of commitment and time to get through all 7, and so I want to thank you. This has been a joy to write as well as be able to spread out wide for others to read. Whether you walk away convinced of my position or not, I hope that this has invigorated your heart and mind to give more heed to the worship we offer to our Lord. He is supremely worthy of this effort, and we do well to give it to him. May the Lord bless you as you seek to live as a faithful steward of his Gospel.
S.D.G.
[1] Psalm 47:7
[2] Job 35:10; Psalm 42:8
[3] Vos, Johannes G. 2002. pg 285 The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. Edited by G. I. Williamson. N.p.: P&R.
[4] WSC QA14
Bibliography
Beeke, Joel R. 2015. Why Should We Sing Psalms. N.p.: Reformation Heritage Books.
Calvin, John. n.d. Institutes of The Christian Religion.
Davis, James. 2013. “Principles of Biblical Interpretation.” Bible.org. https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-6-principles-biblical-interpretation.
Dunsun, Ben. n.d. “A Dwelling Place for God.” Ligonier. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/dwelling-place-god/.
Fausset, A. R., David Brown, and Robert Jamieson. 1961. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown's commentary on the whole Bible. N.p.: Zondervan.
Fitzpatrick, Elyse. 2001. Idols of The Heart. N.p.: P&R.
Ligonier Ministries. n.d. “The State of Theology.” The State of Theology. https://thestateoftheology.com/data-explorer/2020/3?AGE=30&MF=14®ION=30&DENSITY=62&EDUCATION=62&INCOME=254&MARITAL=126ÐNICITY=62&RELTRAD=62&EVB=6&ATTENDANCE=254.
Murray, David. 2013. “Jesus On Every Page: 10 Simple Ways To Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament.”
Owen, John. 1960. The Works of John Owen. N.p.: The Banner of Truth Trust.
Prutow, Dennis J. 2013. Public Worship 101. N.p.: RPTS Press.
Robson, Edward. 1998. Interpretation of the two-kai configurations of the Greek New Testament. N.p.: Summer.
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.
Vos, Johannes G. 2002. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. Edited by G. I. Williamson. N.p.: P&R.
Waldron, Samuel E. 1995. The Regulative Principle of The Church. N.p.: Wisdom Publications.
Waltke, Bruce K. 2008. Christ In The Psalms. N.p.: P&R.
Warfield, B.B. 1880. Pneumatikos and Its Opposites in the Greek New Testament. N.p.: The Presbyterian Review.
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.
