Music for Worship

From the standpoint of the Christian who urgently loves God, the reward of worshiping God is the very fact of worship. This is true of all situations where love is the dominant impulse, because love, among other things, is forgetfulness of self. For the loving Christian, then, it is enough that God permits and encourages him to worship. He asks no blessing than to be in the company of God. . .

From the standpoint of the Christian who urgently loves God, the reward of worshiping God is the very fact of worship. This is true of all situations where love is the dominant impulse, because love, among other things, is forgetfulness of self. For the loving Christian, then, it is enough that God permits and encourages him to worship. He asks no blessing than to be in the company of God.1

When we come to God in worship we renounce self and lose both our sinfulness and our pride in the overpowering presence of God. In this process called "worship" music finds its highest expression and man finds himself elevated into the presence of the divine.

Worship is an art because it is a means of uniting two intangibles: God and the human heart. In what state these two may be, only God and the human heart can know at any given moment. The intuitive and happy search of each for the other is the wonder, the excitement, and the re ward of true worship. 2

While worship in its truest sense cannot be regulated by rules and laws, corporate worship must assume form to be meaningful to those who worship, and the form that worship assumes must be good form. Music assists the worship service in that it binds the service together as well as draws the congregation closer to one another and closer to God. But in order to obtain maximum benefit from our worship music, a few rules are necessary.

Music can be a great power for good; yet we do not make the most of this branch of worship. The singing is generally done from impulse or to meet special cases, and at other times those who sing are left to blunder along, and the music loses its proper effect upon the minds of those present. Music should have beauty, pathos, and power. Let the voices be lifted in songs of praise and devotion. Call to your aid, if practicable, instrumental music, and let the glorious harmony ascend to God, an acceptable offering.

But it is sometimes more difficult to discipline the singers and keep them in working order, than to improve the habits of praying and exhorting. Many want to do things after their own style; they object to consultation, and are impatient under leadership. Well-matured plans are needed in the service of God. Common sense is an excel lent thing in the worship of the Lord. 3

The Purpose of Music

In the worship service we worship God. Music is not to be worshiped; it is to assist us in worshiping God.

The chief, and perhaps only, difference between the music of the Church and secular music is a difference in function. Where secular music is free to address itself to any of man's emotions, the music of the Church is restricted to serving the Word of God, its presentation to man, and man's response to the Word. Church music is never an end in itself; nor is its function to entertain. 4

"In the stated services of worship of the entire congregation, music has traditionally been used in two ways as an aid to worship and as a means of worship." 5

J. Edward Moyer, in his book The Voice of His Praise, suggests six things that hymns do for persons who worship:

1. Hymns provide a means of expressing our feelings toward God in acts of private and corporate devotion.

2. Hymns lift up Biblical insights.

3. Hymns transmit the Christian heritage from one generation to the next.

4. Hymns influence our attitudes and actions.

5. Hymns contribute to cultural growth.

6. Singing hymns promotes the fellow ship of believers in acts of worship." Carl Halter agrees that music unites the congregation and serves a didactic function in the service, but he adds:

Music's chief value for worship lies in the realm of the spirit. Music has the power to move the soul of man for good or ill. When music is used in the praise of God and for the edification of man, it has the power to lift man's soul to greater appreciation of God and His love for man. . . . It also has the power to lift the human heart to a sincere and healthy adoration of God and His works. It is in this realm of the spirit that music makes its great and unique contribution. 7

Careful Preparation

If this be true, then the musical portions of our service should be carefully prepared. Our organ music should not attract attention to itself. "The organist's task is to provide a bridge between the outside world and the sanctuary." 8 The choir should not display itself or its conductor in the manner of entertainers. The offertory music should be subdued.

Reference has been made earlier to the suggestion of some writers that the offering may take on added significance if it is moved to the climactic end of the service. We need not consider this further at this point since any change in the location of the offertory need not change what happens during it. Wherever it is placed, it should be a period of meditation on the theme of self-giving. Whatever happens at this time should make meditation easy, and interfere with it not at all. A solo or anthem at this time is out of the question. If the organist does play during this period, his playing should be soft, and formless and indefinite to a degree. Such music as the Benoit Elevations is suitable for the purpose. Above all, the organist should do nothing to call attention to himself unnecessarily. 9

The hymns should be carefully chosen and should be dissociated from the common. Hymns should be sacred--set apart. They are also an excellent way to insert genuine Christian joy into the service.

And worship is joy. The study of God can end only in love and joy. There is no joy in man's experience which can equal the meeting and appreciation of the Divinity. "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord" is a common experience of the heart versed in worship. 10

Proper hymns should be chosen that draw one into the presence of God and are universal in their appeal.

Above all, church leaders should remember the admonition of the servant of the Lord: "Common sense is an excellent thing in the worship of the Lord."11 Let the leaders refrain from offending the congregation by pushing top hard or too fast, but let them also set for themselves certain goals to be reached.

Those who have anything to do with music in the Protestant Church should keep steady eyes on goals that are far away. The pace toward these goals should be steady, and probably will be slow. If we attempt to cover difficult ground rapidly, there is a good chance that we shall stumble. We already know that we cannot train a skillful organist or build a beautiful choir in a few days. We must also remind ourselves that with the advancement of our physical resources and abilities in worship must come also growth of the resources within the human spirit. Within neither the physical nor the spiritual realm should we seek to rush unwisely the growth we desire. 12

Let everything be done in brotherly love with the blessing of God. And let the music of the church be a force of unity in the church rather than a point of controversy. Jesus instructed us to worship the Father "in spirit and in truth." 13 Surely our music should enable us to do just that.


References

1 Carl Halter, The Practice of Sacred Music, p. 3.

2 Ibid., pp. 2. 3.

3 Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 505.

4 Carl Halter, The Practice of Sacred Music, p. 8.

5 James Rawlings Snydor, Planning for Church Music p. 14, 15.

6 Pages 57-63.

7 Carl Halter, The Practice of Sacred Music, pp. 9, 10.

8 Dwight Steere, Music in Protestant Worship, p. 193.

9 Ibid., pp. 194, 195.

10 Carl Halter, The Practice of Sacred Music, p. 2.

11 Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 505.

12 Dwight Steere, Music in Protestant Worship, p. 227.

13 John 4:23.


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October 1971

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