LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
PRINCIPLES OF WORSHIP FORM THE BIBLE
A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. RODNEY D. WHALEY
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE COURSE WRSP 510
LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
BY
CURT W JONES
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA
MAY 12, 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.................................................2
OLD TESTAMENT PRINCIPLES FOR WORSHIP............................3
GENESIS ..........................................4
EXODUS............................................5
JOSHUA............................................6
JUDGES............................................7
SAMUEL............................................8
JOB..............................................9
NEW TESTAMENT PRINCIPLES FOR WORSHIP...........................11
THE GOSPELS OF JESUS CHRIST........................12
EARLY CHURCH.....................................14
ROMANS...........................................15
REVELATION.......................................16
THE PSALMS AND WORSHIP.......................................16
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC AND THE PSALMS..............................18
1
PSALMS AND REVELATION........................................19
CONCLUSION ................................................21
APPENDIX: WORDS FOR WORSHIP ..................................23
BIBLIOGRAPHY SOURCES.........................................24
INTRODUCTION
The intention here is to survey the Scriptures,
from Genesis to Revelation, with the view of God’s
perspective regarding our worship. The purpose is to show
that God has instituted as a rule the standard that He is to
be worshipped according to His own will, as revealed in the
Scriptures, and not according to the will or desire of men.
“See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take
away from it.” 1 Through our worship we find the acceptable
way of worshipping the true God is founded by Himself, that
He will not be worshipped by the imaginations and inventions
of men, through Satan’s suggestions, under any observable
1 Deuteronomy 12:32 (NIV2011)
2
representation, or any other way not foretold in the Holy
Scripture. In our time we find that most Christians don’t
even think that there may be an “acceptable” and an
“unacceptable” way in worshiping God. Worship has become a
matter of personal preference which only shows how far the
Church has fallen since the forced worship of the
Reformation. Worship is the way in which we show God we love
and respect Him and here I will try to show through the
scriptures what is God’s preference, what He finds
acceptable in His worship, and what He regard as
unacceptable? Having a proper understanding of worship will
help in restoring to the Church a proper view of man’s
highest calling, the worship of the most Holy God. According
to psalmist there is no one who understands or seeks after
God. 2 This is due to the effect of sin in mans heart. They
like to think that there is something within them that is
tending to seek the Lord, but the truth is that our hearts
are set upon seeking our own glory and self-worship. We must
2 Psalms 14:1-3 (NIV2011)
3
find our way back to true worship and seek the love and
companionship of the Lord our God.
OLD TESTAMENT PRINCIPLES FOR WORSHIP
What is worship? We can begin defining the word by its
development from the book of beginnings. Worship in general
is defined as the exhibiting and giving of reverence and
honor to another. The most common Hebrew word for worship is
Shachach (חחחח which means to depress, i.e. prostrate (in (חח
homage to royalty or God): bow (self) down, crouch, fall
down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do
reverence, make to stoop, worship, and denotes a bowing
down. 3 It is used, for example, of Abraham’s servant, who
‘worshipped’ or ‘prostrated himself.’ 4 It is also used of
Abraham’s more formal activity as he said to his servants,
“Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over
there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
3 Biblos, Strong’s Biblical Concordance Digital Library http://biblesuite.com4 Genesis 24:26 (NIV2011)
4
5 These are the only two locations of the word worship in
the book of Genesis. From these two occurrences alone,
however, we begin to see that worship is recognition of
God’s goodness and holy majesty, with appropriate physical
expression.
Obedience is a form of worship that we will find
throughout the Bible. Through our obedience to God and his
Commandments we find this can only be through our willing
participation to want to be obedient and not just to earn
favor with God. Obedience must be from the heart and not
just something we know must be done in order to keep God
happy. Obedience is part of our English vocabulary and
includes the word revere. 6 The Hebrew word for obedience is
Shama (חחחח Obedience is 7 .(חחחחחחח) or tsaitanut (חח
mainly what God is seeking from the people of the Old
Testament to stay away from sin and worship Him.
Genesis
5 Genesis 22:5 (NIV2011)6 Andrew E Hill, Enter His Courts with Praise! Old Testament Worship for the New Testament Church, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1993) 37 Biblos, Strong’s Biblical Concordance Digital Library http://biblesuite.com
5
We first enter the Bible with the creation story in
Genesis 1 where we find that God created the light, sky,
vegetation, animals, and man all of which were good. Nothing
God created was flawed or imperfect. God cannot make
mistakes and all that comes from Him is perfection. In
looking at the creations of God we find what creates a
demand of our worship. God created man to rule over all
creation on earth and to be a part of Gods blessed world.8
What a wonderful time it must have been to be totally
encompassed by God’s love and creation. Even now as we look
around us we see the greatness of God’s creation and the way
in which everything is mad and works together.
In Genesis we find the three worship wars and how they
played into our need for the sacrificial Lamb in the New
Testament. First is the war between God and Satan. This is
where Satan believes he is better than God and is cast out
of heaven. Here we find the first occurrence of disobedience
and is the worship of “Self” that we find back to the
8 Vernon M. Whaley, Called to Worship: The Biblical Foundations of Our Response to God’s Call. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009), 9
6
beginning of sin and man’s fall. 9 The worship war between
Satan and man we find Eve giving in to “Self” and wanting to
have the same knowledge as God as exaggerated by Satan. This
also shows Satan’s plan to take worship away from God
because he feels it should be all for him. This “Self” is
what causes man’s distraction and is Satan’s way of removing
man’s worship from God. The third war is between Cain and
Able. The argument would be that what set Cain’s sacrifice
apart from Abel’s was not that it was bloodless, but merely
that it was insincere, that Cain’s heart was not right with
God. If his offering had been from his heart, God would have
accepted his offering of his fruit of harvest as Abel’s lamb
was accepted. This shows that Cain and Abel’s offering are
acceptable or not acceptable to God due to their sincerity
of worship and to love God. 10
Abraham’s example of worship, teaches us that we should
have the highest zeal to approach God as He commands,
allowing nothing to move us form the path of obedience,
offering no replacements for what He requires, as if we
9 Ibid., 2610 Ibid., 27-39 Worship Wars
7
would know better than God what would please Him. Genesis
shows us the place where God-honoring worship and obedience
must start with the humble and grateful submission of the
creature to the revealed will of the Creator, who has given
a way for fallen man to draw near unto Him. Abraham showed
obedience, although not perfect, he proved the fact in
Genesis 22 that he would sacrifice his cherished son at Gods
command.
Exodus
The book of Exodus gives us a better understanding of
the people of God as stated more clearly in the written
revelation of God’s law. We find everywhere concerning God’s
worship that He requires a strict obedience to His revealed
will and condemns all human invention in this issue. The
first factor from the book of Exodus concerns God’s
sovereign right to establish formal laws of worship for His
people to follow. A prime example of this principle is God’s
appointment of the Passover, as recorded in the twelfth
chapter of Exodus. This decree, given as a remembrance of
Israel’s deliverance from Egypt by God’s mighty power, was
8
given directly by Him. This was the last of the seven
plagues God released on Egypt and their Pharaoh to released
the Israelites from captivity. God showed the Pharaoh and
Egypt that their pantheon gods were no match for the true
God of the universe. This final plague allowed the release
of the Israelites and renewed their worship to God. Moses
led Gods people into the desert for 40 years where they were
given the ten commandments and learned how obedience and
worship proved beneficial to the outcome of there plight.
God gave to Moses the Ten Commandments as written by God
portraying His moral laws; He laid down clear principles to
govern men in their approach to God and to their neighbor.
The first commandment requires that we worship the right
God, and the second commandment requires that we worship Him
in the right way. We must remember that the Ten Commandments
are designed to give general principles with a far broader
application than the mere “letter of the law” indicates.
Moses also portrayed his worship to God by meeting Him
at the meeting tent. Here Moses would meet with God and as
he worship a cloud would descend upon the tent so all would
9
know that God was with Moses in the tent. The rest of the
Israelites would go to the front of their tents and worship
during this time, because they know God was with them. One
of the only Israelites to join Moses in the tent was Joshua.
This is where Joshua learned to worship form both Moses and
God.
Joshua
Now we move to the book of Joshua which covers the
events which surround Israel’s inheritance of the promise
land. Joshua’s name means the same as “Jesus” which is “the
Lord saves.” This could be the reason for the commander of
the Lords army who met with Joshua before the siege on
Jericho to be considered Christ. 11 Just as Joshua led Israel
into their inheritance, so Jesus leads us into God’s
promised redemption. The book of Joshua confirms once more
that God’s sovereignty over worship remains constant no
matter the circumstances of His people end up in. The book
of Joshua repeatedly established that God gave commands to
Moses, who passed them down to Joshua, who then passed them
11 Ibid., 90
10
on to Israel. One of the most important commands was the
consideration of worship as cited as the basis of Joshua’s
construction of an altar after the Israelites safely crossed
the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when
your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones
mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’
For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until
you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan
what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before
us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the
peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is
powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your
God.” 12
Judges
The startling moral and religious declension of Israel
during the days of the Judges shows us the root causes, as
well as the fearful effects, of compromise in the worship of
God. The main part of Judges is the history of tribes under
God’s judgments. We find in each case these general
12 Joshua 4:21-24 (NIV2011)
11
features: the people commit evil, God gives them over to the
power of an enemy, they cry out to God in their distress,
God raises up a deliverer for them, and soon after the
deliverer dies, the people return to evil. The Israelites
cannot stand up to the power of Satan. The Old Testament
history shows that by divine inspiration, fully demonstrates
that a little compromise in worship leads to a greater
transgression, and ultimately to idolatry. In summary of
judges it was a time when Israel had no king, and every man
did what was right in his own eyes. The people abandoned
God’s commandments which resulted in social anarchy and
religious apostasy. The issue lye’s when man determines for
himself what is right and both tables of the law are
forsaken and shattered.
Samuel
In the book of 1 Samuel we find further confirmation
that the worship of God’s people is to be performed
according to His revealed will. Prophets, priests, and kings
are not exempt from this rule either. In the book of 1
Samuel shows worship by the use of musical instruments by a
12
group of prophets. This situation took place in connection
with Saul’s appointment by Samuel to the office of king in
Israel. Specifically, Saul was told “After that you will go
to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As
you approach the town, you will meet a procession of
prophets coming down from the high place with lyres,
timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they
will be prophesying. The Spirit of the LORD will come
powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and
you will be changed into a different person.” 13 This is
showing the worship of God using musical instruments.
The book of 2 Samuel is about the story of David and
his reign over Israel. It was during this era of history
that the form of worship in Israel took on the exacting form
that would remain in place throughout the Old Testament. A
large part of the development of the worship of God’s people
through David centered around the psalms of praise which we
will cove latter in this study. David was a gifted musician
with several abilities which were used according to the
13 1 Samuel 10:5-6 (NIV2011)
13
God’s will. He had a variety of musical talents were used in
many ways.
The therapeutic use of music. In 1 Samuel we found that
David played the harp in order to calm King Saul’s mind
while an evil spirit was troubling him.
The national/commemorative use of music. In 2 Samuel we
find David using his musical gifts to compose a song of
lament in remembrance of Saul and Jonathan.
The use of music in worship. David also composed psalms
which would take a permanent place in the public
worship and in the Bible.
This helps to demonstrate the fact that there are different
kinds of music used for different types of songs which are
used for different occasions.
Job
There are several important aspects in the book of Job
which cover several principles and characteristics of
Biblical worship that may be gathered from it and also
demonstrate that even outside of the immediate covenant
community, those who feared God understood and conformed to
14
the Divine regulation of worship. All that we know of Job’s
character is what is revealed to us in this book which bears
his name. In summary of his character, four specific
attributes are mentioned, coming from both the author of the
book and directly from the mouth of God.
He is described as a perfect man, referring not to
moral perfection, but rather to the fact that he was
complete in his integrity.
He is also said to be upright, which means that his
actions conformed to God’s standard of goodness.
He is called one that feared God, or held Him in
reverence and was therefore careful to do His will.
And it is said that he shunned evil, or rejected
whatever was opposed to God’s law.
Job’s story brings fourth the suffering of people brought on
by Satan. Job lived in the land of Uz as a blameless and
upright man who feared God and turned away from evil. 14 He
was faced with several immense troubles brought on by Satan
to cause Job to break and blame God. The Book of Job becomes
14 Job 1:1 (NIV2011)
15
alive when working through the problems Satan is instilling
on our people creating devastation and tears. The Lord knew
what was in the heart of Job and that he would never betray
his faith in God. 15 The Lord knew that no matter what the
devil through at Job he would never blame God. Job did not
turn even when all the people around him said he must have
lost favor with the Lord. Eliphaz one of Job’s friends told
Job “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?
Where were the upright ever destroyed? As I have observed,
those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it. At
the breath of God they perish; at the blast of his anger
they are no more. They were antagonizing Job trying to get
him to break after all he had gone through and believe it
was God’s punishment upon him. 16 This is a type of worship
that is not really though of as worship. It is standing your
ground on your belief in God and never turning away no
matter what the world places in front of you. We look to
Job’s words to find what the world is longing for but found
15 Vernon M. Whaley, Called to Worship: The Biblical Foundations of Our Response to God’sCall. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009), 18116 Job 4:7-9 (NIV2011)
16
only by the believer, which is simply “HOPE.” The book of
Job is a book of hope and that Job had a fear of the Lord
far more than Satan could imagine. The strength it took for
Job to with stand the devil and all his attacks showed his
integrity and devotion to worship God over everything else.
We must also make sure not to assign all wrongdoings as
Satan’s responsibility, but with biblical insight appreciate
the awesome power of Satan and his kingdom in influencing
us.17 To remember that the grace of God teaches us to say no
to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-
controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age. 18
NEW TESTAMENT PRINCIPLES FOR WORSHIP
The New Testament brings changes to the outward forms
and ceremonies of worship. Jesus has come in fulfillment of
the scriptures of the Old
Covenant. Although we still find the only acceptable forms
of worship are those which possess divine warrant. The
teaching of Jesus will further establish the truth that God 17 Mark I Bubeck, The Adversary: The Christian Versus Demon Activity, (Chicago: The Moody Bible Institute 1975) 1918 Titus 2.12
17
is to be worshipped in accordance with His Word, and not
according to the traditions of men. More than 400 years have
passed since the days of the prophetic prophets and the
long-awaited fulfillment of God’s redemptive promises.
Finally God spoke and began a new era in our worship of God
through the Messiah as portrayed through the New Testament.
Through the birth of Jesus Christ we now find hope that
God will restore hope for a new generation of worship. We
find worship through the appearance of a remarkable star
where certain wise men from the east discerned that the
“King of the Jews” had been born and came to worship Him.
Significantly, we find a variety of terms used in the New
Testament (Greek) to describe worship corresponding to the
terms used in the Old Testament (Hebrew). Three main word
groups in both testaments are used to describe the main
aspects of worship. The three categories are defined as
humility, service, and reverence. The most common words
translated as “worship” in the Bible fall into the category
of humility and is offered to Christ by the wise men from
the east. Humility defined in worship is conveyed by the
18
idea “bowing” or “kissing the hand.” The Greek word
literally describes the attitude as of a dog cowering before
its human master. This is the primary word for worship used
in the Scriptures!
The Gospels of Jesus Christ
In the Gospels we find that Jesus’ life was filled with
worship and through His worship He teaches us how to worship
the one true God. Jesus showed his worship in the sanctuary
by following the traditions of praising God in the temple.
Jesus was obedient to God by following God’s commands
through baptism, righteousness, and a sinless life. He
showed us worship through prayer and gave us the Lords
prayer.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our
debtors.
19
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the
evil one.” 19
He prayed by asking what God wanted and not what He wanted
and he also prayed because He believed God would answer. 20
The Lord Jesus worshiped through praise as He exclaimed “I
praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you
have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and
revealed them to little children.” 21 We see Jesus did get
excited about the God and let us know we should too. His
worship in song was prevalent in the temple, during
Passover, and in the Synagogue as He participated in the
worship services that contained song. Worship is an integral
part of the church. Many things are a reflection of worship
such as what Jesus has done. 22 We also find Jesus involved
in a worship war with Satan who tries to make Jesus sin
through his cunning and deceptive ways. Satan tries to
tempted Jesus three times by attacking His humanity,
19 Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV2011)20 Vernon M. Whaley, Called to Worship: The Biblical Foundations of Our Response to God’sCall. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009), 24521 Matthew 11:25 (NIV2011)22 Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology. (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008.) 377
20
Through His hunger that He may to turn stones to bread
so that He may eat.
Through the test of faith stating that if he fell God
had placed angels to care for Him.
Through idol worship of Satan himself to gain what God
already controlled the kingdoms of the world.
Jesus had no problems defeating Satan in through these wars
because Jesus was seeking to obey the Spirit and that He
did.
Through Christ the Great Commission was given for all
to follow as Jesus commanded, “Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I
am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 23 The Great
Commission of Christ was given to the eleven apostles to set
the boundaries for the teaching and practice of the Church
throughout the rest of time. The Great Commission summarizes
the purpose of church to practice and teach the commandments
23 Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV2011)
21
of Christ. The foundation of this commission was that all
authority given to Jesus as the King of Kings, Lord of Lords
and Head of His Church through His faithfulness as the
Servant of the Lord abided in His careful implementation of
the mission placed upon Him, which He freely accepted
saying, “Not My will, but Thine be done.” In following the
Great Commission we must heed the Lord’s commandments and
bring others to Christ. But how does one become a Great
Commission Worshipper? We look to David Wheeler and Vernon
Whaley for the answer,
(1) Practice the principle of getting away from the
busyness of life. Turn off the cell phone. Shut down
the e-mail. Close the door. Go someplace where you are
not distracted by the things of this busy world.
(2) Go to an appointed place where you and God can
meet on a regular basis—alone.
(3) Recognize Jesus as the risen, sovereign Lord.
(4) Spend quality time worshipping Jesus. He is Lord.
He is King of kings. He alone is the savior of the
world. He is our worship leader.
22
(5) Worship even when there are those around who
doubt. There will be doubters—count on it.
(6) Sixth, receive or accept His power upon your life
and ministry. His power saves people from sin. Through
His power we find success.
(7) Seven, receive His presence as you go into all the
world. God will honor you as He fills you with the
indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. It is the
Spirit of God working in your life that allows you and
me to become Great Commission Worshippers. 24
Early Church
In the book of Acts we find the records covering events
surrounding the establishment and growth of the New Church
as it spreads from Jerusalem to the far corners of the
earth. It gives us a glance into the life of the worshippers
established by the authority of Christ through His Apostles,
showing us the fundamentals, meaning, principle, and rule of
this new worship. Those who came to the Church continued to
24 David Wheeler, The Great Commission to Worship. (Database © WORDsearch Corp., 2011) Chapter 2
23
worship in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the
breaking of bread, and in prayers. The authoritative
preaching of God’s word to give relief of the poor (which is
what the word “fellowship” means here), and corporate prayer
were the elements of this new worship. The Psalms were a
large part of the life and worship of the early Church, and
continued as an essential element of worship. Peter’s used
the Psalms in his Pentecost sermon showing that he viewed
David’s Psalms as prophetic songs about Christ. The first
persecution of the Apostles was follow by a time of praise
in which the gathered Church sang together from Psalm 2. 25
God has given to us in the New Testament a list of the
fundamental elements of worship. Let us persist steadfastly
in them with gladness and simplicity of heart.
Romans
In Romans, Paul brings together some of the Bible’s greatest
themes related to worship which include: man’s inability to
properly worship God apart from His Word; the spiritual
nature of the law; the need to offer up our bodies as living
25 Acts 4:23-31 (NIV2011)
24
sacrifices to God; the prohibition of binding men’s
consciences in matters of religious worship; and the place
of the Psalms as Christ’s testimony to the nations. Here
Paul describes the man’s nature to rebel against God. There
is no excuse for this, because God has plainly revealed
Himself to them since the beginning of time. Every man
should understand that he is a creature and that he is to
obey his Creator. Paul says that when a men exchange the
truth of God for the lie, it traces man’s problem back to
the fall of Adam in the Garden. The truth is found in the
obedience of God’s Word and the lie is what man prefers is
even though he is capable of determining for himself what is
good and what is not. This is expressed in man’s worship,
where instead of glorifying God he glorifies himself. All
man-centered and man-made worship is an expression of their
corruption. Only the work of God in man’s heart can enable
him to worship the Creator instead of the creature. True
worship is not according to man’s thoughts of what is good
and acceptable, but according to God’s revealed truth.
Revelation
25
The last book of the Bible, written to seven churches in
Asia Minor, paints a glorious picture of the victory of the
Lamb. The primary focus is on the great transition from the
Old to the New Covenant, and yet the continuity of God’s
word is stressed through the frequent use of Old Testament
images to describe the new church. As Christ comes to impose
His judgment upon unbelieving, again underscoring the
spiritual nature of worship. In reference to one of the
worship songs found in this book is “the song of Moses the
man of God and of the Lamb.” It is sung by the victorious
saints in the aftermath of God’s completed wrath upon His
covenant enemies and is therefore a description of the songs
of the church.
THE PSALMS AND WORSHIP
Here we are at the book of Psalms where we find that
God has placed a complete hymnbook in the middle of the
Scriptures which contain inspired songs covering the whole
capacity of the person, work of Christ and touch upon every
aspect of the life of God’s people. The Bible contains, in
its very center, a book of hymns for the praise of God. What
26
could be more apparent than the fact that God has designed a
collection of songs for the worship of His Church? This is
the collection of songs to which the Church is commanded to
sing in its corporate worship service. The study into the
principles of worship that we have been observing throughout
the Scriptures is pointed clearly that God purposefully
included this book in the canon of Scripture. Psalm’s is
God’s authorized book of praise for use in the Church’s
worship. This is His exclusive hymnbook of the Church in all
ages, and is adapted to the edification of the church of
God, especially as equipping matter suitable to be employed
in singing God’s praise. The songs in Psalms were given to
the Church to be sung in the worship of God in,
The peculiar character of their matter.
The titles by which the Holy Spirit designates them.
From the use which was originally made of them by the
church of God.
God is jealous for it is His own privilege to institute the
ordinances of worship through which His people are to draw
near to Him. In the development of redemptive history,
27
regarding the particular matter of worship song, God raised
up His servant David, “The inspired utterance of David son
of Jesse, the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High,
the man anointed by the God of Jacob, the hero of Israel’s
songs” 26 Whose songs of praise were the work of direct
divine inspiration of God. In His providence, God gathered
into one glorious volume, a book of songs full of revelation
in every aspect of divine truth in the midst of Scripture.
In the days of our Lord Jesus Christ, the book of
Psalms was the main hymn book of the Jews, and its inspired
selections were sung by our Lord and his apostles. During
the apostolic age, nothing was found of any divine command
to replace the Psalms of David with songs. Instead the
apostolic writings contain several quotations from the
Psalms than any other Old Testament book and have referred
to them as the very word of Christ.
Contemporary Music and the Psalms
In looking at the Psalms and Christ’s Church today we
find the movement away from the Psalms of the Bible and more
26 2 Samuel 23:1 (NIV2011)
28
to the more modern side of music. This is where we find the
Churches bringing contemporary Christian music to the Church
to increase membership. The idea that we need new hymns for
the Church necessarily implies that the Psalms are not
sufficient in their content to express the fullness of
Christ in today’s Church. In what way do we find that the
Psalms insufficient and is there any subject of divine truth
that does not find expression in The Book of Psalms? Greg
Scheer states that “contemporary worship music will not
revitalize my church.” 27 Several pastors and worship leaders
feel that updating their music and moving away form the
Psalms will help the increase membership. Some believe that
we should never stray too far away from what God has given
us to use in our worship and that if He wants us to change
our worship He will let us know. I believe that the new
worship songs have a place in our worship service, but not
to the extent of overriding what God wants us to use. The
more we push away from the Bible the more we find ourselves
pushing away from God. We can utilize the new music to help
27 Greg Scheer, The Art of Worship: A Musician’s Guide to Leading Modern Worship. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2006) 18
29
stir emotions on the radio and for worship concerts, but not
solely during church service. To this we also must address
the issue when the congregation finds that the worship
service no longer speaks to their heart. 28 This is where we
find the need to change our worship and make it more modern.
Even if we don’t believe we should. We find that the devil
has been at work using every means possible to trick and
trap us into ignoring God. This enemy is always working to
gain access in our lives that he will deceive our mind and
emotions so subtlety that we are unaware of his invasion. 29
The avenues he can use to distract us can ba as simple as a
TV program, sports, movies, art, music, video games,
internet, social meeting places, night clubs and adult
entertainment. As you can see the list can start off
meaningless but if uncontrolled can lead a person farther
away from their practice of worship. We also don’t want to
get so technologically creative that we end up ignoring the
28 Tim Wright. Contemporary Worship: A Sourcebook for Spirited-Traditional, Praise and Seeker Services. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997) 39 29 Mark I. Bubeck, The Adversary: The Christian Versus Demon Activity. (Chicago: The Moody Bible Institute 1975) 89
30
congregation as Terry York explains, “Take the
irresponsibility engagement of technology that, among other
things, turns a congregation in to an audience, and add the
televangelist’s focus on increasing his audience, and you
have a mixture that produces the phenomenon of fort to fort
competition. This competition can create a focus that
ignores or uses the congregation.” 30
Psalms and Revelation
In reference to worship song found in the book of
Revelation is called “the song of Moses the man of God and
of the Lamb.” It is to be sung by the victorious saints in
the aftermath of God’s completed wrath upon His enemies. It
is therefore a portrayal of the songs of the New Church. We
see the mentioning of the song of Moses back in Deuteronomy
32 and Exodus 15, where we find two songs about the victory
associated with Moses after the deliverance of Israel from
their enemies. The specific words recorded by John in verses
3-4 do not actually quote exactly from either Exodus 15 or
Deuteronomy 32, but what John records is more of a concise
30 Terry W. York, America’s Worship War. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. 2003) 68
31
summary of the character and works of God which can be found
in the arrangement of the sacred songs which He has given to
the Church. The specific phrases found in Revelation 15:3-4
are echoed in the Psalms, as shown in the following chart:
Great andmarvelous are
Your works, LordGod Almighty!
O Lord, Howgreat are Your
works!(Psalm 92:5)
The works of theLord are great.(Psalm 111:2)
Marvelous areYour works…
(Psalm 139:14)
Righteous andtrue are allYour ways.
Mercy and truthhave mettogether
righteousnessand peace havekissed. (Psalm
85:10)
Righteousnessand justice arethe foundationof your throne;Mercy and truthgo before Your
face.(Psalm 85:14)
The Lord isrighteous in all
His ways.(Psalm 145:17)
O King ofsaints!
I have set MyKing on My holyhill of Zion.(Psalm 2:6)
So the king willgreatly desireyour beauty;because He isyour Lord,worship Him.(Psalm 45:11)
God is greatlyto be feared inthe assembly ofthe saints.(Psalm 89:7)
Who will notfear You, OLord, and
glorify Yourname?
Serve the Lordwith fear, and
rejoicewith trembling.(Psalm 2:11)
Let all theearth fear theLord; let allthe inhabitantsof the world
stand in awe ofHim.
(Psalm 33:8)
So the nationsshall fear thename of the
Lord.(Psalm 102:15)
For You aloneare holy.
Exalt the Lordour God, worship
at His holyhill, for theLord our God is
Holy.
Glory in Hisholy name, letthe hearts ofthose rejoicewho seek Him.(Psalm 105:3)
Gather us fromamong the
Gentiles, togive thanks toyour holy Name.(Psalm 106:47)
32
(Psalm 99:9)
For all thenations shall
come and worshipbefore You
Sing to God, youkingdoms of theearth; O, singpraises to the
Lord!(Psalm 68:32)
All nations whomYou have madeshall come andworship beforeYou, O Lord andshall glorifyYour name.(Psalm 86:9)
When the peoplesare gatheredtogether, andthe kingdoms toserve the Lord.(Psalm 102:22)
For Yourjudgments havebeen manifested.
Come, behold theworks of theLord, who has
made desolationsin the earth.(Psalm 46:8)
Let Mount Zionrejoice, let thedaughters ofJudah be glad,because of Your
judgments.(Psalm 48:11)
He is the Lordour God, His
judgments are Inall the earth.(Psalm 105:7)
The Holy Spirit makes it difficult to imagine how the
echoing could have indicated more plainly that the Psalms
are the songs of the New Covenant sung in the light of the
victory of Christ. It is of these inspired songs that it may
be said that they are both “the song of Moses” since they
are rooted in the Old Testament revelation of God’s truth
and “the song of the Lamb” since they are fulfilled in
Christ and speak everywhere of His glory.
CONCLUSION
Through our worship we show God that we love, honor,
respect, and obey Him. Worship is also associated with our
concern for others such as orphans and widows. The way in
33
which we love our neighbor is of major importance, for if
there are those we don’t love how we to fulfill the Great
Commission commanded by our Lord. This is to be our life
goal to bring as many people to Christ to worship and honor
Him and to receive the peace and love that only He can give.
In looking at Paul as a worshiper we find a man truly
devoted to Christ. He was committed to expanding the
Christian ministry and making sure the teachings of Christ
were properly followed. He was truly Christ like and
instructed others in the same he writes, “Whatever you have
learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it
into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” 31 We
can see that Paul modeled his life after Christ by using the
same purpose and objective as Christ did. Paul made the
Great Commission his own mission statement by stating “He is
the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with
all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in
Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the
energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” 32 Paul created a
31 Philippians 4:9 (NIV2011)32 Colossians 1:28-29 (NIV2011)
34
specific network path Paul = Timothy = faithful people =
teach others. 33 Paul also knew he was also not going to be
around forever so he made sure that there were others to
follow, his disciples Timothy, Titus, Silas, Euodia,
Syntyche, Epaphroditus, Priscilla, and Aquila. 34 This would
be Paul’s legacy to his work for Christ and Christianity.
Author David Earley stated that Paul’s love for the gospel
was like in infectious virus which spared throughout the
world infecting all those he came in contact with. 35 If we
follow Paul’s example in our worship life then we will
succeed in accomplishing what God has structured in our
life. We must set aside time everyday to spend with our
father to worship and honor Him in our lives. We also must
show others by our actions that we are part of God’s family
and that it is a good thing. We must work to lessen sin in
our lives as well as in the world to show the damage it has
caused not only in their lives but to God. We must make
33 Greg Ogden, Discipleship Essentials: A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007) 2134 Ibid.35 David Earley, Evangelism Is… (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2010) 111
35
worship known through our services, worship bands, and
public events that God is here with us and He wants to
become apart of all our lives now and forever.
Amen.
APPENDIX: WORDS FOR WORSHIP 36
Honor – In Hebrew is kabod (d/b'K) to honor is to value someone highly or bequeath merit upon him.
In Greek is epitimaó (ἐπιτιμάω) – Value of a person.
Humble – In Hebrew is anav (חחחחח) - poor, afflicted, humble, meek.In Greek is tapeinoó (ταπεινόω) - I make or bring low,
humiliate; pass: I am humbled.
Humility – In Hebrew is anavah (חחחחחחח) - gentleness, meeknessIn Greek is tapeinophrosune (ταπεινοφροσύνη, ης, ἡ) or
as more properly referred to as a lowliness of human pride or to having a humble opinion of oneself, a dog cowering before its human master.
Love – In Hebrew is ahabah ( חחחחחחח) - in admiration of.In Greek is agapaó (ἀγαπάω) - wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem.
36 All translations and definitions are from the Biblos, Strong’s Biblical Concordance Digital Library http://biblesuite.com
36
Obedience – In Hebrew is Shama (חחחח) or tsaitanut (חח
.an act or instance of obeying - (חחחחחחחIn Greek is hupakoé (ὑπακοή, ῆς, ἡ) - submissiveness,
compliance
Praise – In Hebrew is halal (חחחחח) vocal expression flourish in the Scripture can be musical or spoken.In Greek is epainos (ἔπαινος, ου, ὁ) - commendation,
praise, approval
Pray – In Hebrew is tsela ( חחחחח) - bow in prayerIn Greek is proseuxomai (προσευχή, ῆς, ἡ), speak or address a prayer or prayers to God in worship.
Prayer – In Hebrew is tephillah ( חחחחחחחחח) - prayIn Greek is euché (εὐχή, ῆς, ἡ) which means to pray or to make a vow.
Respect – In Hebrew is nakar (חחחחח) - to regard, recognizeIn Greek is prosópolémpteó (προσωποληπτέω) - to have respect of persons
Reverence – In Hebrew is pelach (חחחחחח) – serveIn Greek is eulabeia (εὐλάβεια, ας, ἡ) - properly, to kiss the ground when prostrating before a superior; to worship, ready "to fall down/prostrate oneself to adoreon one's knees.”
Service – In Hebrew is polchan (חחחחחחחח) - Active devotion toGod, as through good works or prayer.In Greek is latreia (λατρεία, ας, ἡ) - service
rendered to God, perhaps simply: worship.
Worship – In Hebrew is Shachach (חחחח ,bend, bow down - (חח
bring cast down, humble self, be bring low, to sink or to stoop.
In Greek is Proskuneó (προσκυνέω) - "meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand), to fawn or crouch to, homage (do reverence to, adore)
37
BIBLIOGRAPHY SOURCES
Biblos, Strong’s Biblical Concordance Digital Library http://biblesuite.com
Bubeck, Mark I., The Adversary: The Christian Versus Demon Activity, Chicago: The Moody Bible Institute 1975
Earley David, and David Wheeler, Evangelism Is…How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2010
Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008
Hill, Andrew E., Enter His Courts with Praise! Old Testament Worship for the New Testament Church, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1993
New International Version 2011
Ogden, Greg. Discipleship Essentials: A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007
Scheer, Greg. The Art of Worship: A Musician’s Guide to Leading Modern Worship. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2006
Whaley, Vernon M., Called to Worship: The Biblical Foundations of Our Response to God’s Call, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009
Wheeler, David and Vernon Whaley. The Great Commission to Worship. Database © WORDsearch Corp., 2011
Wright, Tim and Jan Wright, Contemporary Worship: A Sourcebook for Spirited-Traditional, Praise and Seeker Services. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997
38
York, Terry W., America’s Worship War. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. 2003
39
