The purpose of musical worship: Is it solely for God, or partly for us, too?

[chrisfromcanada]

I'm not quoting anybody smarter than me so feel free to take this or leave it.

When we sing, there are physical changes which occur in our body. The act of singing causes endorphins to be released which give us positive feelings. We generally associate music with positive memories because of the feelings attached to those songs.

I've heard it said before that we become different when we sing - we are no longer the same person we were before the song.

So.. In the context of worship. God understands music. God knows about endorphins and emotions and good feelings. God knows how our bodies work.

What if..

What if..

What if God created music and endorphins as a way of breaking down some mental barriers we have to receiving the work of the Spirit in our lives??

What if..

What if God knows that we have mental, societal, cultural, personal, physical barriers that can be a stumbling block for Him to work in our lives and so He created music as a way of changing our bodies to make it easier for Him to work??

What if..

Wouldn't that be a crazy God thing? He knows that when we gather to worship and there is a biblical requirement for us to SING that the people who are together doing the singing are going to be different after they sing than they were before the song. And God has wired us in a way that the changes are what make our heart, mind, soul more open to the work of the Spirit.

Maybe?

Maybe?

I don't know. That one's a mystery to me - but it's a mystery that I've had running through my head for years and I don't think I can come up with a good argument for it to NOT be true.

So if that is the case - who is the worship for? God? Me? God in me? It's a beautiful discussion.

[C Hutcheson]

To sound "new-age-ish" in this reply, I look at worship like breathing... The dualistic nature is necessary (...in-out-in-out-in-out...), and never ending in the function of life. We need God, and perhaps in a very different way, God actually needs us. Let me explain...

We breathe in because we need oxygen. We breathe out because we need to exhale the leftover product of oxygen being consumed and processed. (Any physiologists / bioligists out there, correct me if I'm wrong.) Trees and plants actually need CO2 to create oxygen, so that "circle of life" keeps on going.


We breathe in God because we need Him. But, I tend to think He doesn't need our worship, as much as He [I]wants[I] our worship. He is a jealous God! I think our pitiful offerings in song are kind of like CO2 waste compared to pure oxygen we breathe in of His presence! (How's that for a goofy analogy?)

Ultimately, music is a gift and a medium that can move the hardest of hearts (King Saul & David's run-in, for example.) So, we always consider its affect on people, emotions, etc.

We also consider what a song "is". Songs have different purposes. A song can tell a story (most songs do tell stories!) A song can be [I]about[I] something or someone ("Elvira" by the Oak Ridge boys oddly comes to mind.) A song can be to someone (pick any love song!) A song can be entertaining, not requiring any thought or intellectual involvement (anything "top 40" comes to mind.) A song can be soothing & peaceful (Fred's piano compositions come to mind), or irritating and inflaming (screamo comes to mind.) A song can be intellectual in approach (a complex Pat Matheny jazz guitar solo / composition comes to mind.) A song can be inspiring (the "Rocky" / "Braveheart" / "Star Wars" / "Indiana Jones" movie soundtracks come to mind.) Music itself can be many, many things.

One thing is for sure - Music moves us! Does music move God? In and of itself, I don't think so. But how we use music probably ties-in-to our lifestyle of worship. I think our hearts of worship are ultimately what move God, and our acts of worship can be varied.

Bottome line is I think "musical / song worship" is more for us - and each other - than for God. Certainly we can uplift and encourage another in song!That's just my opinion.

[twc_admin]

Chuck,
Awesome post - man, you must've sneaked a peek at David's sermon for this coming Sunday about "just breathe".

"Does music move God"? ... I tend to think it DOES. After all, it moves US ... our makeup responds to it ... and we were created in His image. I cannot help but think God, in some kind of wild way, "responds" and "feels" good music!

[C Hutcheson]

[/QUOTE]"Does music move God"? ... I tend to think it DOES. After all, it moves US ... our makeup responds to it ... and we were created in His image. I cannot help but think God, in some kind of wild way, "responds" and "feels" good music![/QUOTE]

Ehh, my intent was to make the point that I don't think God is impressed or moved as much by our musical offerings as much as the heart behind it. After all, He did create music and give us those gifts, so no matter the level of virtuosity, He's still going to look towards us like a proud father, instead of an admiring fan or someone who's moved by our skills! Although, I know He IS a huge fan of us all!

[El Ben]

I imagine a father sitting, listening to his son or daughter excitedly pinging out "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on the piano, all in the hopes that Daddy would be proud of them. I imagine the father, yes, being moved by the heart of his child to please him, but also LOVING every note those little fingers play for the simple fact that his child, his precious, beloved child is making the music, no matter how many bad notes he or she might play.

It's both, I think, the music AND the heart.

[BillyChia]

God doesn't need our worship*.
It's a privilege to offer it to him.
You and I were made to worship*.
When we worship* God we're living a true fulfillment of who were are.
I can't think of anything more rewarding for both the Creator and the created.

*used in the broad sense of the term - includes corporate, personal, musical, artistic, lifestyle, justice, truth, heart, mind, soul, strength, etc...

[Surrendered2Him]

Very interesting topic. It kind of touches on something I’ve been working through recently.

A few months ago, I met someone who goes to a denomination that doesn’t practice corporate worship in the way we usually understand it. They basically don’t sing with instruments on Sunday morning and even hold some Bible verses to support their “Being like the primitive church was”.

This prompted in me a desire to research in the scriptures the reasons and foundations of worship. After all, for all we do, the Bible should be our ultimate source of information and guidelines.

These are some of my conclusions that relate to this post:

* What is worship?
The Bible never refers to ‘worship’ as music. The Hebrew word use for worship is [shâchâh - shaw-khaw] which means to prostrate reflexively in homage to royalty or God, to bow or fall down. In the Greek it is [proskuneō pros-koo-neh'-o’] or to kiss. In context, every time the word worship appears it conveys a message of bowing down of the heart, kissing God. From that, we can say that worship can be singing, or giving to the poor or loving your wife or preaching a sermon or witnessing or any other thing that reflects a heart attitude of surrendering and pleasing to God.

* What about music?
As I did this research, I discovered that when the Bible refers to music or singing, it used overwhelmingly the word ‘praise’ [yâdâh, hillûl] to make confession and celebrate; laudation of hymms. Also, I read in the scriptures from Genesis through Revelation that God was, is and will be praised (With songs/music and instruments) by angels and His people.

* Why music?
Undoubtedly, God created us with some things built-in us. As someone noted, God doesn’t need our worship; in fact, He doesn’t need us at all. Then why did He create us anyway? Well, He wanted to create this funny group of people who would love Him freely and unconditionally. He created us with emotions and desires so that we would give Him pleassure/glory. He gave us sexual desires so that we, within His boundaries, would give Him glory. He gave us desire for food and all kind of emotions that ultimately would be used by us to give Him glory. That’s what music is in my opinion. A language, or a kind of emotional expression that He wired us with so that, we would give back to Him glory.

* Is it for us or for Him?
This is where I somehow disagree with what was written before. There is nothing that we can give to Him that originally didn’t come from Him in the first place; tithing, love, forgiveness … and worship (Or praise). Nevertheless, He wants us to give those back to Him because, well, because He wanted it that way. Not to worship/praise Him because there may be some dark motives in our hearts would be as foolish as banning rifles from the Army just because some careless soldier killed someone else by accident last year. The misuse of a gift cant and should not result in the abolishing of such gifts’ practice.
Can one stand in front of the congregation and lead worship when in his heart all he wants is to show everyone how great of a pianist he is and get the glory? Yes, this is possible to happen. However, the answer is not forbid everyone to play the piano, rather to instruct about heartfelt worship, humility and whatever else may be the case.

Consequently, when we sing/praise, we are taking the initiative in learning the songs, and opening our mouths and pushing the air out to make melodious sounds, yes we initiate it. However, in the other hand, the reason why we do it, is His blessings, His works, what He has done in our lives. And the Bible encourages us to do so. (Psalm 26:7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your wondrous works.)

* If our praises are for God, should there be any kind of enjoyment for us at all?
I do think so.... we are to rejoyce in it... We use songs to communicate a message to Him. Like buying a greeting card at Hallmark, we use others inspired poems to express to God what we also feel but sometimes cant express on our own words. Still, we do it with joy for who He is and what He has done. Does God care about our voice? No, He looks at our hearts, still, The BIble mentions bringing praise with EXCELLENCE, SKILLFULLY...

Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.

Psalm 68:3-4 But let the righteous be glad;
Let them rejoice before God;
Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Extol Him who rides on the clouds,[a]
By His name YAH,
And rejoice before Him.

Psalm 95:1-2
1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.


Should we seek Him…. With music?
Psalm 63 1-5
1 O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

Psalm 81 1-5
1 Sing aloud to God our strength;
Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song and strike the timbrel,
The pleasant harp with the lute.

3 Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon,
At the full moon, on our solemn feast day.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,
A law of the God of Jacob.
5 This He established in Joseph as a testimony,
When He went throughout the land of Egypt,
Where I heard a language I did not understand.

Psalm 92 1-3
1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
3 On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.


* What are the Biblical basis for music worship/praise?
These are just some other verses that, I believe speak truth to some of these arguments. I am sure that you’ve read them or heard them, but I thought it would be beneficial to quote them here. After all, this entry is already loooong anyway…

Psalm 7:17 I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness,
And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Psalm 9: 1 I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Psalm 9:11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion!
Declare His deeds among the people.

Psalm 13:6 I will sing to the LORD,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 18:48-49 He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

Psalm 69:30-31 I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull,
Which has horns and hooves.

1 Corinthians 14:26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

Ephesians 5:19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

[Noel Richards]

A big aspect of our singing songs (an expression of worship) is to bring theology to the church. I beleive this was what Wesley's hymn-writing was all about. He wanted to bring good theology to communities that were in the main - illiterate,

[Surrendered2Him]

Noel, that's a great point. Many of the Psalms are actually a review of Israel's history put together in songs or poems, I believe, to fullfill the OT commandment of letting their children and grandchildren know about God's great deeds to His people. This hence, is a good support that praise/songs have, in a sense, though is for GOd, it can also be of benefit for the body.

[Noel Richards]

Yes, it is important to remember what God has done, thanks him for what he is doing now and look forward to all that He has promised. Corporate worship needs to embrace the past, present and future.