We Are All Musicians
The following post is a guest article by Gib McCracken, a deacon at River Valley Reformed Church (RPCNA). This article is intended as a supplement to this article from 2012.
The Heart in Worship
God wants us to honor him with our hearts in worship, so this should be our chief aim (Matt. 15:8-9). We should pray that the inner man would draw near to the Lord even as we worship him outwardly. Isaiah prophesied that the Pharisees would honor the Lord with their lips, but their hearts would be far from him. So, too, our hearts can be drawn away even as our lips sing his praises - and the right form is not necessarily a cure for this possibility. God desires a right form flowing from a heart tuned to him in love and reverence.
The Instrument of the Heart
The Psalms contain instructions to praise the Lord with various instruments: harps, trumpets, lyres, tambourines, flutes, cymbals, and more. After Christ’s death and resurrection, the harp plucked is the believer's heart as we sing to the Lord in worship. The people of God no longer have the burden of mastering various instruments and external coordinations; these outer requirements have been removed as we draw near with our hearts and our voices. We have great freedom and simplicity in audibly lifting only our voices to the Lord. You could say, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth sings”! God loves to hear the instrument of the heart overflow with praise as it sings and makes melody to him (Eph 5:19).
The Outward Supports the Inward
This primacy of the heart in worship does not negate the importance of doing what Psalm 33:2-3 instructs us: “Praise the Lord with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.” Elsewhere, Old Testament musicians are described as skillful (1 Sam 16:18; 1 Chron 25:7; 2 Chron 34:12). While we are no longer commanded to use musical instruments - and this is a great liberty to us - it seems right to apply this direction concerning skill to our singing. There is something objectively good about a congregation singing skillfully to the Lord together. God has given us physical bodies with vocal cords, lungs, tongues, and the ability to use these to sing to him. He has even created us so that women can sing in higher ranges and men in lower ranges, resulting in many tones lifted in harmony and beauty.
Since God has made us this way, is it not right that we endeavor to increase our skillfulness, whether we are highly trained or new to singing? Is it not true that outward skill and preparation can support the inward substance of worship? Psalm 45 begins like this, “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning (or to) the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” These words reflect someone whose overflowing heart leads to preparation for his audience with the King. We think through many external factors to support our inward worship: the thermostat, the time of worship, eating breakfast so we’re not distracted by a grumbling stomach, and sturdy seating arrangements. These things are not the substance of worship, but they support and facilitate it.
It is unlikely that we would come before an earthly king and “wing it”. How much more, then, should we prepare for the outward action of praise so that we can do it with skill to the glory of God! A capella Psalm-singing can be a slog, particularly if skill is lacking. Confusion and novelty can make the words fly by with little to no comprehension or meditation. This does not necessarily indicate a lack of heart-sincerity in the worshiper, but it does create outward obstacles for the inward posture of the heart. So, we must conclude that God has placed some outward value on skillfulness insofar as it supports the real inward substance of worship.
Outward as a Reflection of the Inward
Furthermore, the outward can be understood to be a reflection of the inward. Many faithful believers, though once new to congregational singing, have made great effort to improve their skillfulness in singing and are now making a beautiful noise to the Lord. We serve a majestic and compassionate King: it is good and right for a new creation in Christ to desire to present the King with the finest of incense, to bring to him a worship that pours forth from the heart and is both right in form and skilled in outward, physical manifestation.
When the Singing is Bad
We’ve all heard bad congregational singing. Maybe you’ve heard a Psalm tune grind to an awkward halt; perhaps this is the challenging weekly experience of your church. Before we get to practical encouragement, I would first suggest that this drudgery should not be the normal, ongoing, long-term experience of an acapella Psalm-singing congregation. If this form of worship is prescribed for the church, wouldn’t we expect it experientially to be the most natural, fitting, and suitable for the church? In other words, our simple form of worship should have an outward manifestation that is consistent with our conviction. It is not good to just think about singing the Psalms; it is good and natural to sing them and to do this well.
Practical Encouragements
God delights to hear his children sing to him, regardless of skillfulness. However, this doesn’t negate the need for the church to improve her worship outwardly: joy, volume, harmony, facial expression, tune singability, pitch, etc. This improvement can be facilitated in many ways, but here are a few practical suggestions.
Psalm-singing workshops
Singing takes practice. More experienced singers should be ready, willing, and gracious to teach those who struggle with singing.
Private household preparation
Family worship is one place where singing can be effectively learned, though that is not the primary goal. Sending out the bulletin before the Lord’s Day can provide time for congregants to review and practice the tunes. Resources like psalter.org and Crown and Covenant’s Psalm recordings are very helpful for personal or family preparation for unfamiliar tunes.
Ask for Help
Don’t go at it alone. Someone in your congregation would be glad to teach you how to read music, sing melodies, and sing harmony parts.
Worshipping God Corporately
Go back and read Barry York’s article for further treatment on this. Remember that we are worshipping God together. You should be neither embarrassed nor proud of your singing. Public singing is a widespread cause of self-consciousness or shyness. But God wants to hear his children lift their voices, skilled or not skilled. He also wants us to hear each other in the Psalms’ brotherly admonitions. It is encouraging to hear fellow believers singing without reservation. In a way, it demonstrates how we can sing without embarrassment or timidity because we are singing the very words of our beloved Savior.
Precentors
Precentors can best support public singing by singing with great volume and expression. This should never be done in a performative way, only to demonstrate how inward worship and the words of Christ sung lead to outward, physical, and observable qualities. In particular, the elders should also be leading the congregation in this way, demonstrating both the inward and outward fitness of Psalm-singing for the people of God.
Pray
We can pray that the Holy Spirit would improve our congregational singing to the glory of God!
Conclusion
Psalm-singing should “look good” on the church. God did not craft an embroidered robe for his bride (Psalm 45) that is four sizes too big or too small, and it shouldn’t look that way. Awkward singing should be a temporary phase as the Spirit moves us from strength to strength when we let the words of Christ dwell in us richly. The Author of worship has graciously supplied us with the form of worship that is most fitting for his bride. Skill is not developed overnight; it can be hard work over many years. However, skill should never be disconnected from inward heart realities: skill supports meditation in worship, unity in worship, joy in worship, beauty in worship, the glory of God in worship, and the desire for worship. Let us in the church not overlook or spurn the value of growing in our skillfulness both individually and corporately.