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Singing by Faith Alone

Gary Stedman on July 10, 2011

Sing a New Song (v. 1-5)

David begins here with an exhortation (v. 1-3) for us to rejoice in the Lord and to praise him with music, with singing and shouting. He then gives us the reason for this exhortation (v. 4-5) – we should praise God because he is upright, because his work is true, righteous, and full of goodness.

The Works of the Lord (v. 6-19)

We praise God for his character, his attributes. But we don’t learn about these by reflecting on them in the abstract. We come to know about God’s character by studying what he has done. We know God through his works. David directs our attention to two key works of God – creation and salvation.

Creation (v. 6-12)

David looks at God’s power in creation and concludes that “all his work is done in truth” and that “the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.”The triune God is our maker, creating and upholding all things by the power of his Word and the strength of his Spirit. This is why our doctrine of creation is so important. Creation is the proof of God’s authority, proof of the authority of his Word and the power of his Spirit. The argument about six day creation is not just about the exegesis, it is about the ever-present, sovereign authority of God in our everyday lives. Because he is the creator, he is the continuing sustainer of all things. This means that all peoples must fear him.

Salvation (v. 13-19)

David now describes how a king, no matter how mighty his army is, cannot stand against God and his plans. The power of a horse in battle might be awesome, but it is no match for the power of the Lord. This section is pointing back to Israel’s deliverance from Egypt at the Red Sea crossing. In fact, even when he was describing creation, he did so in a way that would remind the Israelites of the victory at the Red Sea (v. 7). And God’s deliverance in the Exodus is meant to be a picture of our ultimate salvation.

The church has long understood creation and redemption to be inherently connected and to be the two places in which we most clearly see God’s character. The church father Athanasius argued that because God created the world by the power of his Word, it was only appropriate then that he redeem us by the power of his Word. So, as David teaches us, we praise God and we fear him for his creation and for his redemption.

Mercy, Hope, and Singing

However, this Psalm began as an exhortation to the “righteous” and “upright.” Unfortunately, if we spend any time actually meditating on the greatness of God’s character as revealed in his creation and salvation, we will find it difficult to conclude that we are in this category. How can we sing this new song? But if we look again at God’s work, it will become clear to us. God created ex nihilo. God’s triumph comes not from the strength of horses. This is another way that creation and salvation are connected (2 Cor. 4:6). When God acts, he acts unilaterally, supplying all that is needed for the action. Moses sang about this when he saw God’s deliverance (Ex. 15:1-2). And Isaiah foresaw when this would be fully accomplished in the Messiah (Is. 12:1-2).

Moses sang, not because he was upright, but because he saw the uprightness of God in his actions. And as he sang, God became Moses’ salvation. There is a pun in the Hebrew of Ps. 33, between verses 3 and 4. “Sing to him a new song. . .” “For the word of the Lord is upright. . .” Singing and uprightness are rhymed with one another. Our singing is an expression of our trust in the Lord, a trust inspired by our understanding of God’s work as Creator and Redeemer. And by this faith we receive the uprightness of the Lord. In other words, we sing by faith alone.

Post Tenebras Lux

Christ Church on October 26, 2008

Introduction

The title of this message is a phrase that has been used to describe the great work of the Spirit in the Reformation, and that Latin phrase means “after darkness, light.” It is the purpose of this sermon to focus on one particular manifestation of that transformation, which was the musical transformation which occurred. Post silentium cantus. After silence, song.

The Texts

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:18-20).

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16).

Summary of the Text

We too often assume that this phrase “with the Spirit” means that the Holy Spirit is the substance with which we are filled. A better rendition of this would be “by the Spirit,” meaning that the Holy Spirit is the agent who does the filling, not the substance with which we are filled. But if that is the case, then what are we to be filled with. The answer to this comes from the parallel passage in Colossians, which tells us that it is the word of Christ. Putting this together, we are to be filled with the word of Christ, an action performed by the Holy Spirit, and this has certain observable results which follow. What are they?

The command is to be filled with the word of Christ by the Spirit, and then this command is followed by a series of participles—speaking, teaching, admonishing, singing, making melody, giving thanks, and submitting. The structure would be something like this: Cook the turkey (imperative), keeping the oven at 350 degrees, basting as necessary, and removing when done. The imperative tells you what is to be done, and the participles describe the doing. In this case, we are told to be indwelt by the word, and to allow the Spirit to accomplish this. How do we allow the Spirit to accomplish t his? The answer is not limited to music, but the answer certainly begins with music.

Dwell in You Richly

The word of Christ is something that in its very nature is potent and pervasive. It will dwell in us richly unless we take active steps to prevent it from doing so. In order to remain unaffected, we have to develop some countermeasures, some workarounds, to keep God from messing with our lives. It is unfortunate, but many professing Christians do just this—and the opposite effect happens. That would be the real day the music dies.

The illustration may seem irreverent, but it is not intended that way. Picture the word of Christ in your life as a powerful and aromatic cheese. A workaround would be to wrap it in tin foil and put it in the back of your freezer. It is in your house, but it is not in your house richly. But if you bake a dish in your oven, using that cheese, the cheese is in your house, and it is in your house richly. What is that aroma? In these texts, it begins with the music.

Gospel Reformation

There are a number of things that go together here. We begin with the objectivity and truth of the gospel—it has to be the word of Christ, and not the words of human traditions, or the words of some idol. The imperative has to be observed. But at the same time, the imperative cannot be observed “raw,” with no participles following.

Jesus told us that we were to evaluate whether teachers were false or true by means of the fruit that followed their ministry. This is because an evil tree cannot bear good fruit, and a good tree cannot bear evil fruit (Matt. 7:16). In these texts, what accompanies the work of the Spirit in causing the word of Christ to dwell in us richly? The answer is pretty plain in the text—singing with grace, mutual submission, musical instruction, giving thanks, and singing in your heart to God.

A Little History

Measured by these criteria, the Reformation was clearly a glorious work of the Holy Spirit. It exhibits signs of His characteristic work everywhere, and in particular we see this in the music that came out of the Reformation.

Before the Reformation, there was a sharp divide between the clergy and the laity. The clergymen did all the worship work up front (sometimes behind a screen), and the laity gathered out in the nave of the sanctuary to watch and listen. One of the fundamental movements of the Reformation was that of reincorporating the laity back into the life of the Church. This was done in numerous areas—for example, in the government of the churches, the ruling elders meant that the laity was now included. But one of the biggest and most obvious transformations was the explosion of music, and the inclusion of the congregation. Words were made plain, and put in the vernacular. The melodies and settings were made accessible so that the average Christian could learn to sing them. The publication of psalters and hymnals was extremely widespread. The people found a voice again, were included in the worship of God again, and they used their voice to sing.

When You Say ‘Calvinist,’ They Say . . .?

How did you fill that sentence in? Was it with any words like music, thanks, or grateful submission? In the first century of the Reformation, at least, it was very much that way. But today, too many Calvinists or Reformed theology wonks are without musical soul. Their cry is “O for a thousand tongues to parse my great Redeemer’s decrees,” which doesn’t even scan or rhyme. When the Holy Spirit is present in a work or a movement, one of the first things that happens is a restoration of joy, and a restoration of joy in the music of the psalms. “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms” (James 5:13).

Reformational Music

None of this means that the music floats in our midst mystically, or in a way that makes all the joys of earthly accomplishment moot. It is not the case that when Reformation arrives, the tone deaf will suddenly start finding their pitch. The thing that changes is the exuberance of heart attitude. The word of Christ dwells in us richly, and we enjoy the rough and tumble lessons that follow. When the Holy Spirit finds our hearts, we find our voice.

Psalm 50: Rite and Ritual

Christ Church on October 12, 2008

Introduction

This is the first of twelve psalms ascribed to Asaph. Mostly likely this is the Asaph who lived at the same time as David (2 Chron. 29:30), although that name does appear later (2 Kings 18:18). This psalm is a wonderful illustration of how thoroughly the godly saints of the old covenant understood true worship.

The Text
“The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come. . .” (Psalm 50:1-23).

Summary and Outline of the Text

According to theme, the psalm should be divided in this way. The first section represents the Lord summoning the entire earth to hear what He has to declare (vv. 1-6). This is a message for all men in all times—the times of the new covenant included. In the second section, He defines the sort of worship that is acceptable to Him (vv. 7-15), and closer to the point, the kind that is unacceptable to Him. The third section outlines the moral misbehavior of religious hypocrites (vv. 16-21). The conclusion then comes with a savage warning (v. 22) and is then followed up with a very gracious offer (v. 23).

The Lord speaks—the Hebrew has “El, Elohim, YHWH says . . .” The entire earth is summoned to come (v. 1). God shines out of Zion, His select city (v. 2). As God comes, a fire and tempest come with Him (v. 3). He will call heaven and earth as His witnesses in the judgment of His people (v. 4). He gathers His holy ones, those who have made covenant by means of true sacrifice (v. 5). The heavens will say amen to His righteous judgment (v. 6). Think on this.

When He comes in the fire and tempest, what does He say? Come, and listen up. I will testify against you (v. 7). They had not failed in the outward requirements (v. 8), and so that is not why they were reproved. God does not want our sacrificial animals (v. 9). He already has plenty of wild and domestic beasts (v. 10). He owns all the wild fowl and the beasts of the field already (v. 11). If God were hungry, He wouldn’t tell us about it (vv. 12-13). Offer thanksgiving to God (v. 14). Pay your vows, sincerely and from the heart (v. 14). Then God will deliver you in the day of trouble (v. 15).

But what does the showboating hypocrite do in worship? First, he declares God’s statutes, and takes God’s covenant into his mouth—and God doesn’t like it (v. 16). He knows the liturgy, and so therefore he hates true instruction (v. 17). He connives at theft (v. 18), consents to adultery (v. 18). He gives his mouth to evil and deceit (v. 19). He slander’s his own brother, a thing not to be borne (v. 20). On top of everything else, he misinterprets delayed judgment to mean no judgment, thinking God to be as fickle as he himself is (v. 21).

Those who forget God need to think about it because God will tear them into little bits (v. 22). But the one who praises God, and orders his life rightly, this person will see the salvation of God (v. 23).

The Great Summons

True worship begins with a right vision of who God is. Isaiah sees the Lord, high and lifted up. Moses saw the glory of the Lord on the mountain. The apostles called upon the one who had made the sea and sky and dry land. If you don’t start there, you have never started. When we look at the disparity between the “fire and tempest” and the complacency of many worshipers, the surprising thing is that more worshipers are not struck dead by lightning every Sunday. The mercies of God are remarkable. Note this: God summons (v. 1); God shines (v. 2); God comes

in tumult (v. 3); He calls heaven and earth to witness (v. 4); He gathers His true saints (v. 5); and the heavens declare His righteousness (v. 6). Now is it possible to talk about rites and liturgy. Anyone who moves straight to liturgics is a fool and a spiritual imbecile.

Rite and Ritual

In a remarkable turn of events, I believe this is the first time I have ever quoted Ambrose Bierce in two sermons running. That able lexicographer defined rite as “a religious or semi-religious ceremony fixed by law, precept or custom, with the essential oil of sincerity carefully squeezed out of it.” And as for ritualism, he said this: “A Dutch garden of God where He may walk in rectilinear freedom, keeping off the grass.” However much we might want to chafe under such definitions, Asaph would have grasped this point immediately.

God does not rebuke them for messing up on the externals (v. 8). Notice that God is bringing a case against them, an accusation (v. 7). The spiritually stupid think that God requires certain things of us because He somehow needs them, which is crazy (vv. 9-13). What does He really want? He wants gratitude and integrity (v. 14). If you have those, you may use a formal service to call upon God—and He will hear (v. 15). If you don’t have those, then save your breath for something else.

Whited Tombs

God asks the wicked why they came to think that He wanted them to talk about His word (v. 16). God never asked thieves, homos, or adulterers to become chancel prancers. Neither did He ask them to become covenant theologians. What is their problem? First, they are unteachable (v. 17). Second, they consent to thievery and adultery (v. 18). Third, they love to lie (v. 19). Fourth, they slander their own relatives (v. 20). And last, they reveal that they worship a god created in their own image (v. 21). Over all of it is a beautiful white robe and stole, like two inches of snow on a dung heap.

God Under Glass

The hypocritical liturgist believes that he has God under glass, God in a box, God under control. He knows the magic words, many of them in Latin. He knows the magic dance steps. He has flowing robes, and greetings in the market place. He loves religion, and all the trappings of religion, but he forgets God Himself. A man in such a position is in for a rude awakening. Like Belshazzar, he does not know what his cup contains until it is full and about to overflow. The only alternative is gratitude and thanksgiving, coupled with honest Christian living.

This Word For Us

We are involved in the work of liturgical reformation, and we thank God for it. But never forget God in the service of God, and never forget that the characteristic sin associated with this form of worship (over millennia) is going to magically disappear in our day.

Psalm 47: The Shields of Earth

Christ Church on September 21, 2008

Introduction

Throughout the Old Testament, we are frequently given glorious visions of God’s glorious plan for our fallen world. It is tempting to say that we are given glimpses of this, but when we finally understand what God has promised us, we start to see His promises everywhere. This psalm is one of many examples.

The Text
“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph . . .” (Psalm 47:1-9).

Structure and Summary of the Text

The psalm is fairly short, and so we may content ourselves with just one division at the conclusion of the fourth verse. The psalm may be a celebration of the occasion when the ark of the covenant was brought up from the household of Obed-edom, or it may be commemorating some other great occasion, perhaps a military victory.
All the people are to clap and shout in joy over the victories of God (v. 1). The Lord is a great king over all the earth, and He, as the Lord most high, is terrible (v. 2). He is the one who will subdue the nations under the Israel of God (v. 3). And God is the one who will choose out our inheritance (v. 4). Meditate on these things.

God has gone up with a shout–as Jesus did in the Ascension (v. 5). We shout (v. 1) because God shouts (v. 5). He goes up to the sound of the trumpet (v. 5). The joy cannot be contained—the imperative to sing praises is given five times in two verses (vv. 6-7). But this is no mindless mantra; we are to sing praises with understanding (v. 7). God is on His holy throne, and from that position of holiness He reigns over the heathen (v. 8). The princes of the people have assembled, including the Jews (v. 9). The shields of earth belong to God, and He is exalted beyond all praise (v. 9).

Clap Your Hands

Let us begin here with an obvious question here. Why do Reformed people like to sing psalms, but they don’t like to do what those psalms talk about—like clapping our hands? And the answer needs to be a little more thoughtful than “I can’t clap my hands because that would make me drop my psalter” or “I left the charismatic church fifteen years ago.”

As we learn to clap our hands in exaltation and triumph, as Adam Clarke pointed out, it should be done: 1. Cheerfully (v. 1)—shout with triumph; 2. Universally (v. 1)—all ye people; 3. Vocally (v. 1)—shout; 4. Frequently (vv. 6-7)—sing praises, sing praises, sing praises; 5. And with wisdom (v. 7)—praise Him with understanding.

The Lord Most High Is Terrible

That which is terrible when God is opposed to us is an unspeakable comfort when He is not. And since God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble, we know what demeanor we are to assume. But note the cheerful exultation in this psalm—God most high is terrible, but this does not terrify us, but rather makes us glad.

He Shall Choose Our Inheritance

The Lord most high is the one who chooses our inheritance. He chooses our lot. He has apportioned the land before us. The people are subdued beneath us, and the nations are brought under our feet. These are the same people who are invited to join us in our exultation (v. 1). They are conquered and converted. God reigns over the heathen (v. 8). He gathers all the princes of the earth, and is exalted over them (v. 9).

But if God chooses the inheritance of Israel, and He has, then He also chooses the apportionment of the smallest tribe of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin. And, that being the case, He also chooses the inheritance of the least member in the tribe of Benjamin. That means that He chooses your inheritance. And if you are a child of God, the lines have fallen for you in pleasant places (Ps. 16: 6).

Praise, Praise, Praise . . . With Understanding

We are not called to “praise, praise, praise” until our brain goes to the screen saver. The reasons we have for praising God are substantive reasons. To use an image of John Stott’s, to offer nothing but “praise Him, praise Him, praise Him” is like trying to eat a bread sandwich. Instead, take one piece of bread (praise Him!) and then another (praise Him!), and in between put all the contents of the sandwich. And take care, like the psalmist frequently does, to build yourself a regular Dagwood. That is what it means to praise with understanding. What does this mean? The defeat of Og and Sihon is the salami, the triumph at the Red Sea is the onion, and so on. And to keep us from becoming abandoning the God of history, we should not forget to include the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

The Shields of Earth

The shield is the noblest of weapons. God elsewhere says that the civil ruler bears the sword (Rom. 13:4), and he does not do it for nothing. So there is a place for that. But here the princes are identified with shields; they don’t bear shields, they are shields. Guardianship and protection are more basic to their identity and office than are punishment and retribution.

The princes gather, and the shields of earth are arrayed along the wall of the City of God—and they are the gold shields of Solomon, not the bronze shields of Rehoboam (1 Kings 10:17; 14:27 ). They are arrayed on the walls of the Church; the Church is not given to decorate the nations, but rather to baptize and disciple the nations. They do not invite the City of God to come into their cities of men as just another sect or mystery religion. Rather the cities of men are invited gather in the City of God, and the kings of the earth bring their honor and glory into the presence of Christ Himself (Rev. 21:24).

God most high is greatly exalted, but note that He is not exalted here in any invisible “spiritual sense.” We ought not to exalt Jesus in the kind of invisible and non-falsifiable ways that a devotee of the Cosmic Muffin could also do and with equal aplomb. We do not serve a Lord who reigns over “everything” but who changes nothing. Our faith in the supremacy of Jesus Christ is not the kind of twilight in which all cats are gray.

The leaves of the tree of life—in our midst—are for the healing of the nations. From the river to the ends of the earth, the Lord will be praised. The Church is the life of the world.