The Psalms in Worship: A Series of
Convention Papers Bearing Upon the Place of the Psalms in the Worship
of the Church, Edited
by John McNaugher
(Edmonton, Alberta: Still
Waters Revival Books, 1992)
copyright 1992 Frank J.
Smith
The Word of God calls upon us
to "sing psalms" to the Lord, and this Biblical and Reformation
practice has seen a great revival over the past few years. As one who
came to the position of "exclusive psalmody" as a student at
Westminster Theological Seminary in the late 1970's, this reviewer
has been grateful to God for raising up numerous other voices, often
quite independently, to advocate a return to the Psalter.
One of the key books in the
early twentieth century was The Psalms in Worship..., originally published after two psalmody conventions
in 1905, held in Pittsburgh and Chicago and sponsored by the United
Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA). Until the 1990 Psalmody
Conference at Flat Rock, North Carolina, this was the last such
gathering in the world; and, until fairly recent times, this volume
was the last major work to deal with the subject.
One of the noteworthy features
of the book is that each of the topics is addressed by two
participants, thus fulfilling the Scriptural mandate of more than one
witness. The subject matter ranges from a defense of the regulative
principle of worship and exclusive psalmody, to the practicality and
suitability of psalm-singing, to literary and musical
considerations.
The first topic is "The Idea of
Worship". The authors maintain that worship is the ascribing of worth
to God, and that "[t]he Psalter is a book of worship by means of
which man may express in fitting terms his homage and adoration" (p.
19).
Further, "[i]t is a
misconception of the praise service
to regard it chiefly for
impression rather than for
expression.
The praise service is not
chiefly for the purpose of impressing truth upon ourselves or others,
but its purpose is to express unto God the glory due to His
name." It is thus
inappropriate to sing the gospel, "for the gospel is addressed to
man, not to God.... That which terminates on ourselves or others may
be a means of grace, but only that which terminates on God is praise"
(pp. 20-21).
(Note: While some
of this is true, the only Biblical comments about "singing" which may
be interpreted as a public worship is Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3.
In these passages, the purpose is to take only inspired truth or
"fill up with the Words of Christ" or "fill up with spirit" (the mind
of Christ in John 6:63 and 1 Corinthians 2) and speak to one another
to teach and admonish with Christ-given truth. Praise is not ever
considered a public ritual any more than complimenting your wife is a
public ritual.)
Note: Until the liberal
nineteenth century, the "law was silence" was almost universal except
by Catholicism which had grasped the authority to decide what one
could and could not do in worship. It is not treated as "southern,
red-necked, ignorant patternism by theologians who get their theology from other
theologians. Division and an assembly "doing more harm than good" as
in Corinth comes from doing things for that collective hour which
many cannot engage in.
The next topic is "The
Scriptural Law of Worship". Here is maintained what is known as the
"regulative principle of
worship":
whatever is commanded by God is required, whatever is not commanded is forbidden. William H. Vincent pointed out that
this Reformed principle differs greatly from the Romanist view (and
that of Lutheranism and Anglicanism), and he wrote that admitting
songs of praise which God has not authorized will also allow "the
worship of the Virgin Mary, prayers to St. Peter, confession to the
priest, holy water, kissing the pope's toe, and the whole brood of
pollutions and monstrosities from which the Church escaped in the
tremendous revolution and reformation of the sixteenth century" (p.
28). The crucial question for Vincent was, Which book of praise has
divine appointment?
"The Book of
Psalms not only has the
seal of inspiration,
but it has also the clear and unmistakable appointment of God.
Hence it is the book of praise for the Church of God in
every age and in every land" (pp. 30f). William S. McClure laid out, in logical
fashion, the following syllogism:
Major
Premise - "Whatsoever
is not commanded is forbidden"
Minor
Premise - "The Bible
Psalter alone is commanded to be used in the praise service in the
worship of God" The
Conclusion - "Therefore, in the praise service, in
the worship of God, all matter of praise besides the Bible Psalter is
forbidden by the Scriptural law of worship." He cited many of the
usual texts in favor of the regulative principle, including, Genesis
4:3-5; Leviticus 10:1-3; Numbers 16 and 20; and Deuteronomy 4:2 and
12:32.
One of the more popular notions
in contemporary evangelical Presbyterianism, as championed by
Westminster Theological Seminary professors such as John Frame and
Vern Poythress, is that singing
is merely one
mode (and not a
Biblically necessary one) by which worship comes to expression. In
contrast to that, two essays correctly maintained that "The Singing
of Praise is a Duty".
Having established that singing
praise is indeed an "element" (distinguishable part, practice) of
worship, the attention turned to proving that the Psalter is the
"Divinely Authorized and Exclusive Manual of Praise". W. I. Wishart
argued that:
1. it is a priori probable that God furnished a manual of praise
fitting for His worship;
2. the Psalter seems to fit this natural expectation;
3. the content of the Psalms "are especially adapted for use in the
praise of God in all ages"
4. the titles of the Psalms
show that they were designed to be used in praise;
5. they were commanded to be
used in the worship of the Old Testament (I Chron. 16:4, 7; II Chron.
29:30; Ps. 95:1, 2; Neh. 12:24);
6. only the Psalms were used in
the worship of the Old Testament Church (pp. 50-52).
In contrast to the contention
of Isaac Watts, that there are many sentiments in the Psalms that are
sub-Christian, Wishart noted that Jesus Himself sang these inspired
songs (p. 54).
The author
demonstrated from Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 that,
generically, inspired compositions are in view, and that,
specifically, "all the terms used in these passages have been applied
to the songs contained
in the Book of Psalms"
(p. 55).
One of the last points of his
conclusion was that "[t]he Psalter is the true union hymn-book" (p.
58):
Psalmody unites,
hymnody divides!
James A. Kennedy
maintained that the Psalter is actually more appropriate for the New
Testament Church than for that of the Old, since Christ is portrayed
more as the historic, rather than the prophesied, Messiah (p. 64). He
also pointed out that hymnody is dangerous because of the many errors
contained therein (pp. 68-70).
Several essays dealt with the
Psalms in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the
Post-Apostolic Church, and the exegesis of Ephesians 5:19 and
Colossians 3:16.
In discussing "The Suitableness
and Sufficiency of the Psalter for Christian Worship", J. A. Thompson
maintained, properly, the fixed nature of praise: in contrast to
prayer, for example, where the content ("matter") of necessity
changes, the content of praise is fixed because rooted in the eternal
character of God (pp.
178-79). He summed up his argument by saying that "the worship of the
true God is essentially the same in all ages. Christian worship does
not differ in its essential from the worship offered by Abraham" (p.
186).
John A. Henderson pointed out
that the same Jesus Who performed miracles and could have inspired
psalmists of the new Israel to compose new worship, found the Psalms
of David to be sufficient for His praise (p. 192).
The next two sections are on
the theocentric and Christocentric nature of the Psalms. Regarding
the latter, Robert McWatty Russell stated that the failure on the
part of some to find Christ in the Psalms was because of blindness.
This President of Westminster (Pa.) College dealt with Psalms that
are subjectively, objectively, and ideally Messianic (p. 221). E. S.
McKitrick used two categories: Psalms that directly and those that
typically point to the Christ (p. 230).
The devotional value of the
Psalter was not overlooked. Joseph Kyle averred that, in light of the
judgments about which the psalmist sings, man dares not on his own to
try to make a complete manual of praise (pp. 243f). W. C. Williamson
stated that no other Biblical book can equal the Psalter as a
devotional book; and he noted the following: 1. the personal pronouns
("I", "My", and "Me"); 2. that there is much in it to sing about; 3.
the true nature of the wicked and of the righteous are set forth; 4.
there is much in it to inspire to better things and to live for God;
5. God breathed so much of Himself into the Psalter (pp.
256-63).
In arguing for the doctrinal
completeness of the Psalter, E. B. Stewart urged that psalmody has
produced sturdy Christians: therefore, why ridicule it (pp. 268-69)?
Furthermore, hymns are defective doctrinally - a fact which even most
hymn-singers are willing to concede - and the original hymns were
designed to convey heresy (p. 269).
A. C. Douglas maintained that
"[t]he ethical teaching of the Psalms is positive in character and
free from frothy and sickly sentimentalism" (p. 281). William J.
Martin showed the superiority of the Psalter's ethics, and that the
Psalms claim that their ethics are scientific, universal, and of
supreme importance (pp. 294-96).
The (so-called) Imprecatory
Psalms have often been troubling to Christians, who wonder how they
can take words of vengeance upon their lips. J. H. Webster (pp.
306-09) and James A. Reed (pp. 311-12) both related these songs of
imprecation to the Lord Jesus Christ as their author and as the One
Who takes revenge on His enemies. Reed also applied these odes to
post-Biblical enemies, including, the French Revolution, and bloody
tyrants who have persecuted the Church (p. 316).
One of the major battlegrounds
in the contemporary Reformed Church is over the "church growth movement" and making worship acceptable to
modern-day yuppies. This sort of problem is nothing new, as seen by the
fact that William J. Reid and W. H. Patterson both addressed the
appropriateness of the Psalter for evangelistic work. Patterson
discussed the attraction
that music has, but
pointed out that there was no necessary evidence that "gospel music" itself, rather than the preaching, saved anyone (pp. 332-33). Further, the assertion
that the Psalms are inappropriate for evangelistic work shows an
ignorance of the Psalms (p. 339), since they contain so much of the
doctrines of salvation.
Similarly, Alexander Gilchrist
and Charles R. Watson set forth the suitability of psalm singing for
missions. The former demonstrated the missionary spirit of various of
the Psalms, while the latter also showed that that vision of the
conquest of the nations by the gospel is rooted in the Psalter in an
understanding of God's rule over all creation as Creator and Moral
Governor.
These matters led to a
consideration of "The Psalms and the Young". A. R. Paul contended
that the material is unsurpassable with regard to youth, and that it
appeals to all ages; while also conceding that the tunes can always
be improved (pp. 356ff). W. W. Lawrence pled for people not to
"[d]eprive youth of this divine heritage", lest they "go forth into
the world poor in heavenly grace".
Give the Psalter
songs a chance, and God's way will be vindicated. Present the
literary merits of the Bible hymns, crystallize the Hebrew
parallelism into choicest English verse, unfold the spiritual import
in some systematic, sympathetic way, ingrain the moral constitution
by memorization, interpret the pictures of oriental life psalmfully,
wed these songs to music that is joyous, simple, stately, reverent,
soulful, and the Master Builder will fashion the living stones of His
palace into marvelous beauty (p. 363).
"The Literary Excellence of the
Psalms" was seen in terms of both structure and content. J. D. Barr
noted the simplicity of these songs of David, putting "the highest
truths" and "the deepest experiences ... in language that cannot be
misunderstood, and which also may be readily made our own." He added:
"We are not listening to truth clothed in the language of philosophy,
but in the language of everyday life. Thus we see how truly poetry
may become the handmaid of theology" (p. 391).
In an age of ecumenicity, there was concern about "The Catholicity of the
Psalter". The Psalms
are apropos in every age, and are trans-denominational in character. In contrast to ephemeral hymnals, the Psalter has endured for 3,000
years because it is strong, sound, and adequate (pp. 392ff).
In their exaltation
of God the Psalms are incomparable, and in this they are truly
catholic. A self-conscious age may sing its own emotions instead of
the praises of God; but the Bride of Christ cannot be held for long
with her eyes upon the sheen of her own garments, and when she turns
from these to gaze upon her Bridegroom's face, then will her praise
burst forth again in the Songs of the Ages, and the Psalter of the
Church Catholic will have come to its own (p. 403).
Exclusive psalmody was viewed
as important for contemporary apologetics. Public opinion will be
molded by a neglect of the Psalter in favor of uninspired hymns, for the latter will be perceived as
being on a par with God's writings (p. 405). The doctrine of
inspiration is crucial here, especially since some people were
publishing the idea that hymn writers could be just as inspired as the
Psalmists (pp. 407f).
The exclusive use of the Psalms guarantees against the inculcation of
error during the praise part of worship (p. 410). Even more, the
Psalter opposes "the enthronement of subjectivism in the religious life" (p. 417).
For several years prior to
these psalmody conferences, a joint multi-denominational committee
had been working on a new psalter version. (The final result was
The
Psalter of 1912.) Two
of the essays in this present volume deal with the problems of psalm
versification. Significantly, J. C. K. Milligan stated that the
product should be considered "mainly as an introduction of the Psalms
to those who have long used the hymns exclusively" (p. 435).
Charles F. Wishart gave three
principles for psalm tunes: the musical settings must be "singable",
"suitable", and "strong" (P. 439-41). William H. Fulton pointed out
that singing
the Psalms is the best argument in favor of psalmody (pp. 445f). He
stated that structure as well as sentiment must fit the music, and
argued that there are some tunes so wedded to certain Psalms that to
tear them apart would be "heartless" (pp. 447-48, 450).
James A. Grier and J. Knox
Montgomery handled "Objections to the Exclusive Use of the Psalms in
Worship". Their arguments are sound, and deal with such matters as
whether Psalms are confined to the Old Covenant, the fixed nature of
praise (in contrast to the free nature of the content of prayer), the
difficulty of psalm singing, and the feelings of the hymn singer (pp. 452-80).
Eulogies on the Psalms were
followed by articles on "The Psalms in History". The Psalms spread
everywhere with Christianity (p. 503), and they especially helped the
Protestant Reformation (p. 511). They were particularly present when
Protestants went to battle: examples given include Gustavus Adolphus
in the Thirty Years' War; the Waldenses; the Huguenots; the
Covenanters; and the Pilgrims to the New World (pp. 514, 518-21). One
essayist wrote that the
Psalms were used exclusively in early America, and that they
dominated the sung praise of the various Presbyterian bodies in this
country until fairly recent times (p. 516).
What were the "status and
outlook" for psalmody? The two essayists expressed cautious optimism.
S. E. Martin noted that there had been a mixed bag throughout
history, including some who had fallen away from psalmody. Nevertheless, he was hopeful that
psalm singing would make good headway. He stated that the
"Psalm-singing Churches
now have an influence for good in the world out of all proportion to
their numbers, and if
they should desert position on Psalmody there is reason to believe
that the old sad story of Samson's strength and weakness would be
repeated." He prophetically warned:
Our position on
Psalmody is the first line of defense, and a strong line of defense,
for the fundamentals of our religion. If we should desert this first
position under the assaults that are made upon it, we would find that
the roar of battle would be heard about some other position in a
short time, and it might be that the point of the next attack would
be the inspiration of the Bible, or the Atonement, or the divinity of
Christ (p. 541).
Coming after the Index and
Scriptural Index is a final essay, given at the Psalm-Singers
Conference in Belfast in 1902, which told of how to secure a return
to psalmody. It is a militant call to arms and to consistency of
practice.
There are many strengths and
good points to this book, and Still Waters is to be commended for
issuing this reprint. However, there are some weaknesses - a few of
which the publisher notes in order to take exception to them.
"Still Waters Revival Books
reprobates any statements contained herein which speak
favorably of the Crusades, Romanism, Church choirs, emotionalism, neutrality in worship, and the use of
instrumental
music (or any implied
endorsement for the use of "hymns" of human composition) in public worship. Also, as the
Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) clearly states in chapter
19:4, the general equity of the sundry judicial laws of the Jews is
still binding today, contrary to the comment on page 452.
Beyond those mentioned by the
publisher, one of the most obvious errors is the confusion of prayer
and praise. Although several essays make the proper distinction,
there are several that do not (pp. 82-83, 89, 108, 120, 498).
But there were other
chinks in the United Presbyterian armor. There are several dubious references
to the Psalms as giving evidence of "the survival of the fittest"
(e.g., p. 445). Although this term may have
been used in an ironic sense, its use probably was reflective of the
inroads made by Darwinism into the Calvinistic community in the late
nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
More serious is the error of
sanitizing the Psalms by removing them from their historical
context. One author believed that we should strive for the "real
spiritual sense of the text", and that "the attempt to be rigidly
literal has often resulted in the sacrifice of literary form and the
introduction of words and phrases which jar upon the modern
sensibility." Arguing for "a larger freedom in translation", he
eschewed the use of particular names, such as "Tyre", "Philistia",
and "Cush", in favor of "Gentile nations"; and stated that the lines
from Psalm 60,
In Moab I will
wash; My shoe
I will to Edom throw
"could surely be
toned
down and
softened into such form
of expression as would
preserve both sense and dignity" (p. 426; see also p. 202). But it
was precisely this type of tampering with the text that led the
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America to reject the 1912
Psalter. As Johannes Vos would later write, we
should not be "ashamed of the tents of Shem" - that is, we should not
be afraid to affirm that God's revelation came in a particular
context, to a particular covenant people. The United Presbyterian
Church essentially rationalized away some of the meat of the Psalter
by means of this attempt to be modern and relevant.
The United Presbyterian Church
was basically sound, at least formally, with regard to theology.
Nevertheless, it was given over to certain forms of egalitarianism. Although the French Revolution was
perceived as the enemy of Christianity that it was, there was not as
much discernment with respect to abolitionism and temperance (see,
e.g., pp. 281, 284, 324).[1] "Freedom's ferment" took its toll on the heartland of America -
precisely in places where the United Presbyterians were predominantly
located.
This devotion to
radicalism by the Northern branches of the Covenanters and
Seceders is one of those reasons why the Southern Presbyterian Church
was suspicious of being fully Puritan in worship. Although the Presbyterians in the South
maintained purity on
the question of musical
instrumentation for a longer period of time than their Northern
counterparts (both in
the mainline and United traditions), the main body of Calvinists in
Dixie continued the practice of singing human compositions in the
divine service.
But the radicalism also
apparently combined with the rationalism we outlined above, to
guarantee that full-blown liberalism would eventually come sweeping
in. This phenomenon may
help give us a clue as to why, within two decades, a church with such
a noble heritage and tremendous prospects for the future, had
surrendered many of its distinctives (including a rigid
Calvinism and exclusive
psalmody); and how,
within a generation of that 1925 debacle, had practically completely
apostatized via
merger with the Northern Presbyterian Church in 1958.
It would appear, therefore,
that mere formal allegiance to certain elements of worship is not
sufficient to preserve orthodoxy. Rather, there must be a proper
understanding of why one holds to a particular position, and the
performance of worship practices must be governed strictly by genuine
Scriptural considerations.
For example, the use of
choirs in the worship service itself not only
violated the principle of the priesthood of all
believers, but it led,
inevitably, to the singing of uninspired compositions. (See p. 62: "When United Presbyterian
choirs sing anthems taken from other sources
than the Psalter, it does not prove that we are not exclusively
Psalm-singers.")
Going away from singing the
divinely-authorized
songs of David is
certainly to move in the wrong direction; and churches such as the
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America need to beware lest
"progressives" within the Covenanter ranks try to foster hymnody. But
even preserving (or re-discovering) the Psalms is no surety of
faithfulness - a lesson that applies to denominations as diverse as
the Presbyterian Church (U. S. A.) and the Christian Reformed
Church.
There is a fresh breeze blowing
in conservative Presbyterian circles, a moving of the Holy Spirit
toward a rejuvenated piety by means of psalmody. This trend was
reflected in the adoption by the 20th Presbyterian Church in America
General Assembly (1992) of an overture from Central Georgia
Presbytery, calling for a committee to study how to implement psalm
singing in PCA and other Reformed churches.
There is an increasing body of
literature that will help the Church to "sing psalms" to the
Lord.[2] This volume, with its multi-faceted and almost
exhaustive approach, undoubtedly is a major part of the arsenal in
this revived polemical battle. CM
Notes
1. For a
treatment (by an exclusive psalmist!) of the United Presbyterian
mishandling of the temperance issue, see G. I. Williamson,
Wine in the Bible and
the Church
(Phillipsburg, N.J.: The Pilgrim Press, 1976).
2. The best
treatment is Michael Bushell, The Songs of Zion (Pittsburgh, Pa.: Crown and Covenant Publications,
1980), which has been out of print but is being re-issued. See also
John Murray, Minority
Report: The Scriptural Warrant Respecting Song in the Public Worship
of God (Vienna, Va.:
Presbyterian Reformed Church, 1990), which was also reprinted in
Frank J. Smith and David C. Lachman, eds., Worship in the Presence of God
... (Greenville, SC:
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Press, 1992); and
The True Psalmody; or,
The Bible Songs
the Church's only Manual of Praise, reprinted in An Anthology of Presbyterian & Reformed
Literature (Dallas,
Texas: Naphtali Press, 1991), Vol. 4, pp. 247-313.
Submitted for educational purposes only. Endorsement of every word is
not implied or needed.
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