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In the course of time the constraint of Calvin’s ideals has gradually come to be less felt in the worship of the Reformed Churches. A modification of view as to the relations of art and worship has permitted the harmonization of congregational . . . Continue reading →
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But the Calvinistic Psalm took its authority and its appropriateness from its divine inspiration. It must be Holy Scripture, first of all; and then it became metrical merely to facilitate its congregational rendering. Calvin had determined to make the Psalter the praise . . . Continue reading →
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Psalms are song by emperors; the common people rejoice in them. Each man does his utmost in singing what will be a blessing to all. Psalms are sung in the home and rehearsed on the streets. The psalm is learned without labor . . . Continue reading →
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…the command to sing psalms in the name of the Lord was obeyed by everyone in every place: for the command to sing psalms is in force in all Churches which exist among the nations, not only for the Greeks but also . . . Continue reading →
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You shall not worship Yahweh your God in that way. But you shall seek the place that Yahweh your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go, and there . . . Continue reading →
The regulative principle of worship, however, does distinguish confession Reformed and Presbyterian churches from the broad evangelical traditions, many of whom are descended from the Pietists and the Anabaptists. The confessional Lutheran churches, the Anglican church, and the Romanists all operate on the normative principle. That principle works for many things in daily life. May one cross this street? Yes, certainly. It is not forbidden. The regulative principle, however, does not work for daily life. “Must I cross this street?” It was never intended to applied to daily life, outside of public worship. In the same way, the normative principle does not work for public worship. Continue reading →
One of the questions I’ve been researching intermittently since before the publication of Recovering the Reformed Confession is why confessional Reformed and Presbyterian congregations sing non-canonical songs in public worship. For the most part the Reformed and Presbyterian Churches sang only inspired songs in . . . Continue reading →
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Q: If songs were invented by unbelievers with a design of deceiving, and were appointed for those under the law, because of the childishness of their minds, why do they who have received the perfect instructions of grace, which are most contrary . . . Continue reading →
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I come now to say somewhat of the antiquity of musical instruments. But that these were not used in the Christian church in the primitive times, is attested by all the ancient writers with one consent. Hence they figuratively explain all the . . . Continue reading →
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QUESTION CLIV. What are the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of his mediation? ANSWER. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to his church the benefits of his mediation, are all his ordinances; especially the word, sacraments, . . . Continue reading →
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The Latin church introduced it pretty generally, but not without the protest of eminent men, so that even in the Council of Trent a motion was made, though not carried, to prohibit the organ at least in the mass. The Lutheran church . . . Continue reading →
66. What are the Sacraments? The Sacraments are visible holy signs and seals appointed of God for this end, that by the use thereof He may the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the Gospel: namely, that of . . . Continue reading →
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Now that Christ has come, and together with the ancient priesthood and sacrifice and the representation appertaining to the Law, the use of instruments in churches has vanished like a shadow…There is not so much as a reference to the organ in the New Testament, nor of its introduction into the purer church; but it was only introduced in theatrical masses, as if in obscene sport, by immoral priests to make clowns cut capers. Continue reading →
Context inevitably colors how we understand texts. It shapes our assumptions about what about what is possible and plausible. I see this in Patristics (the study of the early Christian church). As a confessional Reformed Christian with connections to Reformed orthodoxy, as . . . Continue reading →
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Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing a psalm. —James 5:13
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Calvin is not mute and his tremulous voice rises with the rest and “on his dying countenance,” says Beza, whose eyes are fixed upon his master, “was not obscurely indicated a holy joy.” They sang, as usual, the Song of Simeon, with . . . Continue reading →
Course Description A seminar in the history Christian worship from the patristic period through the Westminster Assembly. Students will read and discuss primary and secondary sources. Spring. 2 Credits. Course Requirements: (1) Attend all classes, complete all readings, participate in class discussion . . . Continue reading →
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… it was always his desire that Christians be allowed to express their praise to God without being limited only to Psalmody and to the Bible canticles. Continue reading →
…musical instruments were among the legal ceremonies which Christ at His coming abolished; and therefore we, under the Gospel, must maintain a greater simplicity (John Calvin, Commentary Exodus 15:21) Continue reading →
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As over against this Hymnody, whether of the Latin Church or the Hussites or Lutherans, the distinction of the Calvinistic Psalmody lay not in its form but in its authorship and subject- matter. The Hymn was a religious lyric freely composed within . . . Continue reading →
