It must be commanded by God. No creature has the right, or power to institute the worship of God. But good works (we speak of moral good) and the worship of God are the same. Moral good differs widely from natural good, . . . Continue reading →
Worship
New App To Help You And Your Congregation Sing Psalms
The most ancient Christian practice of worship was to sing the Psalms. Our Lord sang the Psalms of ascent with his disciples (Matt 26:30). The Apostles sang Psalms (1 Cor 14:26, “ἕκαστος ψαλμὸν ἔχει“). The early Christian church sang Psalms in public . . . Continue reading →
Niceta Of Serbia Contra Instruments In Worship Circa 370 AD
it would be tedious, dearly beloved, were I to recount every episode from the history of the Psalms, especially since it is necessary now to offer something from the New Testament and confirmation of the Old, lest one think the ministry of . . . Continue reading →
William Perkins On The Rule Of Worship And 1 Corinthians 14 Contra Good Intentions
V. Will worship, when God is worshiped with a naked and bare good intention, not warranted by the word of God. (Colossians 2:23) “Which things have indeed a shew o wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not . . . Continue reading →
1578 Synod Of Dort: Organs To Be Removed ASAP
77. We do not consider the use of organs in the churches to be good especially for the preaching (services). Therefore, we judged that ministers should labor, even though organs are tolerated for a time, that they be removed at the earliest . . . Continue reading →
Synod Of Dort (1578): Psalms Only To Be Sung In Worship
76. The Psalms of David translated by Pieter Datheen shall be sung in the Christian gatherings of the Netherlands churches as has been done until now, excluding the hymns which are not found in the Bible. National Synod of the Netherlands, German, . . . Continue reading →
Resources On Instruments In Worship
Below are gathered the quotations, posts, and essays from the Heidelblog on the history, theology, and practice of instruments in public worship. Continue reading →
Worship Characterized By Rock Music, Stand-Up Comedy, Beautiful People, & Hallmark Sentimentality
The problem with much Christian worship in the contemporary world, Catholic and Protestant alike, is not that it is too entertaining but that it is not entertaining enough. Worship characterized by upbeat rock music, stand-up comedy, beautiful people taking center stage, and . . . Continue reading →
Worship: A Dialogue Not A Checklist
Most of the debate over the so-called “worship wars” for the last 30 years has focused on the disagreement between those who favor a progressive/contemporary style of worship and those who favor a more “traditional” style of worship. One of the reasons . . . Continue reading →
With Presbycast On The Regulative Principle of Worship
It is always a joy to talk about what Scripture says and what the Reformed and Presbyterian Churches confess about worship and never more so than when it is with the redoubtable Chortles Weakly and Presbycast. His partner in crime, Wresbyterian, was . . . Continue reading →
Trueman: Marcion And Opposition To Singing God’s Word
Then, in our church practice, we need to take the Old Testament more seriously. It astounds me, given the overwhelming use of psalms as central to gathered worship in the first four centuries, the absolute importance given to psalmody for the first . . . Continue reading →
If Believers Are Playing Instruments In Heaven, Why May We Not? (2)
The question before us concerns what the church ought to do in public worship. Christians often ask, “If they did x in Scripture, why may we not do them now?” In part 1 we considered the problems associated with this approach to . . . Continue reading →
Organs Were “Purely Secular” Instruments Until The 10th Century
Known from the time of classical antiquity, the organ remained a purely secular instrument until the 10th cent., when it began to appear in major churches, such as Glastonbury and Winchester. What liturgical part, if any, it played remains largely unknown until . . . Continue reading →
If Believers Are Playing Instruments In Heaven, Why May We Not? (1)
Whenever a defense is advanced for something like the historic Reformed understanding of the rule of worship one of the objections that regularly arises is this: if musical instruments are being used in Scripture, we may we not use them now in . . . Continue reading →
How The Dutch Reformed Lost The Psalms
The king’s arbitrary actions roused very little public dissent. Most clergy were happy to get paid regularly again and their parishioners welcomed the restoration of the national church, even if it was subject to closer government control. Opposition against the new regime . . . Continue reading →
If We May Pray Uninspired Words, Why May We Not Sing Them?
What the Fathers called the “rule of faith” (which included both doctrine and practice) and what Calvin called the “rule of worship” Christians in the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition have called the “regulative principle of worship” since the mid-20th century. That rule, . . . Continue reading →
Belgic Confession: Sola Scriptura Applied To Public Worship
We believe that those Holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein. For since the whole manner of worship which God requires of us is written in them at large, . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Learning To Love The Psalms With Bob Godfrey
For some Christians, the Psalter, the 150 psalms in God’s Word, is an appendage to the New Testament. For others it is a forgotten book. Today, Christian young people know the lyrics in contemporary worship songs such as “Like A Sloppy Wet . . . Continue reading →
Preaching As For The Free
One of the privileges of editing the Classic Reformed Theology series for Reformation Heritage Books is that I get to work closely with significant Reformed texts and shepherd them through the process from translation (e.g., from Latin to English) to publication. Currently . . . Continue reading →
Who May Read Scripture To The Congregation In Public Worship?
Reading the Word of God publicly to the congregation is the duty of those especially called as ministers of the Word.” …Reading the Scriptures ‘publicly to the congregation’ is a part of conducting the public worship of God, and therefore it is . . . Continue reading →