Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow!

The voices rose in unison.

“Praise Him, all creatures here below.” Old Hundredth had never been sung so lustily as the congregation closed their hour of worship. “Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.” The organist gave full measure to each magnificent chord. “Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!” The minister thought how well the service had gone with his captive audience all ears, hanging on almost every word—well, almost! The deacon had been thinking about the plans for the forthcoming drive for church repairs. The organist had been wondering if the choir would be able to learn the new piece projected for two weeks’ time. The deaconess was naturally concerned about the new family in need in her local block of apartments. The deacon’s wife was staring at the new hat on the head in front of her and wondering how they could afford such a frippery piece of nonsense. Mary Lou’s thoughts had wandered to the next party; and young Jimmy—well, while he was present in body, his mind had been down at the “old swimming hole.” As the congregation sang, the minds of many wondered to another subject than the song coming from their lips. But they were going through the form with great enthusiasm!

Hymns, well known and well loved, have been the solace of many tempted, tried, and sometimes despairing saint in their march to the New Jerusalem. Many a tribulation has been halved by the appropriate words of courage in song, while a scarce-remembered-snatch of a childhood hymn has brought a tear to the wistful eye of one almost lost to both heaven and earth.

The singing of praise to the God of our fathers has always been an integral part of the worship of the church in heaven and on earth. From the time, “when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7) till the present time, praise to God has always been appropriate for those whose sins have been forgiven through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Gratitude and thankfulness from loving hearts and lips will always rise as incense before our heavenly Father.

David, the sweet singer of Israel, left such a paean of praise in the psalms, that some have thought that anything more could be superfluous. But the apostle Paul says that we should speak to ourselves, “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). This use of song is not alone to honor God, for Paul also says, “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” (Colossians 3:16). Notice that teaching and admonishing in song is integral with praise to God.

“Music forms a part of God’s worship in the courts above, and we should endeavor, in our songs of praise, to approach as nearly as possible to the harmony of the heavenly choirs. The proper training of the voice is an important feature in education and should not be neglected. Singing, as a part of religious service, is as much an act of worship as is prayer. The heart must feel the spirit of the song to give it right expression.”1 Sadly, very often, the mind is far away when singing, and the lilt of the melody is remembered more than the words. Yet the whole purpose of setting good spiritual words to music is that the words might be remembered more readily.

“Music was made to serve a holy purpose, to lift the thoughts to that which is pure, noble, and elevating, and to awaken in the soul devotion and gratitude to God. What a contrast between the ancient custom and the uses to which music is now too often devoted! How many employ this gift to exalt self, instead of using it to glorify God! A love for music leads the unwary to unite with world lovers in pleasure gatherings where God has forbidden His children to go. Thus that which is a great blessing when rightly used, becomes one of the most successful agencies by which Satan allures the mind from duty and from the contemplation of eternal things.”2

Paul recognized three forms of religious music. Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Some have given much thought as to his meaning, and there is a place for all three forms of religious musical expression. The earliest Christian hymns in Latin appeared about the 4th century. Most composers during the Middle Ages made polyphonic arrangements of older chants, and these were originally sung by priest and/or choirs, almost never by the congregation. It was during the Protestant reformation of the 16th century that congregational singing became a common practice.

The translation of the psalms into French metrical verse encouraged congregational singing under the leadership of John Calvin. English translations of the psalms were published by 1562. About 100 years later an English Separatist clergyman, Henry Ainsworth, produced a collection of psalms in metrical form and it was this Psalter that was used by the Mayflower Pilgrims in 1620. English hymnody was brought to the fore by Isaac Watts, who wrote about 600 hymn texts during the 18th-century; but even greater impetus was given to the singing of hymns in English through the usage by the Wesleys of both Lutheran and Moravian hymns. To this was added the vast writing of hymns by Charles Wesley. These days there is not much usage made of the psalms. One hundred years ago, there was much psalm singing, both in the church and in the home. In the early churches the psalms were sung in chant form more commonly known as plainsong. This was used widely even in the early Protestant churches. To make the singing of psalms easier, metrical forms were introduced; the words of scripture were put into a more regular poetic form that made it easier to remember the words; and melodies became easier to follow. Perhaps the most remembered of these metrical psalms is the twenty-third Psalm as set by Baker and Dykes in 1868. This is sung as in the Church Hymnal, No. 86, as published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, “The King of Love My Shepherd Is.” “Old Hundredth” (“All People That on Earth Do Dwell,” Reformation Hymnal, No. 2) was a tune originally used for the one hundredth Psalm and comes to us from the Genevan Psalter of 1551; our present words are a paraphrase of the 100th Psalm by William Kethe of 1561.

While the singing of psalms has tended to decline, the use of hymns has been a constant form of praise in the Christian family. Praise to God, prayer forms, and doctrinal concepts are often the subject of hymns. Careful selection of appropriate music is one of the hallmarks of a good hymn. It would be quite inappropriate to endeavour to sing the strains of “Abide With Me” (Reformation Hymnal, No. 39) to the tune of Freeport (“Again the Day Returns,” Hymn No. 154). While it is possible, because the meter is the same, the musical sense would not be the same. It would be like trying to sing Reformation Hymnal, No. 484, “In the Heart of Jesus,” to the tune of Reformation Hymnal, No. 647 “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Words and music should match in rhythm, cadence, and sense.

Paul’s third category of church music is referred to as “spiritual songs.” Recent years have seen a strong development of these songs in church music. While spiritual songs as distinct from hymns had a great impact on the evangelistic work of the 19th-century, especially the work of Moody and Sankey, it has been especially so since the 1960s. Hymns mostly lift up the heart of the singer to God, and rarely have a chorus or refrain sung alternately between verses, but spiritual songs usually have a chorus or refrain and tend to be rather subjective in word and thought. Twentieth-century spiritual songs were much influenced by the Social gospel movement with the result that there has developed an emphasis on text expressing the social mission of the gospel. This has been noted by many writers looking at the Roman Catholic Church, Protestant denominations, and other religious groups.

This swing towards light spiritual songs began with the big evangelistic programs of Moody and Sankey and received a great impetus with the modern Pentecostal movement of the early 20th century. Much earlier though, the same influence had been seen. Even among the early Adventists some of the same activities were experienced. Speaking of this, the servant of the Lord wrote: “Some of these persons have exercises which they call gifts and say that the Lord has placed them in the church. They have an unmeaning gibberish which they call the unknown tongue, which is unknown not only to man but by the Lord and all heaven. Such gifts are manufactured by men and women, aided by the great deceiver. Fanaticism, false excitement, false talking in tongues, and noisy exercises have been considered gifts which God placed in the church. Some have been deceived here. The fruits of all this have not been good. ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits.’ Fanaticism and noise have been considered special evidences of faith. Some are not satisfied with a meeting unless they have a powerful and happy time. They work for this and get up an excitement of feeling. But the influence of such meetings is not beneficial. When the happy flight of feeling is gone, they sink lower than before the meeting because their happiness did not come from the right source. The most profitable meetings for spiritual advancement are those which are characterized with solemnity and deep searching of heart; each seeking to know himself, and earnestly, and in deep humility, seeking to learn of Christ.” 3

In an article entitled: “Holy Spirit Gifts and Power” by Paul Walker, published in “The Spirit Filled Bible” by Nelson Publishers, it is stated, “Without a doubt the Pentecostal revival of the early 1900s and the Charismatic renewal, which had its beginning in the late 1950s, together constitute one of the most innovative and impactful renovations in history.”

This came about as the result of the early failure of the drive to bring all the Christian churches together under the auspices of the World Council of Churches. It was fostered by the Roman Catholic Church, but the first meetings in 1948 were a dismal failure. They could not agree as to whether Christ was the hope of the world. It was seen that the doctrinal differences held the churches apart. Amos was certainly correct when he stated: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). The question then became, “How can we encourage the churches to unite, despite their doctrinal differences?” The answer appeared to be, “Encourage a form of worship that places doctrine in the background. Spend more time with those things that let people feel happy, without thinking deeply about their real need!”

This idea took shape in an official capacity during the discussions of Vatican II in the early 1960s. The Roman Catholic Church set up their own Catholic Renewal Movement and used this as a platform to introduce similar forms of worship among Protestant churches, leading to the development of songs for worship of a very different character from those sung previously. The plan has been characterized by several changes:

1. The frequent use of various forms of syncopation in the music.

2. The introduction of a usually heavy beat in the music.

3. The frequent use of unnecessary repetition of words and phrases.

4. A rather heavy use of sentimental words with allusions to “falling in love with Christ.”

5. A heavy accent on praise to God.

6. Almost no allusions to deep commitment to Christ (which would bring about a change in the actual life).

Let us look back in history a little. Israel, during the reign of Ahab had, under the influence of Jezebel, become a nation of idolaters. Worshipping Baal the sun god, they had forgotten the Creator, the God of their fathers. At that time, God’s man was called to do God’s work. Elijah (whose name meant “Jehovah is my God”) called the nation to repentance, to worship not the sun, but the Maker of the sun. At his insistence a grand test was to be made. The 850 priests would make an offering to their god Baal, and if he could light the fire under the bullock then Baal would be recognized as God. They tried. They sang, they cut themselves, they pranced and danced in idiotic contortions in an effort to try and get Baal to answer their call to defend himself; but to no avail.

At the setting of the sun, when it was obvious that Baal was silent, Elijah called the people. Now it was the time for his God to reveal His power. Rebuilding the broken altar on the top of Carmel, Elijah knelt down before the heavenly host. He did not dance. He did not chant. He did not sing, he did nothing that the priests of Baal had done. He quietly kneeled down and spoke with God as a Friend. And immediately God answered by fire. Perhaps there is something for us to learn here. God is not interested so much in great display. It is honesty of purpose and submission to His will in all things that He accepts. Much display in musical attainments may be a snare rather than a blessing.

Satan’s use of music and song in this period of earth’s history is arranged for a specific purpose. “The things you have described as taking place in Indiana, the Lord has shown me would take place just before the close of probation. Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting, with drums, music, and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted to make right decisions. And this is called the moving of the Holy Spirit.

“The Holy Spirit never reveals itself in such methods, in such a bedlam of noise. This is an invention of Satan to cover up his ingenious methods for making of none effect the pure, sincere, elevating, ennobling, sanctifying truth for this time. Better never have the worship of God blended with music than to use musical instruments to do the work which last January was represented to me would be brought into our camp meetings. The truth for this time needs nothing of this kind in its work of converting souls. . . .

“When the camp meeting is ended, the good which ought to have been done and which might have been done by the presentation of sacred truth is not accomplished. Those participating in the supposed revival receive impressions which lead them adrift. They cannot tell what they formerly knew regarding Bible principles.

“No encouragement should be given to this kind of worship. The same kind of influence came in after the passing of the time in 1844. The same kind of representations were made. Men became excited, and were worked by a power thought to be the power of God. . . .

“Those things which have been in the past will be in the future. Satan will make music a snare by the way in which it is conducted. God calls upon His people, who have the light before them in the Word and in the Testimonies, to read and consider, and to take heed. Clear and definite instruction has been given in order that all may understand. But the itching desire to originate something new results in strange doctrines, and largely destroys the influence of those who would be a power for good if they held firm the beginning of their confidence in the truth the Lord had given them.”4

“Musical entertainments which, if conducted properly, will do no harm, are often a source of evil. In the present state of society, with the low morals of not only youth, but those of age and experience, there is great danger of becoming careless, and giving especial attention to favorites, and thus creating envy, jealousies, and evil surmisings. Musical talent too often fosters pride and ambition for display, and singers have but little thought of the worship of God. Instead of leading minds to remembering God, it often causes them to forget Him.”5

“Young men and young women, I saw that God has a work for you to do; take up your cross and follow Christ, or you are unworthy of Him. While you remain in listless indifference, how can you tell what is the will of God concerning you? and how do you expect to be saved, unless as faithful servants you do your Lord’s will? Those who possess eternal life will all have done well. The King of glory will exalt them to His right hand while He says to them: ‘Well done, good and faithful servants.’ How can you tell how many souls you might save from ruin if, instead of studying your own pleasure, you were seeking what work you could do in the vineyard of your Master? How many souls have these gatherings for conversation and the practice of music been the means of saving? If you cannot point to one soul thus saved, turn, oh, turn to a new course of action. Begin to pray for souls; come near to Christ, close to His bleeding side. Let a meek and quiet spirit adorn your lives, and let your earnest, broken, humble petitions ascend to Him for wisdom that you may have success in saving not only your own soul, but the souls of others. Pray more than you sing. Do you not stand in greater need of prayer than of singing? Young men and women, God calls upon you to work, work for Him. Make an entire change in your course of action. You can do work that those who minister in word and doctrine cannot do. You can reach a class whom the minister cannot affect.”6

The song of praise can be offered in entirely different ways. We can choose what form our praise can take. No matter if it sounds almost heavenly it may be sung in harmony with Satan’s minions. Let us rather offer our praise to God from true hearts, in simplicity, without any display, without any inflection of self. When we meet for worship may we seek to know ourselves better and, confessing our sins, seek always to praise God for His love revealed in and through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. David says, “For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding” (Psalm 47:7).