Principles
of Biblical Worship Rev. 4:9-11
Corporate worship began
to develop at the Exodus and at
Exodus 15 is one of the earliest songs. It was written by Moses’ sister,
Miriam, and Moses and the children of
[1] “…I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He
has hurled into the sea.
[2] The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my
God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him.
[3] The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name.
[4] Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the
[5] The deeps cover them; They went down into
the depths like a stone.
[6] Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the
enemy.
[7] And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise
up against You; You send forth Your burning anger, {and} it consumes them as
chaff….”
The content is rich and profound and it is not repetitive. There are
some psalms where there is repetition, but they are sung antiphonally.
David developed the organized corporate worship in terms of the music
that takes place in the temple worship. God would not let him build the temple
but he knew that Solomon would, so he prepared for the building of the temple.
There is no divine revelation given about the music or about that portion of
the worship, that was a product of man’s response to God but it was done within
a biblical divine viewpoint framework. God gave specific instructions about all
of the ritual, how it was to take place and what the priests would do, but then
part of we do as creatures in the image of God is reflect that aspect of being
creators ourselves. We imitate God in creativeness, but that creativeness isn’t
done without boundaries. So what we are creating should reflect what God has
created. That means there is complexity here. It reflects principles of unity
and diversity. That would be true of the music as well as the words. It is not
trite, not trivial. It may be simple but not simplistic. It has rich content to
it and it can function at different levels.
In 1 Chronicles 23 David is organizing the Levitical priests into how
they are going to serve the Lord in the temple. That is a principle that comes
from God, that things should be done in an orderly manner because God is an
orderly God, that is reflected in creation.
1 Chronicles 23:4 NASB “Of these, 24,000 were to oversee the
work of the house of the LORD; and 6,000 {were} officers and judges, [5] and 4,000
{were} gatekeepers, and 4,000 {were} praising the LORD with the instruments which
David made for giving praise. [6] David divided them into divisions according
to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath,
and Merari.” What this goes on to describe is that
there are 4000 in this choir and they have instruments, a huge orchestra. They
sing in various parts in harmony to the Lord. So this isn’t just a chant, some
sort of primitive music, this is a well-structured orchestra that is singing in
a way that involves practice, thought, effort, and excellence. That is what
should characterize worship.
Music
in the Scriptures
1) Music, like every other
aspect of creation, began in the mind of God.
2) Music preceded the
creation of man and was an integral aspect of angelic worship in eternity past.
Job 38:4-7.
3) Lucifer, prior to
the fall, was a master musician. Ezekiel 28:13 NASB “…the
workmanship of your settings and sockets [timbrals
and pipes], Was in you.” There are different translations on that but the word
“timbrels” is the Hebrew word top,
and it means a hand drum or tamborine. It is used
also in Exodus 15:20. The second word has a debated meaning. It primarily means
something which has been pierced, something with holes in it, so it seems to
imply some sort of instrument with holes in it, probably a wind instrument.
4) The first mention
of music in the Scriptures is in Genesis
We have to remember that the focal point of worship is always on the
Lord Jesus Christ, as we see in Revelation chapter five, because He is the one
who is worthy to redeem us. Worship focuses on who God is in terms of His
character, and what He has done in terms of deliverance.