As we sing psalms and historic hymns today, both in
our hymn sing and worship service, it is helpful to
reflect on what many in the modern western church
might consider our “odd” choice in musical style. Can
we not simply “get with the times?”
Music and musical style reflects very much our view of worship and the God whom we serve. What does our music say about our worship? What does it say about God? Who is the music for? While worship music can certainly be a benefit to us and lift our spirits or console us in times of sorrow, it is primarily music for God — it is something which we offer to Him. How we feel about it apart from that line of thinking is not very relevant. And this is but one of the reasons we don’t croon modern worship lyrics.
The hymns and psalms we sing are robust, designed for congregations, connect us to the history of our faith, and have permanence to last the ages. We also emphasize singing the psalms — God’s song book. The psalms were written by those who came before us in the faith like David, Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and more. We worship the unchanging God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we worship robustly, and we worship as a congregation, lifting up our voices as many parts, but one voice. As you sing with your brothers and sisters today, do so as an offering of worship to God, recognizing you sing with the saints through the ages.