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Why Do We Sing the Songs We Sing?

The Pastoral Ministry of Song Selection

Song selection for worship is a pastoral ministry of the Word. It is a big deal which words are placed in the mouth of our congregation through which we sing praise to God and edify one another. Musical worship serves the greater purpose of our liturgy as we walk through the Gospel arc and anticipate and respond to the preached Word (see last month's article The Gospel Flow of Biblical Worship). Songs have a way of continuing to minister to us throughout the week and throughout our lives. Good lyrics matched with good melodies stick with us. They guide us, teach us, and comfort us. Of course, God is the real Guide, Teacher, and Comforter. But he has long been pleased to provide his people with songs as a vehicle of his ministry. Music is one of the best tools for delighting in and storing up God's word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11, 16) that we might be transformed into all-of-life worshippers (Rom. 12:1-2). So, we should be intentional and discerning of the songs we sing while guarding against the temptation to become overly critical, recognizing the artfulness of the medium of music.

Characteristics of a good congregational song

Biblically Robust - The song is filled with biblical terms, phrases, and imagery, and the overall message is consistent with the truths of Scripture.

Theologically Clear - The song poetically expresses Christian theology in a way that is clear, understandable, and accurate.

Lyrically Rich - The lyrics are artfully vivid, soulfully expressive, and have depth, whether the words are many or few.

Musically Moving - The musical tone matches the lyrical tone, and responsibly engages the emotions (joy, adoration, lament, repentance, Gospel embrace).

Singable - Most of the notes are in a comfortable range for most of the congregation (low A-high D), so that men, women, and children can participate.

Expansive - High points in the song may stretch vocal ability, but this is intentional and not wearisome.

Simple - The lyrics, rhythm, and melody are well crafted and simple enough to catch on to after one or two exposures.

Memorable - And yet the song is interesting, unique, and cohesive that it may be memorable, serving the transformative impact of a biblically rich song.

The Gospel Flow of Biblical Worship

Planning Worship Services

Have you ever wondered how we go about planning our weekly worship services? Consistent with a Reformed theology of worship, we focus on a steady diet of the ordinary means of grace: Word, Sacrament, and Prayer. This is the call of God to worship him in the way he has prescribed and graciously invited us to do so. In our liturgy, we seek to infuse every element of worship with the Word of God. We read the Word, sing the Word, pray the Word, preach the Word, and “see” the Word (in the visible Sacraments). In this Bible-centered dialogue between God and his people, we receive his Word and give it back to him and one another. As God’s Word directs our worship, each week we structure the service to reflect the flow of the Gospel, the grand narrative of Redemption. As we walk through this framework, the sermon passage gives us the particular verbiage and themes to highlight. I like to think of weekly worship planning at this intersection of the Gospel framework and the sermon passage. This keeps our liturgical flow anchored in the Gospel while we explore a diversity of themes directed by the exposition of Scripture.

Mapping it out

The horizontal axis reflects the Gospel Arc in both the content and our proper response. In this way our service order walks through the Gospel Narrative of Creation > Fall > Redemption > Consummation. This calls for our responses of praise, adoration, confession, lament, faith, repentance, assurance, thanksgiving, and commitment. The elements of worship reflecting this flow will help us keep this trajectory in view and tell the story of Gospel. We see this general pattern in the broad Scriptural message, as well as passages like Isaiah 6, Deuteronomy 5, Romans 11-15, and Revelation 4-21. Generally, we start with a praise-oriented call to worship and first song. In light of God's holiness, we recognize our sin, so we sing songs, read Scripture, and pray to confess our sin and cry out for God's mercy. Focusing on the grace of salvation, we sing of the work of Christ on the cross and his glorious resurrection. Then we receive God's Word preached, respond through feasting on and with Christ in the Lord's Supper, which prepares us for a final song of sending and commitment, followed by God's blessing in the benediction.

The vertical axis seeks to locate the Gospel message using the specific focus of the sermon passage. Because of the richness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the sermon passage may lead us to focus on a variety of different aspects from week-to-week, such as God's law, our sin, the life, cross, and resurrection of Christ, walking by faith, living as God's witnesses to the world, and the hope of glory. So, our elements of worship will reflect the particular theme God is pointing us to in his Word. It is our prayer that this intentionality in worship planning will help us feast on God's Word, that it may take root and bear fruit in our lives.