Spurgeon on music in worship

Bill Moore

If you want to venture into contentious and

acrimonious debates, bring up music in worship.
The past three or four decades have witnessed
much heat and, too often, little light when it
comes to the “worship wars.” Contemporary
versus traditional, choruses versus hymns, types
of musical instruments allowed or none at all,
praise bands or choirs—these are among the
disagreements concerning music during corporate
worship.
A good deal of the discussion centers upon the
reason for having music during the church’s
corporate worship. Those who favor contemporary
music deem that it better connects with the
culture. They see it as an evangelistic tool. And,
frankly, I think a lot of churches have adopted
praise teams with their contemporary music
because of the “cool” factor.
If we allow Scripture to guide us, we will be hard
pressed to justify music during worship as an
evangelistic tool. Worship, by its very definition, is
that which is done by Christians. The purpose of
the church’s gathering is not to evangelize
unbelievers. The purpose is to worship God. And
being attractive to the world should be the least
of our concerns.
Unbelievers do attend worship services of local
churches, but Paul indicated that such attenders
comprised a small minority (1 Corinthians 14:23).
Some churches which are so enthralled with
contemporary music would do well to understand
that the idea is not new and has been opposed by
godly leaders in the past. Charles Spurgeon,
writing during the latter-half to the nineteenth
century, commented: “I hardly like to hear the
high praises of God sung to the tune of a comic
song or of a dance. There is a certain congruity
about things that must be observed, and some
good music may have associated with it such
queer ideas that we had better let it alone till
those associations have died out, lest, while we
are uttering holy words, some people may be
reminded by the tune of unholy things.”
Because worship is a corporate exercise, the
highest form of singing is congregational. Choirs
can be edifying, and I appreciate the
extraordinary time and effort which Claire and our
choir give toward worship, but choirs are not
essential. (Please don’t stone me!) Congregational
singing, though, is essential. Charles Spurgeon
put it this way: “I am afraid that where organs,
choirs, and singing men and women are left to do
the praise of the congregation, men’s minds are
more occupied with the due performance of the
music than with the Lord, who alone is to be
praised. God’s house is meant to be sacred unto
himself, but too often it is made an opera house,
and Christians form an audience, not an adoring
assembly. We come not together to amuse
ourselves, to display our powers of melody, or our
aptness in creating harmony. We come to pay our
adoration at the footstool of the great King, to
whom alone be glory forever and ever.”
I found it interesting, while listening to some
sermons from a particularly large evangelical
church in Cardiff, Wales, that the pastor or
whoever may be preaching simply announced the
hymn, the organ began playing, and the
congregation sang. An American friend who was
converted to Christ at that church told me the
congregational singing was an incredible thing to
behold. I wonder at times whether we have
subconsciously relegated singing to a few
talented folks. Singing is the church’s joy.
Spurgeon put it this way: “Do we sing as much as
the birds do? Yet what have birds to sing about,
compared with us? Do we sing as much as the
angels do? Yet they were never redeemed by the
blood of Christ. Birds of the air, shall you excel
me? Angels, shall you exceed me? You have done
so, but I intend to emulate you, and day by day,
and night by night, pour forth my soul in sacred
song.”
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing one another in all
wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God”
(Colossians 3:16).