In the 19th century, the evangelist Charles Finney, known for creating the invitational system, changed how music was sung in Church. Music was no longer in praise of God but a means to draw individuals to the front to make public professions. This model has become the predominant means of worship in the Church today.
Finney observes the following:
To produce a spirit of renewal and revival, “God has found it necessary to take advantage of the excitability there is in mankind, to produce powerful excitements among them, before he can lead them to obey.” He argued, “There must be excitement sufficient to wake up the dormant moral powers.” (ST, Finney).
Music was utilitarian for Finney. “How can I draw people to God through their emotions and tears?” rather than “How can we adore the Triune God?” There is a fundamental difference. One recent theologian was perplexed by how modern Americans read their Bibles. Instead of asking, “What does the text mean?” we ask, “What does it mean to me?” We have become self-interpreters. We have become fascinated with the way something affects us. And if it doesn’t fit my style, I will find something else. We have divided the evangelical church into “Traditional vs. Contemporary.” In other words, if you are between the ages of 20 and 45, you are encouraged to visit our contemporary service, and if you are older, please attend our traditional service at 11.
We have segregated the evangelical church into preferences. Now, there are things preferential in the Church: the color of chairs, curtains, bagels, etc. Nevertheless, we have applied that principle to issues the Bible has already spoken. Worship must be regulated according to God’s holy word. This applies especially to the place our children play in worship. When the contemporary church asks: “Why do our children suddenly decide to worship elsewhere when they are older instead of mom and dad’s church?” The answer is that we have segregated our children for so long that they logically want to be separated from us. They have grown accustomed to worshiping apart from us. We have treated children as if they are a separate corpus. Thus, we have relativized the role of music.
Church music is for the whole man. It’s for the equipping of the complete man from infancy to the aged. History is made up of happy major chords and sad minor chords. It is a story of joy and sorrow. Therefore, our music must reflect the vitality and the deep anguish of the Scriptures.
Biblical Church music should be reverential, joyful, exuberant, shout-worthy, mournful, lamentable, and war-like. Music dresses us in priestly garments (Eph. 6:10-20). It ought to shape our way of thinking about everything. Church music ought to appeal to you and your children.
In Psalm 8, God says I have declared my praise from the mouths of infants. You should sing a hymn and then say, “I am more aware of who God is because of what I have just sung.” You should have Psalms 2, 98, and 110 going through your minds as you work from Monday through Friday. They communicate God’s plans for his people and his promises to deliver them from evil. God’s hymns need to take you back to when you were ill, and God rescued you, when a loved one was diagnosed with cancer, and God poured grace and mercy. God’s music needs to take you to his works on your behalf. You need music that elevates the power of God from a magical figure to the magnificent creator of every star and planet, God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is a distinctness to corporate worship music. In other words, what you sing with God’s people on Lord’s Day worship should sound very different than workout or wedding reception music.
In the Temple, Yahweh God made its worship entirely different from anything outside. This was one way God kept Israel separate from the other nations. Music is not preferential. It is God-rendered. We sing; therefore, we are what God wants us to be.
