# The Name of Jesus



## Preach (Jan 25, 2006)

I am studying the EP argument for the first time. I have read quite a bit on both sides of the issue, to include the threads. I am not trying to start another EP thread. I have a legitimate question for the EP advocates.

Before I ask the question, I want to qualify it by saying I find myself leaning one way and then another. I know this question is more on the emotional side, but it has come up in the articles/comments by anti-EP advocates. Here it is:

If I hold to the EP position, can I sing the Name Jesus during a corporate worship service? 
Thanks,
Bobby


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Jan 26, 2006)

I do not think that this is an argument that holds water, especially in the light of the fact that 1) we are commanded to sing psalms regardless of what words we would like to included in our song praise and 2) Jesus himself sang psalms without, I am sure, feeling slighted in the least. 

Here are some comments on this issue from selected writers:

Brian Schwertley:



> III. Psalm Singers Can´t Sing the Name of Jesus Argument
> 
> One of the most popular arguments against exclusive psalmody is that "œif we only sing the Psalms then we deny the church the opportunity to praise our Savior using His name as the divine"‘human mediator (Jesus)." Although many people consider this to be the strongest argument against exclusive psalmody, it in reality is nothing more than an appeal to sentimentality with no scriptural foundation. There are a number of reasons such an argument is fallacious.
> 
> ...



Covenant Protestant Reformed Fellowship:



> viii) We cannot sing the name "œJesus," if we sing the Psalms!
> 
> We answer with four initial considerations.
> 
> ...



[Edited on 1-26-2006 by VirginiaHuguenot]


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## Preach (Jan 26, 2006)

Andrew, thank you for the response. I've been reading the artciles that you linked me to for the pro-EP position. I also have been reading anti-EP articles.

Brother, I know it is an emotional argument regarding the name of Jesus. But, as I said, the reason I brought it up is many people have discussed their concerns. 

Andrew, please do not tke this the wrong way. You are one of the most highly respected members on this board. So, I ask this not to put you or any of the other EP advocates on the spot. Could you answer the following questions?: Thanks brother.

1) During corporate worship do you ever think of the name of Jesus?
2) During corporate worship do you ever say the name Jesus?
3) During corporate worship, do you ever sing the name Jesus?

If you never sing the name Jesus, would you go so far as say that it is a sin to sing that name?

Finally, with respect to the RPW, do you distinguish between corporate worship and any other time of the week? It seems that some advocates of the RPW do, and others don't. The reason I ask is if you do not make the distinction between corporate worship and any other time of the week, what would that mean for what we could sing while we walk down the street, or sing during dinner, etc?

Andrew, I appreciate your faithfulness to the Lord, and your courage to confront this issue. 
"Yours 'in Christ'",
Bobby


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Jan 26, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Preach_
> Andrew, thank you for the response. I've been reading the artciles that you linked me to for the pro-EP position. I also have been reading anti-EP articles.



Hi Bobby,

I'm glad if the articles have been of some assistance, both pro and con. May God bless your continued studies.



> Brother, I know it is an emotional argument regarding the name of Jesus. But, as I said, the reason I brought it up is many people have discussed their concerns.



Yes, I do think the argument against EP on the basis of not being able to sing the literal name "Jesus" is an appeal to emotion rather than Scripture. 



> Andrew, please do not tke this the wrong way. You are one of the most highly respected members on this board. So, I ask this not to put you or any of the other EP advocates on the spot. Could you answer the following questions?: Thanks brother.
> 
> 1) During corporate worship do you ever think of the name of Jesus?
> 2) During corporate worship do you ever say the name Jesus?
> ...



It would probably help to clarify the meaning of the phrase "name of Jesus"? If you mean the literal English word Jesus, I do not sing that precise word. If you mean do I worship Jesus in the singing of psalms, yes, I sing praises to his name every Lord's Day.

I do not speak in public worship since I am not ordained. By God's grace, I draw near to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, in my thoughts, prayers and meditations. When Jesus is referred to in the singing of the psalms or the reading of a Biblical text or in the public prayer, I do specially direct my thoughts to the Second Person of the Trinity. I do pray "in his name" even if I don't do so verbally. When I worship God the Father, I also worship God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

I do not feel that the literal name Jesus is a talisman or mystical word that must be sung for my worship to be accepted. I worship him directly and I worship the Father through him. My worship is Christ-centered. The Psalter, moreover, is full of Christ. As Augustine said, "The voice of Christ and his church is well nigh the only voice to be heard in the psalms."

If you define "name of Jesus" to be the one of whom and to whom I sing from the Psalter, yes, I sing the name of Jesus. If you define the "name of Jesus" to be the literal English rendering of the Second Person of the Trinity, then I do not sing the name of Jesus. 

The psalms alone are commanded to be sung to the praise of the Godhead. Jesus sang nothing but the psalms in worship. There is no command to sing the literal English word "Jesus" in worship. Therefore, according to the Biblical principle of worship we may not do so; but most assuredly, in the Biblical sense, I do sing of and to Jesus.



> Finally, with respect to the RPW, do you distinguish between corporate worship and any other time of the week? It seems that some advocates of the RPW do, and others don't. The reason I ask is if you do not make the distinction between corporate worship and any other time of the week, what would that mean for what we could sing while we walk down the street, or sing during dinner, etc?



I do distinguish between stated times of worship: corporate, family and private. I believe though that the RPW applies to all worship. 

The RPW is derived from the second commandment. The second commandment applies to all worship but not to all of life. It will be argued that all of life is worship but that line of argument is, I think, absurd. There is a vast difference between the principle that all of life should be devoted to the glory of God in whatever we do and the concept of the RPW of life, or RPL. Worship is a specific act, and it is the highest calling of man. Not everything we do is worship. All of our deeds and words and thoughts should be consecrated to God's glory, but worship is a distinct and separate act that is different from brushing my teeth or conversing with friends, etc. 

That being the case, I have no problem with human compositions such as poems or hymns that are written or sung or meditated upon outside of stated times of worship. Within stated times of worship, however, the RPW applies. We may not worship God except as he has commanded. That rule is not rescinded just because we are in a family or private setting. 

That said, just because the RPW applies across the board to those three types of stated worship, does not mean that fathers can preach or administer sacraments in the home. There are differences of application based on the setting. For example, women may not speak in the church, but they may speak at home. The directories for public and family worship show forth differences in application, but neither allows for singing anything but psalms.



> Andrew, I appreciate your faithfulness to the Lord, and your courage to confront this issue.
> "Yours 'in Christ'",
> Bobby



Thank you, Bobby. I hope that my comments are helpful. I appreciate the dialogue. God bless you, brother!


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Jan 26, 2006)

When thinking about worship it is important to understand the dominion of Christ over all things. Christ is King over our worship and ordains all the means by which it is to be done, including what is to be sung. David, as a type of Christ our King, composed all the songs of worship for Israel directly (or had oversight over ones that were included in the Psalter indirectly - he had the last word, cf. Chronicles), and therefore was acting as a type of Christ who would serve the same function in the New Testament age. The Psalms are 100% the Word of Christ, and therefore serve no problem in being implemented in NT worship. We are 'allowing' God to worship Himself through us and our singing. Christ is King over worship and the songs used, and to sing His songs offers no violence to His divinity or worthiness to be praised. Jesus is not a different God than Yahweh, to which the Psalms are addressed. Christ is acting as our mediator through the words of the Psalms to bring us into a position of offering worthy praise to God the Father, by the Word of Christ, and from the heart that has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Jan 26, 2006)

Calvin put this way in his preface to the Genevan Psalter:



> What is there now to do? It is to have songs not only honest, but also holy, which will be like spurs to incite us to pray to and praise God, and to meditate upon his works in order to love, fear, honor and glorify him. Moreover, that which St. Augustine has said is true, that no one is able to sing things worthy of God except that which he has received from him. Therefore, when we have looked thoroughly, and searched here and there, we shall not find better songs nor more fitting for the purpose, than the Psalms of David, which the Holy Spirit spoke and made through him. And moreover, when we sing them, we are certain that God puts in our mouths these, as if he himself were singing in us to exalt his glory.


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