EP and Sunday school?????

[ChristopherPaul]

Chris,

This is reassuring. I thought you were playing a mind game with me the other day. Sort of like the Humpty Dumpty character in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in a statement regarding defining of terms.

I agree. What you are describing I have seen referred to as "abundant Psalmody" as opposed to EP.

Make sense?

Jay

Sorry brother, no this doesn't make sense.

No mind games. I have not heard of any EPer boycotting all non-Psalms, nor do any of the EPers I know do such.

 

[jaybird0827]

Sorry brother, no this doesn't make sense.

No mind games. I have not heard of any EPer boycotting all non-Psalms, nor do any of the EPers I know do such.

Certainly I am aware of the "EP" stereotypes, and I've been there myself. But I wish you wouldn't think of this as a "boycott". There really are some of us who become so accustomed to singing the Psalms, that we find our appreciation of them increasing and improving over time - and ourselves devoting more energy to familiarizing with them or learning them by heart.

 

[ChristopherPaul]

Certainly I am aware of the "EP" stereotypes, and I've been there myself. But I wish you wouldn't think of this as a "boycott". There really are some of us who become so accustomed to singing the Psalms, that we find our appreciation of them increasing and improving over time - and ourselves devoting more energy to familiarizing with them or learning them by heart.

Understood and appreciated; however, I do not think anyone must hold to such a position in order to be truly EP, nor do I see any command to do such.

As to the original post, although some choose to never sing anything else in praise and exhortation other than the Psalms (i.e. Jay), the saints are permitted to sing uninspired confessions and prayers outside of the formal worship assembly of the saints. If this is not a true statement, then I would appreciate someone guiding Stephen and myself to truth through Scriptural direction.

 

[bradofshaw]

What I'm seeing in this thread is that some seem to believe that God has not only prohibited the use of man-penned songs in worship, but also prohibits men from penning songs of praise or of a spiritual nature for any occasion. Be patient with me, I'm thinking this through, but I'm having trouble accepting the logic.

I am allowed to write a dissertation on God's glory.

I am allowed to create a catechism in order to summarize doctrine and instruct my family and others in the truths of the word.

I am allowed to speak to my neighbor of who God is, tell them the story of Jesus, testify to his work in my life, and many other things from scripture and the history of the church.

The moment I put any of those into song form, I have offered up strange fire to God, whether I do them in corporate worship, or in private meditation. In other words, I am allowed to offer words of praise in written or oral form, both within and outside of public worship, but I may not ever offer these same words in melodic form under any circumstances.

Where do the scriptures teach that the Psalms hold the monopoly on musical compositions? Are we to assume that the only Psalms that were written and sung in the OT all made it into the book of Psalms? As I understand the idea of inspiration, we hold that the Bible was written through the gifts and ideas of normal men, guided fully by the spirit, but not "beamed in" directly necessarily. Should we expect that the men that David commissioned to write music for the temple worship all only produced inspired works? Otherwise, David commissioned men to sin by penning "strange fire" that could not be offered to the Lord in any way.

At this point it becomes evident that there is something inherent in the song form itself that is sacred, magical, or even enchanted it seems. That is the impression I am getting. Are we going to define music as solely an act of worship? At this point, all secular music seems like it should be ruled out, as it would be taking something that is inherently an act of worship and perverting it for worldly ends.

...

Am I missing something?

 

[fredtgreco]

What I'm seeing in this thread is that some seem to believe that God has not only prohibited the use of man-penned songs in worship, but also prohibits men from penning songs of praise or of a spiritual nature for any occasion. Be patient with me, I'm thinking this through, but I'm having trouble accepting the logic.

I am allowed to write a dissertation on God's glory.

I am allowed to create a catechism in order to summarize doctrine and instruct my family and others in the truths of the word.

I am allowed to speak to my neighbor of who God is, tell them the story of Jesus, testify to his work in my life, and many other things from scripture and the history of the church.

The moment I put any of those into song form, I have offered up strange fire to God, whether I do them in corporate worship, or in private meditation. In other words, I am allowed to offer words of praise in written or oral form, both within and outside of public worship, but I may not ever offer these same words in melodic form under any circumstances.

Where do the scriptures teach that the Psalms hold the monopoly on musical compositions? Are we to assume that the only Psalms that were written and sung in the OT all made it into the book of Psalms? As I understand the idea of inspiration, we hold that the Bible was written through the gifts and ideas of normal men, guided fully by the spirit, but not "beamed in" directly necessarily. Should we expect that the men that David commissioned to write music for the temple worship all only produced inspired works? Otherwise, David commissioned men to sin by penning "strange fire" that could not be offered to the Lord in any way.

At this point it becomes evident that there is something inherent in the song form itself that is sacred, magical, or even enchanted it seems. That is the impression I am getting. Are we going to define music as solely an act of worship? At this point, all secular music seems like it should be ruled out, as it would be taking something that is inherently an act of worship and perverting it for worldly ends.

...

Am I missing something?

That's because Jay's position makes no sense, and that is why he started to back away from "you can never sing hymns" to "I really appreciate the Psalms."

 

[jaybird0827]

That's because Jay's position makes no sense, and that is why he started to back away from "you can never sing hymns" to "I really appreciate the Psalms."

Thank you, Pastor Greco. I guess I've blown it again but you seem to have the knack for filling in the gaps I've left out, understanding what I was trying to address, etc. I doubt there's anything further I can contribute here. My "think before you post" skills need improvement going forward. C'ya.