Romans922
Puritan Board Professor
The other thread was closed down, but the discussion can still continue. Please don't talk about if it is sin or not. Let's have iron sharpen iron here.
In the other thread, Philip mentioned two Psalms (Ps 33:3, 96:1) that mention singing a 'new song' for reason enough to sing hymns in public worship and I responded,
Philip responded to me in a personal message (after the thread closed) and has given permission to republish it here so we can continue discussing. He said,
In the other thread, Philip mentioned two Psalms (Ps 33:3, 96:1) that mention singing a 'new song' for reason enough to sing hymns in public worship and I responded,
First, I might ask, are the Psalms prescriptive or descriptive? Second, I might ask, if these passages are in context of public worship or daily life. Most Psalms are of daily life, prayers to the Lord, etc. Third, are any of the Psalms you chose to mention in the context of public worship? Fourth, if in the context of public worship, are they not in the context of temple worship, of which Christ has fulfilled in His sacrifice? Fifth, if you believe these passages are prescriptive for us, then you must...it seems...take Psalm 150 as prescriptive, in which case you must in public worship praise God with trumpets, lutes, harps, tambourines, strings, pipe, cymbals (which are very loud by the way), and you must also have dancing in public worship. Notice the context of Ps. 150, "Praise the Lord, Praise God in his sanctuary..." At the very least, based on what you said, you must allow for these things to take place in public worship. If so, you would be outside the historic practice (even recent history) of presbyterianism
Philip responded to me in a personal message (after the thread closed) and has given permission to republish it here so we can continue discussing. He said,
I would answer your initial question with a resounding "yes." We have to affirm them as prescriptive at least in the sense that they give us examples of appropriate worship. If I'm going to sing "praise Him with the stringed instrument" in a worship service, then I'd better affirm that doing so in practice would be appropriate. The oversimplification of "if it's not commanded, it's forbidden," is wrong: the true principle is that we cannot bind the consciences of believers beyond the teaching of Scripture---we cannot, in our worship, do so in ways that go beyond what is commanded or allowed in Scripture.
As for specific instruments, if it were written today it might say "praise him with the piano and guitar." It's a cultural reference.
And I think our Korean Brethren (the largest Reformed body in the world, so I'm told) might beg to differ on this point---the future of Reformed Theology is in Asia.
This is my understanding, driven, no doubt, by the practice I've seen in the most faithful churches I have attended.