BrettLemke
Puritan Board Freshman
Hello brothers and sisters,
[EDIT] I realize I really have two questions in this post so please note some restructuring!
1. I need some help regarding some things that were said in our small group dinner conversation last night regarding proper biblical worship. A story was related of a family of "TR's," "crazy, whackjob, nutty, pharisaical folks" that would always complain about worship and the regulative principle. Apparently, the final straw for this family was at an evening Lord's Day service an interpretive dance was offered to which this family said enough is enough and left the church. The response of the gathered was basically good riddance to those weirdos. First I am grieved that this even happened since these brothers and sisters were basically standing in judgment on other brothers and sisters, second I felt personally ostracized since I do hold to the RPW and the pattern of worship taught in Scripture and summarized in the WCF and have made no secret of my adherence to it. [EDIT]Can someone please offer some advice regarding approaching my brothers and sisters in regards to slandering other brothers and sisters with whom there is disagreement? I think Romans 14 has much wisdom for me, other insight is appreciated!
2. I am not EP at this point, though I lean very close to it, and some of these things, while not said in charity and love, have caused me to go back and make sure the ground I stand on is solid. So this of course got me to thinking, and in the words of LaFou is a "dangerous pastime" of mine.
The objections that were made:
1. Davidic Dancing
in 2 Samuel 6 David dances while bringing the Ark into Jerusalem. Since David danced and offered sacrifices we therefore can too! Psalm 149 comes to mind here, how best should we interpret the call to dance unto the praise of the Lord? My first intuition is to say that this Psalm does not directly speak to public worship, but I am unsure. Please help me here!
2. Sing a New Song in Psalm 149
this one I'm having a hard time with, the Hebrew intimates a song that has never been heard before, or a 'fresh' song. It seems to lead in the direction of uninspired songs, at least those opposing EP and a more rigorous defense of the RPW will stand on this and Psalm 150. Please help me here.
3. Psalm 150 and instruments
I will also reference Psalm 90 here as well as I am struggling to understand this one too. If the superscript of Ps. 90 is inspired, 'a song for the Sabbath' it seems to intimate that instruments in worship was not explicitly tied to the ceremonial system. Since we seem to have a positive command to praise and worship with instruments, how best do we reason for the exclusion of instruments in worship? Again, some exegetical help here! I know in Hebrews the writer speaks of worshipping with the 'fruit of the lips' and Paul says to [my formulation] 'sing to the Lord with melody as though plucking the strings of your heart' [Eph 5:19] (trying to relate psallo to the command). I also understand David's restructuring worship for the temple and the example of Hezekiah in 1 Chron. 29? as giving the exegetical basis for locking up instruments under the ceremonial system, though I am not fully convinced of this yet. Can someone please correct and further teach me how to look at these texts?
[EDIT] Please help me with some exegetical insight into these passages to further help sharpen and refine my understanding of RPW and EP respectively.
All in all, before I mount a defense of the RPW and what the Lord has commended to us as proper worship in his Word, I want to have the Lord's commands firmly in my mind. I would appreciate any help, feedback and guidance on this issue that you may have. As it is, I am already too 'TR' for some of this group of well-meaning brothers and sisters. But I do not believe that they argue on the basis of Scripture, but on tradition, asceticism, beauty and personal taste which is no-standard in judging worship. [Col 2]
grace and peace,
Brett
[EDIT] I realize I really have two questions in this post so please note some restructuring!
1. I need some help regarding some things that were said in our small group dinner conversation last night regarding proper biblical worship. A story was related of a family of "TR's," "crazy, whackjob, nutty, pharisaical folks" that would always complain about worship and the regulative principle. Apparently, the final straw for this family was at an evening Lord's Day service an interpretive dance was offered to which this family said enough is enough and left the church. The response of the gathered was basically good riddance to those weirdos. First I am grieved that this even happened since these brothers and sisters were basically standing in judgment on other brothers and sisters, second I felt personally ostracized since I do hold to the RPW and the pattern of worship taught in Scripture and summarized in the WCF and have made no secret of my adherence to it. [EDIT]Can someone please offer some advice regarding approaching my brothers and sisters in regards to slandering other brothers and sisters with whom there is disagreement? I think Romans 14 has much wisdom for me, other insight is appreciated!
2. I am not EP at this point, though I lean very close to it, and some of these things, while not said in charity and love, have caused me to go back and make sure the ground I stand on is solid. So this of course got me to thinking, and in the words of LaFou is a "dangerous pastime" of mine.
The objections that were made:
1. Davidic Dancing
in 2 Samuel 6 David dances while bringing the Ark into Jerusalem. Since David danced and offered sacrifices we therefore can too! Psalm 149 comes to mind here, how best should we interpret the call to dance unto the praise of the Lord? My first intuition is to say that this Psalm does not directly speak to public worship, but I am unsure. Please help me here!
2. Sing a New Song in Psalm 149
this one I'm having a hard time with, the Hebrew intimates a song that has never been heard before, or a 'fresh' song. It seems to lead in the direction of uninspired songs, at least those opposing EP and a more rigorous defense of the RPW will stand on this and Psalm 150. Please help me here.
3. Psalm 150 and instruments
I will also reference Psalm 90 here as well as I am struggling to understand this one too. If the superscript of Ps. 90 is inspired, 'a song for the Sabbath' it seems to intimate that instruments in worship was not explicitly tied to the ceremonial system. Since we seem to have a positive command to praise and worship with instruments, how best do we reason for the exclusion of instruments in worship? Again, some exegetical help here! I know in Hebrews the writer speaks of worshipping with the 'fruit of the lips' and Paul says to [my formulation] 'sing to the Lord with melody as though plucking the strings of your heart' [Eph 5:19] (trying to relate psallo to the command). I also understand David's restructuring worship for the temple and the example of Hezekiah in 1 Chron. 29? as giving the exegetical basis for locking up instruments under the ceremonial system, though I am not fully convinced of this yet. Can someone please correct and further teach me how to look at these texts?
[EDIT] Please help me with some exegetical insight into these passages to further help sharpen and refine my understanding of RPW and EP respectively.
All in all, before I mount a defense of the RPW and what the Lord has commended to us as proper worship in his Word, I want to have the Lord's commands firmly in my mind. I would appreciate any help, feedback and guidance on this issue that you may have. As it is, I am already too 'TR' for some of this group of well-meaning brothers and sisters. But I do not believe that they argue on the basis of Scripture, but on tradition, asceticism, beauty and personal taste which is no-standard in judging worship. [Col 2]
grace and peace,
Brett
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