Wise Worship in the Church

God values our worship! To prove it, He gave us the book of Psalms which is the biggest book in the Bible. It consists of 150 songs and poems by which we can express the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of our spiritual life. The psalms are God’s gift to us. And singing them is our gift to Him.

We know from His deeds that the Lord is awesome. We know from His Word that He is wise. And we know from His Spirit that He is near to us. We have every reason to praise God!

Jesus uses our worship to disciple us in two ways. First, when we sing to God, we direct our hearts to the One worthy of all our attention. Through worship, we train ourselves to prioritize the Lord. He Who is the center of our salvation becomes the center of our contemplation and behavior. Worship helps us to orient ourselves around our God and King.

Second, worship instructs us. We learn more about God’s thoughts and ways as we dedicate ourselves to Him. When we celebrate Jesus, He rewards us by revealing His heart to us.

If we intend to grow as disciples, we can’t neglect worship. It not only draws us closer to Christ, it also educates us.

It’s easy to separate worship and preaching; those are two different parts of a typical church service.

But the apostle Paul blends praise and proclamation.

Here are three examples.

“What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification.” – 1 Corinthians 14:26

“Be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord” – Ephesians 5:18b-19

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” – Colossians 3:16

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul was dealing with problems Christians were having over the use of spiritual gifts in their gatherings. The apostle recognized the diversity of gifts, but he wanted believers to act on them for the benefit of the church. People were either favoring certain gifts or else promoting themselves as they exercised their gifts. Neither option was acceptable to Paul. When the body of Christ comes together, everyone has a blessing to contribute to others.

The spiritual gifts Paul lists in verse 26 are verbal; he’s not discussing operations like miracles or faith. He has communicative gifts in mind, but he starts with a psalm. In this context, psalms are educational. They have the ability to instruct the saints and strengthen their walk with Jesus.

Paul emphasizes the pedagogical potential of worship songs in Ephesians and Colossians. In Ephesians, Paul points to the Holy Spirit as the wellspring of the church’s worship, while in Colossians, he stresses the Word as the source.

It’s clear these passages are talking about worship. Paul mentions “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” He also mentions “singing.” And he ends each passage with a reference to the Lord God. We are to praise and honor the One who saved us through Jesus Christ. That’s what worship is about.

 But Paul’s concern for the growth of the church won’t quit. Even when we’re singing to the Lord, we’re also speaking to, teaching, and admonishing each other.

When we worship Jesus, we have to care about what He cares about. And what He cares about is people. Especially His people!

So we must take care to sing songs that edify souls. Our worship has two audiences: the Lord and the people. God deserves our honor and believers need our encouragement. Through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, we can bless both.

This is the wisdom of worship.

And for it, I’m thankful!