Would it perhaps have some symbolic meaning that the Bible speaks of a “new song” in nine (three times three) instances? The Old Testament mentions it seven times and in five of these there is a clear call: “Sing to the Lord a new song.” Throughout the ages this encouragement has not fallen on deaf ears, as in various situations, numerous songs have been composed and sung. Time and again Christians continue to find reasons to praise and worship God.

Often this praise did not happen literally with new songs, but more often with old familiar songs. That certainly applies to songs that are sung in the liturgy. In Reformed Protestantism there has been some controversy for several centuries in regard to whether you can sing new songs in the church service in addition to the psalms (the biblical book in which we especially hear the call to sing a new song).

To this day, the song repertoire in a number of church denominations is limited to the 150 rhymed psalms and a few hymns. Other groups have extended their treasury of songs either some time ago or more recently. It is especially in these churches that one can hear regular discussions taking place about which songs are and which are not desired in the church service.

Whatever songs are sung in the liturgy, it is good when one occasionally pays attention to such essential questions as “Why do we actually sing songs?” and “What is their function?”

A common answer is that songs express people’s thoughts and feelings. Or that you can convey messages via a song. And of course, this is all true. In this article, however, I want to explore what functions the song (or “the singing”) has in Scripture. Based on this, we will then turn to the question of how the song functions in the church services.

Remembering God’s Words and Deeds⤒🔗

The essence of the church service can be formulated as bringing into remembrance the deeds of God. In this way you can describe the central place of the church song in general. Songs from Scripture are inconceivable without God’s words and deeds. You can think of songs in which God is praised as the Creator of heaven and earth, and as Saviour from Egypt.

In the New Testament, God’s deeds reach a climax in the works of Christ and the Spirit. Since then, the interaction between God and his people has been determined by the redemption given us in Christ. In our song the deeds of God are recalled. They are presented as acts of Yahweh, who is and was the same for his people, yesterday and today (see, for example, Psalm 102:28; Isaiah 41:4; 43:10). Scripture reveals that in her song, the church is actively engaged in remembering God’s deeds and words from the past in view of the present and the future.

There are many songs in the Bible that can be cited for clarification. Let us take Psalm 74 as an example. In this psalm Asaph laments the fact that the enemy used brute force in God’s house. The house is in ruins (verses 3-8). The poet then commemorates the work of God’s redemption from the past (verses 12-17). On the basis of this, God is asked to remember the mockery of the enemy, the blemish that they cause to the reputation of his name. The poet therefore begs God to act and to regard his covenant. He does all this for the restoration of the honour of God’s name: “Let the poor and needy praise your name” (verse 21).

Imbued with Scripture←⤒🔗

We know God, and his actions that must be brought to mind, from the Bible. In the relationship between God and his people, Scripture occupies a central place. There God has revealed who he is, what his name means, and what his actions are.

It is therefore self-evident that words and notions from Scripture determine a church song. A good church song is imbued with the Scriptures. Anyone who commemorates God’s deeds automatically places his Word at the centre. That was already the case in the New Testament: the canticles of Mary, of Zechariah and Simeon are inconceivable without the “law and the Prophets.” The songs in the Revelation to John also open up the Old Testament.

As an example, we can also point to the close relationship between the hymn of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10) and the Magnificat, the hymn of Mary (Luke 1:46-55). From the song of Mary, it appears that she knew her Bible and that she placed the Word at the centre of her song, opening up the Scriptures. It is no different with Zechariah and Simeon.

From the above you can conclude as a general principle that the church song is not rooted in the believing person, but in Scripture. A good church song is anchored in the Word and not in what man may want to put into words in response to the Word. In the church song God’s Word is central, and not man’s response. A church song is determined by the Word and not by a person’s faith experiences and feelings. Man and his religious experiences—however scripturally these experiences are expressed—cannot constitute the centre in the church song repertoire.

As a clarification you can compare the church song with a window. A window serves to allow light to come in and to be able to look outside. You can only look outside through a window when light falls through from the outside. When it is dark outside and light inside, the window becomes like a mirror and we only see ourselves sitting in the room.

Likewise, the song has as its primary function to allow the light to shine in (meaning, to remember God’s deeds). That is the first requirement if we want to be able to look outside. If the starting point is not the “remembering of God’s deeds,” a song will be nothing more than an introspection of a religiously moved person: the song reflects the singer.

A prerequisite for a song that has to function as a church hymn is that the focus is in the right place: the church sings in its song of God, as he has made himself known in his Word and works. In a church song, everything is subject to God’s Word and the remembrance of his actions. This also applies to personal experiences and feelings that are expressed only in that light. Here too, Scripture clearly indicates the direction.

Many examples can be cited from the Bible that illustrate this. In Psalm 77 the composer complains that it appears as if God has turned away from him and all the people. In verses 1-9, the poet expresses his feelings when he thinks back to the “days of old.” Yet these notions are not the centre of the song. Looking at verses 5 and 7, it is already clear that the poet is speaking against the background of the covenant that God has made with his people. This is even more prominent in verses 11-20, in which the poet commemorates the past with different eyes and points to the deliverance from Egypt and the journey through the wilderness.

Also in the New Testament canticles the focus is on the remembering of God’s work. Mary, for example, had plenty of reason to especially reflect on what the angel’s message meant to her. However, she places God’s deeds and his promises that will now be fulfilled at the centre. In that context she can also sing about the “great things” that the Almighty has done for her (Luke 1:49).

Because God’s words and works are at the centre of the church song, God will be thought of particularly as the person who acts. It is not the activities of man, but the activities of God that are the focus of attention.

“I Songs”←⤒🔗

When God’s name is at the centre of a song, it is generally far from objectionable when the “I” format is used in a song instead of using “we.” Some people have considered that the use of the first person singular makes such a song unsuitable as a church song because it would then be too subjective and too individualistic.

The fact that we can question this already becomes evident from the many “I songs” that occur in Scripture. In addition to the above-mentioned examples we can point to Psalms 6, 39, 42, 43, 88, and 116.

True, on the one hand it has to be kept in mind that the society of the Old Testament was essentially different from that of our more individualistic society. Each individual lived out of the realization that he/she was included in the community. “I” and “we” were (so to speak) fully interchangeable. The community could not exist without the individual. But the individual also could not be seen as separate from the community and did not want that either. Therefore, we need to read the Old Testament “I songs” from this perspective.

On the other hand, it should be noted that the close unity between the individual and the community is also assumed to be present in the church of the New Testament. Here too, “I” and “we” cannot exist without each other. The word “assembly” (ecclesia) as characteristic of the church service in the New Testament already indicates this unity.

Attention is paid to the individual because the Lord has called each person “by name.” But it is precisely because of this that it never eliminates the notion of community (see, for example, Romans 15:7; 1 Corinthians 12:12-28). As will be discussed below, it also appears from the New Testament that we relate to each other in our song.

In short, the songs from Scripture indicate that “I” and “we” cannot be positioned in opposition to each other. The individual always knows himself to be part of the community, that is, the congregation. This is true also in church songs.

Of course, there is plenty of room for individual feelings and thoughts in those songs. We encounter this fully in the psalms. However, as a condition for a church song, these notions must be immediately recognizable for the congregation as a whole. This will always be the case when the focus of a song is about the remembrance of God. Or to formulate it in a different way: when, especially in a church song, the Scripture opens up at the level in which the Scripture should be opened.

A New Testament church song is first and foremost a resonance of Scripture, of God’s salvation in Christ. That resonance must be audible and understandable. It cannot be hidden behind countless personal ideas. There lies the criterion for the question as to whether an “I song” can function as a church song.

In a church song, words, passages and notions from the Scripture will resonate that may or may not be processed personally. If all the attention in a song is on the poet or singer and it passively includes some general terms from the Bible, that does not quite turn it into a church song.

Therefore, when you talk about the danger of excessive subjectivity and individualism in the liturgical song repertoire, you need not think about the “I songs” so much. A much greater danger presents itself when the song is mainly associated with feelings, emotions and experiences of faith, with insufficient room for intellectual dimensions. This is expressed in theological extremely superficial lyrics, which consist of short snippets of praise texts that are repeated many times in succession.

We find this kind of repertoire mainly in the evangelical-charismatic music culture, which also has a lot of influence in traditional Protestant churches. In view of this influence, it is important to be aware that the song of the congregation may never get bogged down in some theological-substantive superficiality, but instead it needs to open the Scriptures.

A New Song←⤒🔗

The fact that the church song revolves around God’s name and God’s deeds also says something about (the origin of) the new song. The remembrance of God’s deeds automatically led to new songs in the Old Testament (see, for example, Psalms 33; 40; 96; 98; 144; 149; and Isaiah 42:10). The Old Testament songs especially focus on God’s deeds that he has accomplished at that time.

The fact that God in the New Testament has revealed his name in his Son, and that God’s salvation in Christ is now the centre of our offering of praise, has significance for the song of the Christian church. When the church remembers God’s deeds in its songs, it is self-evident that this also includes the New Testament deeds of God. In the New Testament church, new songs arise as the church commemorates Christ’s name and deeds.

The remembrance of Christ’s redemptive work leads us to praise and extol it. And—as is clear from Scripture—the song, as the means to express this praise, is the conduit par excellence. The existence of New Testament songs is therefore a self-evident matter in the New Testament.

We will find examples of this in the book of Revelation. It is clear that the Old Testament songs are not competing with those of the New Testament. On the contrary, in Revelation 15 the song of Moses is mentioned in the same breath as the Song of the Lamb. The fact that these are completely in line finds its basis in the fact that God is the same yesterday and today. The song of the Lamb and the song of Moses have the same content:

Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.Revelation 15:3, 4

Praise and Confess←⤒🔗

Generally speaking, singing is seen as praising God and extolling his name. Rightly so. Yet it makes sense to dig somewhat deeper into this by looking at the Scriptures.

The Bible shows that the remembering of God’s acts of salvation “automatically” leads to praise and accompanies it. For example, we can think of the many psalms in which the congregation commemorates the deeds of God in praise (Psalm 48; 77; 81; 89; 90; 105-107, and so on). God’s name is brought to mind with praise. In this way God is worshiped. You could also say: in this way his name is confessed, because the praise-inciting commemoration of God’s name presupposes that his actions are believed with the heart and confessed with the mouth.

Praise and confession cannot be seen separate from each other. Praising God means that his name is confessed. He who confesses God’s name because the Word is near to him (Romans 10:10), brings to God a sacrifice of praise: “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Hebrews 13:15).

The Hebrew word for “praising” (blessing) has everything to do with “confessing.” What the church should praise, profess, and reflect, we find briefly in, for example, Philippians 2:6-12. There we read that God has highly exalted Christ and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that “every tongue [would] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” In these words we hear the echo of Isaiah 45:23: “every tongue shall swear allegiance” (or as an alternate reading: “ …shall confess to God”). Paul quotes these words in Romans 14:11: “And every tongue shall confess [or: give praise] to God.”

The praise and the confession of the name prove not to be separate from each other. On the contrary, they presuppose each other. You praise God because his name is near (Psalm 75:1). That name must be confessed, for “the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (Romans 10:10, see Deuteronomy 30:11-14).

A Function of Proclamation←⤒🔗

When the song in the service has the function of praising God’s deeds, to confess these, this also implies that those deeds are proclaimed. The church song is a form of proclamation. In the Bible there appears to be a clear connection between praise and proclamation.

The first letter of the apostle Peter states, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). The Greek word for “proclaim” (evangeilēte) that is used here refers to the praise-filled propagation of God’s deeds with the aim that the world will hear about it and come to worship God.

Praise and proclamation go hand in hand. This is evident not only from the meaning of the Greek word for “proclaiming,” but also from various places in Scripture. Praise and proclamation are very clearly linked to each other in, for example, Psalm 22:22 (“I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you”), and in Psalm 71:15-18.

Psalm 102:18-22 speaks of the people that God will create to praise him. God will act as a deliverer, “that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord, and in Jerusalem his praise” (verse 21). Here the praise of God is mentioned in the same breath as the declaration (proclamation) of the name.

This also happens in Psalm 9:11 (“Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!”), and Psalm 51:15 (“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise”). Finally, we can mention Isaiah 12:4-5: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.”

From this and other Scriptures it becomes clear how closely related praise and proclamation are in a song. The praise of God in a song presupposes that his deeds (his name, his praise, his justice) are declared. The glory of Yahweh must be proclaimed among the nations (Isaiah 66:19). To this end there is a church on earth: “the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise” (Isaiah 43:21).

The praise, the worship of God, does not exclude that no proclamation takes place at that time. When you praise someone in daily life, it will always be clear why you praise that person. You cannot praise God without saying directly or indirectly why you praise him.

Praise has a strong reason and it is not something one does “ins Blaue hinein” (German for “randomly”). It has a reason that is put into words in some way or another: at times comprehensively, at other times very concisely. That is why it says, for example, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing” (Revelation 5:12)!

There are several places in the Old and New Testaments that state that the song also helps to make the Word more and more alive in the congregation. This therefore also presupposes that the song has a proclaiming function.

In Deuteronomy 31:19-22, Moses receives the instruction from God to write a song and to teach the Israelites “that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel.” When Moses proclaims the words of the song (Deuteronomy 32:1-43) to the people, he says to them: “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess” (Deuteronomy 32:46, 47).

Psalms 78 and 105, for example, also show that the song has a function in teaching about God’s deeds. In Psalm 78, God’s actions from the past are passed on to posterity with the aim that coming generations know these deeds so that they learn to fear God and are saved from apostacy (Psalm 78:6-8). In other words, through this song, the coming generations must be kept with the Word.

Psalm 105 sings about God’s deeds, especially his deliverance from the people of Israel from Egypt. As already appears from the opening words, “Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples,” praise and proclamation go hand in hand in this Psalm.

Speaking among Each Other←⤒🔗

The proclaiming function of the song, through which the Word comes to live in the congregation, also appears from the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 14:26, Paul writes that people come together “with a hymn” (older translations: “with a psalm”). A footnote may indicate: “A hymn or song; namely, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit made by him unto God’s glory and the strengthening of the church.” In other words: when someone comes with a song (“psalm”) into the church meeting, this song should not only be focused on God, but should also serve the upbuilding of the congregation. Paul therefore assumes here that the song has a proclaiming character.

In connection with the church song, the texts from Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19 are also important. In Colossians 3:16, we read, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” “The word of Christ” is the word that Christ has spoken and that the apostles have passed on, and this will “dwell” in you. Here we see a parallel with John 1:14: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” This word “dwelt” does not mean that the Word comes to visit us once a week. The Word wants to “dwell” in us and this points to a sustained, permanent and ever-present residence. “Dwelling” does not mean “staying for a short while” but “being at home.” It is said in Colossians that the word is to dwell in you “richly.” That is to say: the word must “abound” in us. The Word must receive an ever-greater place in our life. It should fill our entire lives. The text then continues “teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Here it is described how the word of Christ has made us his dwelling, namely through singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. We teach and admonish one another in song. That is the way in which the word of Christ will dwell in us abundantly.

In Ephesians 5:18, 19 we read, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” You see that this text runs parallel with the text from Colossians. It is good to point out that being filled with the Spirit is linked to speaking among each other in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs: “being filled with the Spirit, and addressing one another…” The words “be filled with the Spirit” have everything to do with the words “dwell richly” from the letter to the Colossians. In both cases, it is about our lives being filled with the Word to its fullest extent. Or, to express it with actual images, in Ephesians a contrast is made between letting yourself be filled with wine and “being filled with the Spirit.”

The texts from Colossians and Ephesians teach us that the church song fills us with the Spirit and ensures that the Word dwells in us “richly.” In the church song there is therefore not only a movement from man toward God, but also from God toward man. Furthermore, members of the church present the gospel to each other by means of a song. They “teach” and “admonish” each other. As an aside, the aspect of “addressing each other in song” is strikingly expressed when antiphonal singing is practised. When a congregation sings in turn, people are addressing each other very concretely: a part of the congregation is singing and another part is listening.

Praying and Pleading←⤒🔗

Up until now we have put the full emphasis on the song as praise, which is always accompanied by the confession and proclamation of the name. There are, however, not only exuberant songs of praise. Psalm 150 and Psalm 88 are in one and the same Bible book. There are many songs in Scripture that voice laments, where people plead with God, and in which intercessions are made.

Here too the background is that the church must remember God’s name and deeds (see, for example, Exodus 12:14; Judges 16:28; 2 Kings 20:3; Nehemiah 5:19; Psalms 77:11-12; 132:1). The congregation presents the world, its governments, the church on earth, and all those who are in personal need in its prayer before God (see Philippians 1:3-4; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; 2 Timothy 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:2). “To remember” in prayer means to appeal to God’s promises and words from the past on the basis of which God is then asked to act in the present time and in the future.

When in the songs of Scripture God is asked to remember his creation (his people, the poet, or singer), it implies that confidence is expressed that God will act in the present and the future. And this trust and hope leads to the praising of God. There is no other way.

This also explains that, on the one hand, supplications, confessions of guilt and the like, and on the other hand, the praising of God (the worshipping) in the Bible are very close to one another. The calling and lamenting of God’s children are never without the firm hope that salvation will come. There are many psalms from which we can learn this (among others: Psalms 9:19; 38:14-16; 39:8; 42:5; 43:5; 54; 55:16; 56:4; 57:1-3; 69:29-33; 74:12; 119:49-50; 130:5). Even in Psalm 88—perhaps the most penetrating supplication from the Book of Psalms—opens with the words “O Lord, God of my salvation.”

The confession of guilt and the songs of praise are also often very closely linked in the songs of Scripture. This happens in the realization that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Without the acknowledgment and recognition of one’s own guilt and powerlessness, the recognition of God’s work of redemption hangs in the air. After all, if you are not guilty before God, you also do not have to be freed from anything, nor do you need a Saviour.

In the New Testament we also find many expressions of hope, trust, and consolation; for example, in Romans 5:3-6, Romans 8:23-25, 1 Corinthians 1:5-7, and 2 Corinthians 1:10. In this way, intense pleading and intercessions can receive a place in a church song, for creation is still subject to futility (Romans 8:20). “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). A church song can and may also contain a “cry from the depths” (Psalm 130).

The Function of the Song in the Church Service←⤒🔗

Based on the above, as taught to us from Scripture, we want to give some concrete expression to the functioning of our song in worship.

The idea that singing is praising God, and happens in response to his Word, is very widespread. The song in the liturgy is indeed the worship of God and serves as our answer to his Word. However, we ​​praise God with our whole life; our entire existence is all about responding to God’s words. Also the fact that the church reads and declares Scripture in its services, that it administers the sacraments, serves to the praise of God—all of this is in answer to his Word.

So the question is: what exactly do we mean when we characterize the song as praise. From what has been written it has become clear that praising God does not only mean that we are constantly walking on the high plateau of Psalm 150. We have seen how closely our praise is linked to, for example, confessing guilt, lamenting and interceding. Or, as Calvin put it, “that by the confession of our misery, we glorify the goodness and mercy of our God among ourselves and before the whole world” (Institutes, III.4.10-11). We have also seen that the praises of God presuppose the confession and proclamation of his deeds.

In my opinion, all the functions that a song may have in Scripture—as we have reviewed above—can receive a proper place in a church service. There is no reason why the song in our worship should not be able to have the functions that it does have in Scripture.

The function that will be emphasized depends on the moment, the place in the liturgy where the song is sung. Moreover, it depends on the content of the song. Psalm 150 will always remain unsuitable as a confession of guilt.

The various functions that the song has in Scripture can only emerge stronger and clearer when the song is not considered to be merely a “response to the Word” (confession). This does not imply that a certain song at a given moment could not function primarily as a “response” in the service.

This can be clarified with a number of simple examples. The Reformed tradition knows of the practice that at the beginning of the service the church expresses its guilt before God. Of course, this can be done through a spoken prayer, but this could also be accomplished by the singing of a song (for example, Psalm 51).

The song can also function as a different kind of prayer, for example when the “prayer for the opening of God’s Word” is sung from the hymn section as a prayer for the illumination by the Holy Spirit.

Songs that are sung in connection with the reading of Scriptures may have different functions. The song can function as an expression of “Amen” to the lecture: in a professing function. However, it can also function as a kind of reading by means of a song, for which especially the rhymed psalms and other rhymed versions of Scripture passages are appropriate. In this case, the proclamation of the song gets more emphasis, which does not preclude the congregation from professing something at that time. Through a song, the portion that was read can be processed and applied. In this respect the exegesis automatically comes into play. For example, after reading about the betrayal of Jesus by Judas (Matt. 26:47-50), the following words from Psalm 55 (Book of Praise, 2014) get special meaning:

^5. If any foe would taunt and scorn me
I could endure it. Let him spurn me.
It is not that an adversary
Treats me with insolence and pride,
For then from him I still could hide
And I would be prepared and wary.

^6. No, it is you who have betrayed me
Who with your malice have repaid me
For fellowship and sweet communion,
Who walked with me when in God’s house
We sang our praise and paid our vows –
You, my best friend, my close companion!

In this way the same thing happens as in the case of the travellers to Emmaus: “He [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

When the congregation sings the Apostolic Creed, the song obviously has a distinctly confessing function. This does not exclude, of course, that the congregation is also proclaiming its faith.

In the classic Reformed liturgical form for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, parts of Psalm 103 are quoted in the thanksgiving after the celebration. The church could also sing that song. It would function as a thanksgiving and glorification of God, where at the same time God’s deeds are being praised.

In short, the song in the church service has an arsenal of functions that almost never occur independently: the praising of God implies that his name is confessed and proclaimed; the proclamation of God’s Word in song implies that the church pronounces this Word as confession (for which we also say, “responds to the Word”). Certain functions are indeed accentuated in the church service. This depends on the place and the moment at which the song is sung, and on the content of the song.