From Silence to Song:The Glory of Zion

Introduction

How can you measure a church that worships rightly? God expects worship to be done in spirit and truth, which implies that there is a way to tell if our church’s worship is more right or more wrong. Do you check the preaching? The nursery? The children’s ministry? The food bank? Why not check their singing?

Today’s sermon will be a little different from my normal ones. Today I will not analyze a single text but navigate through multiple big themes in scripture. Today I want us to consider how and why God wants us to sing.

Worship in the Old Testament

In the Old Testament, I have divided worship into the time before Zion and the time after Zion. Worship before Zion had many characteristics that are central to our understanding of worship.

First, the Old Testament shows us worship is Natural. God made Adam to be a worshipper. God made Adam in His image (Gen 1:27). He made Adam to be fruitful and multiply over the earth (Gen 1:28). All of these things point to Adam being made to worship. But the simplest way to see this is in Genesis 2:15 where God made Adam to cultivate and keep the garden of Eden. That phrase “cultivate and keep” is also used to describe the service of the priests in the tabernacle (Num 3:7-8; 8:35-36; 18:5-6). So, God made Adam to be priestly and to worship Him. Also, notice that priestly work is real work. This is why every single human being worships something. They either worship the One True God or they worship an idol.

 Second, the Old Testament shows us that worship involves sacrifice and renewal. In order for Adam to cultivate and keep the garden, He needed help. In order for Adam to be fruitful and multiply, he needed Eve. God said Adam by Himself is not good. Keep in mind, this is before the fall. God deliberately waited in making Eve in order to show us something important about human nature, the relationship between men and women, and so on. But for now, just look at the fact that in order for Adam to worship God the way God want’s, He has to sacrifice something—in this case a rib. And God takes Adam’s sacrifice of a rib and forms a gift for Adam—Eve (Gen 2:21-22). Afterward, Adam sang a song (Gen 2:23; “Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh”). Notice worship before sin involves sacrificing something to God, God blessing that sacrifice, and singing.

But after sin entered the world, worship now involves a covering for sin and a silence of song. After Adam and Eve listened to the serpent and threw the human race into sin, they were ashamed of their nakedness and tried hiding in leaves (Gen 3:7). And later God took some animals, killed them, and used their skins to provide a more suitable covering (Gen 3:21). From this point after, human worship must involve a covering for sin. Most of the Levitical priesthood dealt with properly covering a sinner so he could rightly worship God. The entire sacrificial system was a symbol of true worship and true redemption. But it seems after the fall into sin and after Israel spent centuries in Egypt, they forgot how to sing. The purpose of the sacrificial system was to re-introduce Israel to God, but in order to do that they must first be covered from their sins. The entire sacrificial system was symbolic of a better pattern (Ex 25:9; 40; Acts 7:44; Heb 8:5-6). The Ark symbolized God, the smoke of incense symbolized God’s glory, the high priest at times represented God and other times represented the people, and the cut up animal represented animal. As God cut up Adam to make him better. The priest would cut up an animal to make the worshipper better.

The focus of worship during these days was the ark of the covenant. It was a golden box which symbolized the throne of God. For a couple generations, Israel worshipped God through the sacrificial system which brough them close to the ark. After Israel entered the promised land, the tabernacle was placed in Shiloh (Josh 18:1). During the ministry of Eli the priest, the ark was taken into battle with the Philistines who defeated Israel and took the Ark (1 Sam 4). Later, God providentially brought the Ark back to Israel (1 Sam 6) where it stayed in the homes of Abinadab (1 Sam 7:1-2) for 20 years and the home of Obed-Edom for three months (2 Sam 6:10-11). During the reign of David, he brought the ark to Jerusalem and places it in a tent on Mt. Zion (2 Samuel 6:12-17) and he carried it in with much singing (1 Chronicles 15:16). Keep in mind that ever since the Ark was lost in battle, the Ark of the Covenant was separated from the sacrificial utensils. That means people were sacrificing for their sins away from the throne of God.

Worship after Zion is different in at least two ways from centuries of worship before Zion. First, worship on Mt. Zion was joyful and musical. At Mt. Zion, David appointed Levites to minister before the Lord with singing (1 Chron 16:4). They sang the Psalms that David wrote. At the same time, the sacrifices were conducted by the priests on Gibeon while the singing was taking place in front of the ark at Zion (1 Chron 16:37-42). After David dies, God permits Solomon builds the temple north of Zion on Mt. Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1). After the temple work is finished, the sacrificial system in Gibeon (northeast of Jerusalem) and the singing around the Ark in Zion move to a new place on Mt. Moriah. What’s interesting is that the name of Zion travels with the ark. Now, Mt. Moriah is called Mt. Zion. Why? Because that’s where the singing is.

Generations later, King Jehoshaphat of Judah faced invading armies and he prays for God to help. God responds and says that He will fight the battle for them. So, King Jehoshaphat sends singing Levites into battle against the Ammonites and Moabites (2 Chron 20:1-30).

Worship in the New Testament

Now, the worship of the church is called the gathering of the heavenly Zion. In the book of Hebrews, Paul contrasts the worship around Mt. Sinai, which brought the Older Covenant, with Mt. Zion. The church worships at Mt. Zion.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.

And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:22–29

Why is singing at the heavenly Mt. Zion so important? Because in it God renews our hearts as we make melodies in our hearts (Eph 5:19). Because its how we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1-2). In the New Covenant, God’s word is a priest’s knife that cuts us and rearranges us (Heb 4:12).  That same word ministers and encourages our brothers and sisters when we sing Psalms (Col 3:16). Now, we battle against the spiritual rulers and powers with gospel armor, biblical sword, and prayer (Eph 6:12-20). Since the Psalms are prayers, God’s word, and music, then I think singing the psalms applies as spiritual warfare.

Application

 Historically, reformations and revivals in the church were always proceeded by reformations in worship, family, and preaching. Preaching became more applicational and directed towards hard things. Families sought to live in a distinctly Christian way instead of just going through the motions. And the worship of the church was passionately about God. If we want God to send a renewal and revival and reformation to our land, then He will begin by renewing, reforming, and reviving our silly worship. Why do I want Friendship to be a singing, musical, and choral people? Because singing is why God made you, singing is how you thank God, singing is how you confess your sins to God, singing is how you enjoy God, singing is how you fight your spiritual battles, singing is how God renews you.

However, as long as Christian men remain apathetic about singing and Christian women remain opinionated about singing, we prove God will not revive us, but is instead already judging us.

Conclusion

Church, do you want to minister to souls who need care? Sing! Do you want to glorify God and enjoy Him forever? Sing! Do you want the spiritual forces that we wage war against to quiver and quake at the sound of Christ’s army? Sing like a choir!