Worshiping God in Spirit and Truth

 Worshiping God in Spirit and Truth*

Understanding the Second Commandment: A Call to Worship God in Spirit and Truth

The Second Commandment is a profound reminder of how we are to worship God. While the First Commandment tells us to worship the one true God only, the Second Commandment instructs us on how to do so rightly. Let’s explore its meaning, its implications, and how it shapes our lives.

What’s the Difference Between the First and Second Commandments?

At first glance, the First and Second Commandments might seem similar, but they address distinct aspects of our relationship with God. The First Commandment (“You shall have no other gods before me”) focuses on whom we worship, while the Second Commandment (“You shall not make for yourself a carved image…”) addresses how we worship. It prohibits us from using images or physical representations in our worship, ensuring that our devotion remains pure and untainted by human imagination.

Why Can’t We Make an Image of God?

The prohibition against making images of God is deeply rooted in his nature. God is Spirit, as emphasized in Deuteronomy 4:15-19, where Moses reminds the Israelites that they saw no form when God spoke to them at Mount Sinai. Any attempt to create an image of God diminishes his infinite, spiritual nature and reduces him to something finite and created. Such representations distort our understanding of God and mislead our worship.

Lessons from the Golden Calf

The Israelites’ worship of the golden calf is a cautionary tale that highlights the dangers of violating the Second Commandment. In Exodus 32, the people grew impatient waiting for Moses, so Aaron fashioned a calf, declaring, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” Their sin was not merely creating an image but attempting to worship the true God in a way he had not commanded.

This pattern of idolatry continued in Israel’s history. In 1 Kings 12:25ff, King Jeroboam created two golden calves, leading the northern kingdom into false worship. Over time, this disobedience spiraled into outright rejection of God, as seen in 1 Kings 16:29ff, where idolatry paved the way for the worship of Baal. This tragic progression underscores how sin against the Second Commandment often leads to breaking the First.

The Role of Parents in Teaching Worship

Parents bear a significant responsibility in guiding their children to worship God rightly. Setting a godly example and teaching children the importance of spiritual worship helps prevent them from falling into idolatry. By prioritizing God’s Word and modeling faithful obedience, parents lay a strong foundation for future generations.

The Reformation’s Stand on Images

During the Middle Ages (A.D. 500–1500), the use of images in churches became widespread, often due to a lack of educated clergy who could teach and preach effectively. Bible stories were depicted on church walls to communicate with the largely illiterate population. However, this reliance on images contributed to a distorted understanding of God.

The Reformation of the 16^th century brought a decisive shift. The Reformed Church rejected the use of images in worship, affirming that God’s people are to be taught not by “dumb images” but by “the living preaching of his Word.” As the Reformers emphasized, images cannot speak, but Scripture is God-breathed and equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Biblical Support for Word-Centered Worship

Both the Old and New Testaments affirm that true worship is centered on God’s Word:

• Jeremiah 10:8 and Habakkuk 2:18-20 expose the futility of idols, calling them “worthless” and incapable of guidance.
• Romans 10:14-15 highlights the necessity of preaching for faith to take root in people’s hearts.
• 2 Peter 1:19 reminds us that God’s Word is “a lamp shining in a dark place,” guiding us in truth.

Conclusion

The Second Commandment challenges us to worship God in spirit and truth, free from the distortions of man-made images. It calls us to treasure the living Word of God, faithfully taught and preached. As we reflect on this commandment, let us strive to honour God by worshiping him as he desires, trusting that his Word is sufficient to lead us into a deeper relationship with him.

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*Based on the lesson given to the Karen Zoom class on May 6^th, 2021.

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Singing is such an important part of our corporate worship. We sing because we are commanded to sing. One need only look to the Psalms: Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! (Psa. 95:1). Or to the letters of the Apostle Paul: 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 (Col. 3:16).

While we sing, first of all, because we are commanded to sing, it is also worth noting that singing is good for one's soul and body. In the past forty years I have had three occasions to be part of a choir and I always felt so well after choir practice. And then there is the weekly worship services where we sing together.

My experience is that singing is good, not only for the soul but also for the body. As a Christian I can understand easily enough why it is good for the soul. As John Calvin wrote in the preface to his commentary on the Psalms:

I have been accustomed to call this book, I think not inappropriately, “An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul;” for there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror. Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated.

When we sing, especially the Psalms, we are together giving voice to all our personal and shared joys and fears. We know that we are part of a tribe, and it is good to belong. I can understand why singing is good for the soul, but why is it good for the body?

I came across this NPR article which linked to an article published in Frontiers in Psychology that shed light on my question. Researchers of the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden studied the heart rates of choir members as they sang together and discovered that choir music had a calming effect on the heart, especially when the choir sang in unison. Breathing in unison calms the heart.

So, if you feel physically rejuvenated after the singing of some Psalms and hymns, do not be surprised. Singing is not only a spiritual exercise, but also a physical one. Perhaps those who sing Genevan Psalms have an extra advantage. The tempo of Genevan tunes is governed by the pulse, about the same as the resting heart rate of an adult, typically about 70 beats per minute.

So, sing! Sing lustily, and feel well!

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What should the songs we sing and play in church be like?

First, they need to be fitting for the occasion. One may have an eclectic taste in music ranging from Gregorian, baroque and classical to ragtime, blues, and rock and roll, but not every genre is appropriate for worship. Neither ragtime nor baroque are good vehicles for hymnody.

Consider this example: a minister may enjoy a glass of merlot but it would be disrespectful for him to bring it with him into the pulpit on Sunday whereas it would not be irreverent to have a glass of water on the pulpit. The purpose of having a glass of something to drink on the pulpit is to wet the whistle while speaking, and water is appropriate for that whereas the function of red wine is to enhance the taste of a good meal.

Beverages—water, wine, coffee, or another—are designed to perform certain functions. Similarly, music is designed to perform a certain function. It is not true that any piece of music can be performed for any occasion. When King Saul was depressed, David’s quiet, soothing music of the harp would revive him. When the little children of Jesus’ day wanted to dance they would blow on flutes. When the prodigal son returned home, his father ordered up such a party that the music could be heard out in the fields.

Tone and mood vary with the occasion, and so the kind of music we play must vary. We have access to an impressive range of styles of music to suit different occasions. The problem with much worship is not the music but the kind of occasion many seem to think worship is. There is a difference between the corporate worship of God and flipping hamburgers on the back patio.

Hebrews 12:28 & 29 says, “… let us … worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’” As John Calvin said somewhere, our songs and music should have a certain weight and majesty.

Ragtime is not suitable for a wedding march. Imagine the bride and her father coming down the aisle to Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer. Intricate opera would not be suitable for congregational singing. Baroque music would not succeed in getting the crowd pumped before the team skates on to the ice. There is music for parades, weddings, funerals, a quiet evening at home, and for hockey games.

     

Music needs to fit the occasion just as clothing does. If you are going to change the oil in your car, you are not going to put on a tuxedo or an evening gown.

     

The architecture around us fits the occasion. There is nothing as beautiful as a medieval cathedral but it would not be your first choice for eating your breakfast and reading your morning paper.

So music needs to fit the occasion. And what is the occasion of worship? In worship one approaches God, Creator, Redeemer, and Judge. This needs to be done with reverence and awe.  

See also “Worship Music and Propriety” in Douglas Wilson’s Mother Kirk, Canon Press, 2001.

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What about hymns? Are we allowed to sing hymns in the worship service besides Psalms and canticles?

The church does well to be cautious about which hymns are sung. Hymn singing was favoured by Gnostic sects and Arianism and so the true and catholic church has rightly been wary of hymns. Many doctrinal errors were ingrained in hearts and minds because of what was sung. Arius (c. AD 250-336), who said that Christ was a created being and denied his deity, popularized his teaching by setting it to music. Hymns have often, over the millennia, introduced all manner of error into the church. This prompted more than one assembly to warn against hymns “made by man” as opposed to songs found in Scripture, which are the work “of men as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

Hymns have also often introduced pietistic tendencies into the song of the church and the minds of the believers. Pietism places man and his religious experience in the center rather than the word and deeds of God.

And yet it is appropriate for us to sing hymns in worship. Psalms sing of our Lord Jesus Christ in prophecy whereas hymns sing about him and his work in fulfilment.  In our hymns we sing not only about the suffering of our Saviour, but also about his resurrection, ascension, and outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is true that the Psalms as well address these redemptive facts, but in anticipation rather than in the time of fulfilment.

We can also look at the matter from a covenant perspective while bearing in mind where we are in God’s program of history. As people in covenant with God we are called to respond to God in all areas of life—activity, thought, speech, and song. God has called us to respond to him from the historical context within which we live.

The church must carefully study proposed hymns before they are sung in the public worship service. They need to be true to the teachings of scripture and in harmony with the confession of the church. Songs that meet those criteria, and others about which we will also write, can be said to be a faithful covenant response of God’s people to the words and acts of God in history.

The hymnody of the church should include songs written throughout the ages and world. The collection of the Book of Praise, although not perfect, is happily ecumenical and eclectic. It includes songs written in the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 8^th, 7^th, 9^th, 11^th, 16^th, 17^th, 18^th, 19^th, 20^th, and 21^st centuries and in different parts of the world.

The calling to write hymns and the task of the church to consider them for inclusion in its repertoire will only be complete when our Lord Jesus Christ returns on the clouds of heaven. 

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In the last post I quoted John Calvin favorably and said that in large part we have him to thank that we sing in the Reformed churches. And yet we do not unreservedly agree with him when it comes to the church’s song for he held to what is nowadays called “exclusive Psalmody.”

In fairness to Calvin I should quote more of what he says on the topic.  In the preface to the Genevan Psalter he wrote:

Now, what Augustine says is true, namely that no one can sing anything worthy of God which he has not received from him. Therefore, even after we have carefully searched everywhere, we shall not find better or more appropriate songs to this end than the Psalms of David, inspired by the Holy Spirit. And for this reason, when we sing them, we are assured that God puts the words in our mouth, as if he himself were singing through us to exalt his glory.

Surely Calvin was correct when he said that there is nothing better to sing than the Psalms of David. He published the 150 Psalms in French set to what has come to be called the Genevan tunes. To that collection he added the canticles (“scripture songs”), the Songs of Mary, Zechariah and Simeon, and the Ten Commandments. He did not want any hymns that were not based closely on the literal text of scripture.

I do not mind saying that I love the Genevan Psalter. It courses through my veins. With thanks to God I note that we have recently published New Genevan Psalter which is a contemporary English version of the Genevan Psalms and the four canticles.

I also love canticles, defined as songs based on scripture passages other than Psalms. I have tried my hand at writing some, pairing them mostly to tunes that are in the public domain. I have a website dedicated to them.

But what about hymns? Psalms and canticles—of course! But what about hymns?

The Canadian Reformed Churches allow hymns. The Book of Praise, our songbook, consists of the 150 Psalms and 85 hymns, of which about two dozen could be classified as canticles. But what about the hymns that are not closely based upon the literal text of scripture but work with themes, ideas, and images found in scripture? Are such hymns appropriate for God’s people to sing in the official worship service? 

Without wanting to get embroiled in a worship war I hope to address that next.

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Singing is an important part of our worship. The following texts of scripture call us to sing:   

• Deuteronomy 31:19—“Now write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it” … and then follows the song of Moses. 
• Psalm 33:3—“Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”  
• Psalm 96:1—“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.”  
• Ephesians 5:18-19—“…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….”  

In the vision recorded in Revelation John often hears the saints above and below singing praises to God.

There are many surprising twists and turns to church history, and some of them have to do with singing. Before the Protestant Reformation, laypersons were expected to stand mute as the music was given to the priests and cantors. The clergy sang long-winded Latin sequences that were incomprehensible to the people. 

Under the influence of the reformers the church in Geneva banned all music from worship so that there was no singing at all. John Calvin and other ministers, concerned about a coldness of worship, tried unsuccessfully to introduce congregational singing for the edification of the people and the praise of God. At first they were unsuccessful in convincing the council to allow singing in the worship service, but their persistence paid off and the council relented. The following, dated 1541, was recorded in the minutes of the church council:

It will be desirable to introduce songs in order the better to incite people to prayer and to the praise of God. To begin with, the little children shall be taught, and then in course of time the whole church will be able to follow.

Worship without singing is cold and sterile. To quote Calvin, “…we know from experience that singing has great strength and power to move and to set on fire the hearts of men in order that they may call upon God and praise him with a more vehement and more ardent zeal.”

And so, we sing, also in Reformed churches—thanks in part to John Calvin. But what are we going to sing as we worship God? How are we going to sing? What principles and criteria are we going to apply to the matter of singing?

Worship (1)

I plan to write a series of blog posts about worship. I have no particular axe to grind but want to write on this only because it is an interesting and a beautiful topic. As a Christian I worship the Lord daily and as a pastor, I am called to lead God’s people in their Sunday worship.

Scripture calls us to worship God. Remaining only with the Psalms, we read texts such as:

• Psalm 29:2—Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
• Psalm 95:6—Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
• Psalm 96:9—Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
• Psalm 99:5,9—Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!… Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!
• Psalm 100:2—Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
• Psalm 132:7—“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”

There is a difference between worship and service. Although there is overlap, there is distinction. We serve God all day long in our respective offices and callings; we worship God at certain moments of the day, privately, as family, and corporately on the Lord's Day. Worship describes certain moments when we stop our regular activities and focus our hearts on the Lord.

In these blog posts I want to address our corporate worship rather than personal and family worship. To narrow the topic a bit more, I want to focus on our corporate singing. Worship wars past, present, or future do not interest me, but I love singing.

When it comes to worship, the command that rules is what we read in texts such as 1 Corinthians 14:40—But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. In Colossians 2:5 Paul says that he rejoices “…to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.” There are two important confessional statements on worship. Lord’s Day 35 of the Heidelberg Catechism says that we are to worship God in a manner that he has commanded in his word and Article 7 of the Belgic Confession teaches that the whole manner of worship which God requires of us is written down in scripture.

Singing is a very important part of worship and needs to be governed by such biblical texts and confessional statements.

In the next post in this little series I want to look at some scriptural givens about singing, what we are doing when we sing, and to begin thinking about what our singing should sound like. 

Children as song leaders

John Witvliet, writing about worship in Calvin's Geneva, writes:

But in the Reformation era, the entire congregation sang— men, women, and children together— an innovation in an era in which women’s voices could otherwise be heard in worship only in a convent. The children, for their part, were the leaders of the song. In the 1537 Articles, Calvin instructed: 

This manner of proceeding seemed especially good to us, that children, who beforehand have practiced some modest church song, sing in a loud distinct voice, the people listening with all attention and following heartily what is sung with the mouth, till all become accustomed to sing communally.

This practice must have continued, for in 1561, the city council mandated that new psalm tunes not be used until they were taught to the congregation by the school children. Although Calvin argued against a distinction between congregation and choir, he did allow children to serve as the precentors of the people.

Witvliet, John D. (2003-07-01). Worship Seeking Understanding: Windows into Christian Practice (Kindle Locations 3130-3140). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.