Commentary: Our Participation in Services
#1381c
John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)
Given 03-Jun-17; 17 minutes
description: Hearing but not doing describes too much of our behavior in our Christian walk. We should not trivialize the importance of music in helping our meditation and remembering spiritual lessons, especially the niche occupied by congregational singing. Instrumental music as well as vocal music has played a major role in services, from the time of Moses, a singer in his own right, David, who incorporated instrumental and vocal music as a Levitical function, as a means to set the tone of the praises and contemplations. The largest book in the Bible is a hymnbook, in which very intense spiritual situations experienced by David and others were expressed in lyric poetry. The longest Psalm is actually an acrostic poem designed for memorization as well as edification and delight. The Hymnal Composed by Dwight Armstrong sets to verse and rhyme the Psalms of the Bible, making it an ideal hymnal for digesting and reflecting the Psalms. The congregational hymns give everyone an opportunity to give a homily in melody, edifying the entire Body of Christ.