From the beginning of the New Testament experience, the believer’s response to Jesus Christ has included song. Most of the New Testament songs or hymns have found their way into the enduring liturgy of the church, including the Magnificat, the Benedictus, the Gloria, and the Nunc Dimittis. New Testament music in worship included psalmody, hymns composed in the church, and spiritual songs—alleluias and songs of jubilation or ecstatic nature. Further, many of the elements characteristic of later liturgical practice are rooted in New Testament actions and elements of worship.
Early Christian Worship It is not just a coincidence that the birth of Christ was announced by an outburst of song which is recorded in the first two chapters of Luke. Since that time, the Christian faith has been expressed with joyful music that has not been matched by any religion in history. The four canticles found in Luke are psalmodic in style and are traditionally known by the first words of their Latin translation.
- Magnificat. And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46–55)
- Benedictus. Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel” (Luke 1:67–79)
- Gloria in Excelsis Deo. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:13, 14)
- Nunc Dimittis. He (Simeon) took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation” (Luke 2:28–32).
The Song of Mary, the Song of Zechariah (father of John the Baptist), the Song of the Angels, and the Song of Simeon have been used more in historic Christian worship than any other biblical passages, outside of the Psalms.
After the resurrection and ascension of Christ, the disciples (later including the apostle Paul) continued to meet in the synagogues on the Sabbath as was their custom, giving witness to their faith in the risen Christ as the Jewish Messiah. At the same time, they met on the first day of the week to “remember their Lord” in the celebration of the Eucharist, followed by an agape meal, or love feast. Eventually, it became apparent that their presence would no longer be tolerated in the synagogues, and they began to meet for their own “Christian synagogue” service. In the final evolution of full Christian worship, the synagogue and the Upper Room experiences were united in one two-part service.
Regarding music, it seems clear that first-century Christians used three different types of songs: “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” It is a little short of amazing that Paul delineates three different genres of music for worship, mentioning them in two different letters to young churches. We must believe that they were contrasting—in origin, in subject matter, and possibly even in performance practice. This is substantiated by Egon Wellesz, one of the leading authorities on the music of this period.
St. Paul must certainly have been referring to a practice well known to the people to whom he wrote. We may therefore assume that three different types of chant were, in fact, used among them, and we can form an idea of their characteristics from the evidence of Jewish music and later recorded Christian chant:
- Psalmody: the cantillation of the Jewish psalms and of the canticles and doxologies modeled on them.
- Hymns: songs of praise of a syllabic type, i.e., each syllable is sung to one or two notes of the melody.
- Spiritual songs: Alleluia and other chants of a jubilant or ecstatic character, richly ornamented (Egon Wellesz, “Early Christian Music,” in The New Oxford History of Music, vol. 2, p. 2).
Whether or not Wellesz is correct about the musical character of these forms, the nature and source of the texts seem well established. “Psalms” no doubt included all the psalms and canticles that were common to Jewish worship, in the tabernacle, the temple, and the synagogue. “Hymns” were probably new expressions in song, presenting the doctrine and theology of the church. There are a number of these hymns in the letters of Paul, written in the patterns of classical Greek poetry, and it is reasonable to assume that they were quickly adopted as “Christ songs” by the churches which read the epistles.
The koine Greek phrase for “spiritual songs” is odaes pneumaticaes—“pneumatic odes,” or possibly “odes upon the breath” since the same word was used for “breath” and “spirit.” Some have conjectured that these were melismatic songs based on acclamations such as “alleluia”, “glory”, or “holy.”
Wellesz connects it with the common practice of most Near Eastern cultures at the beginning of the Christian era. Furthermore, he suggests that it was perpetuated in later Christian worship in the jubilus of the mass, the (originally improvised) melismatic prolongation of the final syllable of the “Alleluia.” As St. Augustine said of this type of Jewish-Christian song: It is a certain sound of joy without words … it is the expression of a mind poured forth in joy. A man rejoicing in his own exultation, after certain words which cannot be understood, bursteth forth into sounds of exultation without words so that it seemeth that he … filled with excessive joy cannot express in words the subject of that joy. (Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, ser. 1, vol. 8, 488)
We presume that early Christian worship was strictly vocal, since instrumental music was primarily associated with Hebrew temple sacrifices, was probably not used in synagogues, and was abandoned even by the Jews when the temple was destroyed in a.d. 70.
The Functions of Music in the Early Church
The New Testament emphasizes both the human and the divine sources of song. Music flows from human experience, and it no doubt also affects that experience. James seems to suggest that it is most logically associated with the emotion of Christian joy. “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise” (James 5:13). In Paul’s first letter to Christians at Corinth, one verse (when read alone) seems to be saying that all musical worship should be equally emotional and cerebral. “I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also” (1 Cor. 14:15). However, the scriptural context reveals that he is talking about two different experiences. Relating the verse to Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, it may be Paul is suggesting that he would sing “hymns” with the mind and “spiritual songs” with the spirit. In any experience of worship, our minds are engaged, no doubt, at different levels at different times; on occasion, perhaps most persons hear music more emotionally than rationally.
All of these functions of music in the early Christian community may be seen to support the expression of the Christian faith. One passage in the Authorized Version, “teaching and admonishing one another in psalms” (Col. 3:16), seems to be a clear biblical injunction to use song to learn doctrine and to teach Christian ethics.
The early church sang of the divinity and the work of Christ to express their new faith; at the same time, they were teaching those doctrines to the catechumens, those who were still being trained in the faith but had not yet been baptized.
Finally, and perhaps primarily, we should see Christian song as an offering to God in worship. Paul mentions this specifically in Hebrews 13:15: “Through him [Jesus] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” This is also emphasized in the two verses in which Paul says so much about musical worship: “singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart” (Eph. 5:19), and “sing … with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16).
Worship Elements Mentioned in the New Testament
The following is a brief outline of early Christian worship taken from various excerpts of Scripture:
Liturgy of the Word
- Singing (of various types)—“psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Col. 3:16), probably without instrumental accompaniment
- Prayers—“And they devoted themselves to … prayers” (Acts 2:42).
- Congregational amen—“how can any one in the position of an outsider say “amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?” (1 Cor. 14:16).
- Scripture readings (especially the prophets, and including letters from Paul)—“Till I come, attend to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Tim . 4:13).
- Homily (exposition)—“On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them … and he prolonged his speech until midnight” (Acts 20:7).
- Physical action—“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands” (1 Tim. 2:8).
- Intercession (following the example of Christ in the Upper Room)—“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said … I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me” (John 17:1, 9).
- Collection (alms)—“Now concerning the contribution for the saints … On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come” (1 Cor. 16:1, 2).
Liturgy of the Body and the Blood
- The kiss of peace (evidently a Jewish practice, continued by early Christians)—“So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother” (Matt. 5:23, 24). The phrase “kiss of love” or “holy kiss” is found in Rom. 16:16, 1 Cor. 16:20, 1 Thess. 5:26, and 1 Pet. 5:14.
- A confession of faith—“take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Tim. 6:12).
- Thanksgiving (Eucharist)—“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks” (Luke 22:19).
- Remembrance (anamnesis, Gr.)—“Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:25).
- The anticipation of Christ’s return—“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).
Summary
One of the Bible’s most significant contributions to church music is the broad spectrum of texts it has left for Christian worship. The psalms and canticles of the Old Testament and of Luke 1 and 2 have been the basis for liturgical expression for almost two thousand years. In addition, the New Testament hymns and many other passages in both Testaments have been used verbatim in anthems, motets, and cantatas, and have provided the inspiration for many of our extrabiblical hymns and Christian songs. The Scriptures will always be our best source for worship material; that which is not directly quoted or paraphrased is rightly expected to conform to Bible truth.
By inference, the scriptures also suggest proper functions for today’s church music. Both Old and New Testaments reveal a transcendent God who is the object of our adoration. From the New Testament, we understand more of the believer’s personal relationship with God through Christ, and also of his fellowship with other saints.