As is so often the case in times of church reformation, the church is driven to study the vital topic of worship. So too with the current controversy that started in the Protestant Reformed Churches and carried on in the Reformed Protestant Churches. So often we are inclined to focus on the violence, the deceit, and the treachery that is visited on the faithful in times of controversy. But what fruit is produced through the battle over the truth! The controversy that started over justification by faith alone in one denomination, continued in another denomination over the fundamental topic of worship. This controversy served as a crucible for refining the church’s understanding of singing as individuals within the church examined their beliefs in the light of scripture and the creeds. God, who is ever faithful, again called his church back to faithfulness after she had shown herself to be unfaithful. There, then, is the history of the church. Man is unfaithful, and God is faithful.
This controversy over psalm-singing, which was chronicled in Reformed Pavilion magazine, led to a deeper understanding of exclusive psalmody and indeed of the regulative principle of worship, which principle is nothing more and nothing less than the second commandment of God’s law.
Within the pages of Reformed Pavilion, the essence of the debate is uncovered. You are invited to join with us in celebrating God’s faithfulness to his church in returning her to the old paths of Christian worship, in which the church was led to forsake the vanity of worship according to the will of man which always and again creeps into the worship of the church, and was again led to worship according to the will of God.
My prayer is that this index may help those who are studying the principle of exclusive psalmody. For some, this will be the first time that they have ever heard of the doctrine. Perhaps there are others who were caught up in the din of the battle and simply followed a course that was mapped out for them by other men. Now they desire to quietly study the material and come to a fuller understanding of the fundamental principle of worship, and what it means to sing with Christ, the sweet psalmist of Israel. Perhaps others have only heard of exclusive psalmody in the most negative of terms, proving JC Ryle was correct when he wrote: “Men deal with doctrines they do not like, much as Nero did when he persecuted the early Christians. They dress them up in a hideous garment, and then hold them up to scorn and run them down” (Ryle, Old Paths, 455). To all and sundry goes the warm invitation to take up and read, and bask in the blessed warmth of worshiping God with the book he has given to the church for that purpose.
“O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms” (Psalm 95:1–2).
In the index that follows, you will find the issue number in which the article is found, followed by the page numbers. (Every issue of the magazine is worth reading. You can find them at www.reformedpavilion.com).
If you have any questions, or suggestions for improvement, you are invited to send them to astraitbetwixt@gmail.com.
May God bless you with a zeal for his house that is according to knowledge (Rom. 10:2).
Exclusive Psalmody and …
- Book Reviews
- Singing the Psalms of Jesus (LeFebvre) (Issue 3, Pages 28-32)
- Sing the Lord’s Song (Keddie) (10, 5-7)
- The 1912 Psalter (Eerdmans) (12, 5-18)
- Scottish Metrical Version of the Psalms (1650) (47, 4-22)
- The charge of legalism
- Christian Renewal magazine
- Church Order Article 69 (1, 23-24)
- Colossians 3:16 (18, 4-11)
- Conditions
- The Confessions (2, 15)
- Corporate worship (1, 25)
- “Endless calculations” (3, 7-8)
- The gospel of worship (16, 5-13)
- The history of the Reformed Church (1, 26)
- Historical writings
- Idolatry (1, 35-38)
- The means of grace (23, 4-8)
- A “new song”
- The presence of other songs in Scripture (2, 11-12)
- The possible principles of congregational singing (14, 4-13)
- All things are profitable (4, 11-19)
- The proper order in the church
- Public and private worship (2, 13-16)
- The Reformed faith (1, 23)
- The Regulative Principle of worship
- The relation between singing and praying (3, 5-7)
- The Scriptures (1, 23)
- Singing the hymn “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” (1, 38)
- Singing with Christ
- The Spirit and the gospel (1, 38-39)
- Versification (5, 23-24)
- “Yabbuts and “Wuddabouts” (4, 19-20)
The controversy over worship took place in the Reformed Protestant Churches. The following material was specific to the denomination and involved writings, speeches, and sermons and responses to those writings, speeches, and sermons. Out of this controversy Remnant Reformed Church was born.
- No Image Worship sermon (Rev. Andy Lanning)
- The Regulative Principle of Worship sermon (Rev. Andy Lanning)
- Decision of First Reformed Protestant Church
- The Indwelling Word sermon (Rev. Nathan Langerak)
- Response (1, 21-26)
- Boundary Movers sermon (Rev. Nathan Langerak)
- Response (2, 16-23)
- Grounded in Christ article (Dillon Altena)
- Response (3, 14-21)
- Do Not Kill sermon (Rev. Nathan Langerak)
- Letter to the consistory of First Reformed Protestant Church (9, 5-6)
- Sword & Shield magazine (June 2023 issue)
- Response (22, 4-20)
- Singing with Christ document (Christina Overway) (25, 6-14)
- Failed Runners (Henry Kamps)
- Response (36, 5-8)
- Singing According to Article 69 speech (Rev. Tyler Ophoff)
- Response (41, 5-14)
For further study and instruction on the second commandment of God’s law you are encouraged to listen to these recent sermons:
- Second: No Images (Lord’s Day 35)
- What Image Worship Is
- The Regulative Principle of Worship
- Why Image Worship is Forbidden
- Sing Psalms (Lord’s Day 35, Psalm 105:2)
- The Law of Psalmody
- The Gospel of Psalmody
- Psalmody and the Church