“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!

Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” (Psalm 95:1-2.)

Psalm 95 begins by extending an invitation to an assembly. The words are not singular, “let me sing…” but plural “let us sing…” indicating corporate worship. The psalms are a compilation of songs (like a hymnbook) of Israel. They were used primarily in public corporate worship in Old Testament times.

Today, in the Christian era, the New Testament also calls us to sing and worship together. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16). Each individual has their own relationship with the Lord involving prayer and worship; however, coming together in corporate worship is God’s command. Christians are to be “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19). The phrase “one another” in these two passages shows that these instructions cannot be carried out alone, in isolation.

Worshiping God and studying His word with others helps me to know Him better—in a way I could not know God alone. We all benefit when we come together to extol God’s greatness. I am often benefited by a comment made in a Bible class, an observation that is shared before we partake of the Lord’s Supper, or the way something is phrased by one leading us in prayer.

This is especially true in regard to the songs we sing. Expressing the truths of God’s word in the poetic form of a song sparks our imagination and stirs up our emotions toward greater appreciation. Notice how the heart is mentioned in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. Notice also the mention of shouting joyfully in Psalm 95. God has good reasons for including the Psalms in His word. He has good reasons for commanding us to come together and sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to Him and one other. He intends for more to occur than merely imparting information to us in appealing to our intellect. The social and emotional aspects of our nature are involved too.

The Lord wants to appeal to our will to shape our values and desires. Colossians 3:16 mentions not only the teaching aspect, but also admonition. This involves warning and counsel about the proper course of action. Many of the contemporary worship songs are praise songs; this is great! However, good old hymns that encourage us to be workers for the Lord, warn us about the damage of letting angry words slip, and admonish us not to yield to temptation have their proper place. Corporate worship helps us encourage one another, stirring each other up to love and good works (Heb. 10:24-25). To do this we must not only be present physically in an assembly but also engaged in the worship.

Perhaps you are reading these words as you are preparing to assemble with God’s people on the first day of the week. Maybe you are already at the building. Have you come to worship? “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker” (Psa. 95:6).