“One Generation Shall Praise Your Works to Another”

Worship and the Church—Part 7

Click HERE to read the previous article in this series.

This article represents the conclusion of our series on worship. Our intent has been to challenge us to think biblically about worship, what it is, and what our role is in it. We’ve said that to worship something means to attribute worth to it. And to worship God is to ascribe supreme worth to Him. There is nothing more worthy in all the universe and beyond than our God.

To truly give Him supreme worth, our worship must reflect Him. That is, we must worship God as He has revealed Himself, Father, Son, Spirit. Our worship should be saturated by His Word, centered in the Gospel, communicating the fact that we were lost in sin, enemies of God, yet He reached out and brought us to Himself through Jesus’ death on the Cross.

Worship encompasses more than music, but music is a big part of worship. Music helps us express our unity in the Gospel as we sing together. It helps us remember God’s Word, because we tend to remember what we sing. We saw from Scripture that God wants our music to be creative, reflecting a variety of music, new, old, vocal, and instrumental. And He wants the music of our worship to be characterized by excellence, singing, writing, and playing with skill. And finally, God wants our music to be filled with emotion that honors Him.

And often, in Scripture, emotion that honors God is shown by our bodies, raising or clapping our hands, bowing or kneeling, or simply standing still in awe and reverence. We are all people of different temperaments, tastes, and emotional wiring. Some are quite expressive, others not. My point is not to conjure up fake emotion or plastic expression. My point has been to consider how we can best encourage whole-heart worship, praising God for all we’re worth.

So I bring this series to a close by considering what Scripture says about what I will call the legacy of worship. That is, not merely offering God our worship, but also making sure that the work of worship is passed on to the next generation. The title of this article, like every article in this series, is drawn from a Psalm. In this case, Psalm 145:4, “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”

We have a responsibility to impart truth to the next generation. But I want you to see how the Psalm says to do that: with exultation and praise and blessing (vv. 1-3), speaking it and singing it (vv. 5-7). It isn’t merely “one generation shall teach your works to another” but “one generation shall praise your works to another.”

Of course we are to teach, but that’s not the message David is giving us. We aren’t merely to teach the next generation who God is and what He has done, we are to pass along to them our sense of joy because of it. All the verbs in those first seven verses are strong: extol, bless, praise, meditate, declare, speak, pour forth, and sing aloud. This is teaching given muscle by exultation, teaching that is based in the real life experience, joy, and intimacy of a relationship with the living God.

What do we want for the next generation? For the young married couples, teens, and kids in your church? Not merely heads full of right facts about God. Of course we want them to know doctrine, but doctrine alone is not enough. Right alongside of full heads we want full hearts—hearts full of praise, exultation, love, and worship.

Psalm 78 is another Psalm with legacy as its focus. The Psalmist says in verses 1-3 that he will tell “what our fathers have told us,” and in verse 4, “tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that He has done.” He will take the truth given him by his father and pass it on to the children of the generation to come. That’s truth that stretches four generations, and what truth is it? God’s glorious deeds, His praises, His mighty power on behalf of His people, and His wonderful works. Again, the focus in passing on a legacy of worship is not merely facts about God but the living truth of who He is and what He has done. The result is in verse 7, that the generations to come “should set their hope in God,” remembering His works, keeping His commandments. Not like Israel in the desert, stubborn and rebellious, but steadfast and faithful.

Is that what you want for your children? For your grandchildren? How do we do that? How do we pass on a legacy of worship to the next generation? What does a legacy of worship look like? There is no better example than the author of Psalm 78, Asaph. This is one of 12 psalms by Asaph, which makes him the second most prolific author of Psalms, after David.

But who was Asaph? Turns out, he is a pretty important figure in worship history. We first meet him in 1 Chronicles 15. It is here that David first organizes the music and musicians in formal worship. David had just been crowned king, and to honor God he wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant back from obscurity. You might remember that long before, the Ark had been captured by the Philistines, who discovered, after seven blistering months of divine punishment, that it was a dangerous thing to keep around. So they loaded it on a cart and rode it out of town, to a small town in Judah where it stayed for some 60 years, virtually ignored through all of Saul’s reign.

Shortly after his coronation, in 1 Chronicles 11, David wanted to start his reign right, consciously embracing the Ark that Saul ignored. But his first attempt at bringing it home was disastrous. The Ark wound up stuck in a grain house, Uzzah wound up dead, and David wound up embarrassed and angry at God. You can read about it in 1 Chronicles 13. But it wasn’t God’s fault, it was David’s. In his enthusiasm he had breezed past what God had said about how to handle the Ark. He treated it lightly, and treating the Ark lightly was the same as treating God lightly. David’s second attempt, seven months later, recorded in 1 Chronicles 15, shows he had taken thought, consulted God’s Word, and took it to heart.

Can you imagine a bigger event, before the Temple is built and while the Tabernacle is still in Gibeon, than the return of the Ark to Jerusalem? This is a turning point in Israel’s history, and for this event, David, having learned the lesson that God’s holiness is not to be treated lightly, does something new: he appoints the Levites to a ministry of worship.

This is the first formal establishment of a rite of worship, which will take place in the presence of the Ark as the tangible symbol of God’s presence. And along with the creation of formal worship, we also see the creation of the first worship band, 1 Chronicles 15:16, “David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.”

Scripture names them all starting in verse 17, and describes them in verses19-24. This group includes singers (v. 19) who also played cymbals (v. 20), harpists (v. 21), lyre players (v. 22), a man named Chenaniah was named leader of the music “for he understood it.” He understood melody, rhythm, chord structure, how to lead. Finally, in verse 24, we see trumpet players. This is quite an ensemble. Verse 28 says they accompanied “all Israel” as they escorted the Ark back to Jerusalem “with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres.” No wonder they had to shout.

In all that description of the beginning of formal worship, there’s one name I want you to see in verse 19: Asaph. What is his job? He’s a singer and cymbal player. Not too tough to be a cymbal player in the worship band, right? But in the next chapter, 1 Chronicles 16:5, Asaph is promoted from cymbal-player to chief over all the musicians. We don’t know what became of Chenaniah, but it’s clear that Asaph distinguished himself. And as a result he was made leader of those who are “to invoke, to thank, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel.”

Decades later, near the end of his reign, David is preparing for the Temple that his son, Solomon, will build, and further organized the worship. In 1 Chronicles 25:1-2, Asaph is still there. David names two other worship leaders along with him, Heman and Jeduthun. In addition, there are men who are called “the sons of Asaph.” That could mean literally Asaph’s sons, or that could mean Asaph was discipling others in the craft of worship. These “sons” also served the Lord by prophesying with instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals. I take “prophesying” here to mean that they wrote, played, and sang music under the leading of the Spirit.

Fast forward another 11 years, to 2 Chronicles 5. The Temple that was promised in 1 Chronicles 25 is finished and about to be dedicated, and that dedication will be led by Asaph and his “sons”. “Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD, and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, this is what they sang, ‘For He is good, for his steadfast love endures forever’” (2 Chron. 5:12-13).

That dedication took place around 960BC. Solomon was king, David had been in his grave 10 years, and Asaph had been faithfully leading the worship for 50 years, looking forward to the day when the Temple would be built. And his faithfulness is further seen in that his sons are still ministering right alongside him.

Asaph’s legacy of worship doesn’t stop there. In fact, it’s just getting started. 100 years later, about 850 BC, 2 Chronicles 20:14 records a confederation of nations attacking Judah. King Jehoshaphat calls the people to seek the Lord at Jerusalem, and he leads the nation in what is truly a marvelous prayer, verse 5, which ends with this, verse 12: “O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” And I love how God answers Jehoshaphat: with a prophetic word in verse 14, “Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of…the sons of Asaph.”

150 years after he started as a cymbal player, his legacy lives on. And it continues: 140 years after that, Hezekiah is king, and after years of pagan worship, the Temple has become a place of filth, not worship. Hezekiah determined that he would restore it, cleanse it, and consecrate it again, and among the Levites who carried out that work, 2 Chronicles 29:13, are the sons of Asaph.

Another 80 years after that, Josiah is king. Judah has come through yet another stretch of apostasy, but Josiah knows the Lord, so he starts cleaning up the mess. And among his most important reforms, Josiah reestablishes the Passover; 2 Chronicles 35:18-19 tells us it had been some 400 years since Israel had faithfully celebrated the Passover, and at the first celebration in 400 years, the singers were the sons of Asaph (2 Chronicles 35:15).

Another 80 years goes by, the Jews return to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon, and Ezra says the returnees included the sons of Asaph. And when they rebuilt the Temple, guess who led the worship? The sons of Asaph again (Ez. 3:10). And when the wall around Jerusalem was rebuilt under Nehemiah, once again the sons of Asaph led the worship (Neh. 11:17). In other words, almost 600 years after David first elevated Asaph to chief musician, his descendents were still passing on a legacy of worship to future generations. They took seriously the command “to tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and His might, and the wonders that He has done,” as Worshipmatters.com put it.

How do we do that? How do we pass on a legacy of worship to the next generation? First, think of passing on a legacy of worship to the next generation as akin to a relay race. A relay race is all about the baton, not the runners. Runners who cross the line without the baton lose. When it comes to worship, what is the baton? God’s “glorious deeds, and His might, and the wonders that He has done.” And the fullest expression of that is the Gospel: Jesus’ death on the cross for sinners that reconciled us to God.

That’s got to be at the heart of everything we pass on. It is because of the Gospel that your sin is forgiven. It is because of the Gospel that there is no more condemnation for you. It is because of the Gospel that your suffering has a purpose, to accomplish His good purpose for in you.

Second, we will pass on legacy of worship more effectively if we’re conscious of the faithful ones who went before us, like Asaph. Bryan Chappell writes in Christ-Centered Worship, “We should not ignore the wisdom of Church forebears just because it’s old, or automatically reject it just because we didn’t think of it. We consider the history because God does not give all of His wisdom to any one time or people.”

When we gather together Sunday mornings we need to remember that we stand on the shoulders of giants. We’re the beneficiaries of musicians like Asaph who trained generations to use their musical gifts to serve God’s people. Of musicians like Johann Sebastian Bach who wrote music of unparalleled excellence to God’s glory. Of hymn writers like Fanny Crosby, Phillip Bliss, and even Bill Gaither, whose songs encourage God’s praise and faithful living.

Third, as part of the passing generation, I want to be sure that I’m not merely looking back to the past or to what I’m most comfortable with. I want to be looking at what God is doing in the coming generation. That means that we must be intentional about learning from them and teaching them. Asaph’s sons didn’t minister for 600 years without some serious planning, thought, and instruction. What do you want to be remembered for? What words do you want to describe you? Hip? Cool? Fun? Edgy? Creative? How about the two words from Psalm 78:8, “steadfast” and “faithful”?

Generations pass in the blink of an eye. Youth will be leaders before you know it, with the responsibility to pass on a legacy of worship to their children and grandchildren. How will they do? Depends largely on how we do now, right?

How seriously do we take the command to pass on a legacy of worship to the next generation? How much of our thinking about worship revolves around what we like? And how often is that attitude passed on to the next generation, who then focus on what appeals to them? That kind of generational narcissism always views our generation as the most important one. That’s why so many churches choose to have multiple services for different musical styles: traditional, contemporary, etc. That may appeal to a broader range of people, but I wonder, what are those churches giving up in the long run? Does the Gospel have more power to unite us than our personal preferences have to divide us, or are we stuck in the mindset that musical style and physical expression trump passing on a legacy of worship to the next generation? How do we pass on a legacy of worship to the next generation if we can’t even sing in the same room with them?

I can guarantee you there won’t be separate services to worship the Lamb in heaven. We will be enthralled and captivated with the glory of Christ. Is His glory less important now? Singing with one another now reminds us that we are united one with another in Christ, humbled together, redeemed together, and worshipping together.

Tim Schoap is co-pastor and worship coordinator of Signal Mountain Bible Church in Signal Mountain, Tenn.