War Songs for the Church Militant

By Matt Watson

God’s people are a singing people. Adam sang a song the first time he saw Eve (Gen 2:23), and God’s people will still be singing at the end of all things (Rev 4:8, 11; 5:11-13; 19:6). That means we sing as the church militant (the church that exists now, in a cosmic war with sin and the flesh), and we’ll sing as the church triumphant (those who have seen the end of the war and are with the Lord). So get used to it.

We are made to worship. When we work, when we drive home, when we talk to strangers, when we go for walks after dinner, all these things are done in a way that either worships God or mocks him. We either do them with hearts of gratitude and praise or with apathy and self-centeredness.

Praises, War Songs, and Diss Tracks

When the church gathers each week, we sing. We sing as a body, with one voice, as an example of our unity with Christ. We sing to praise God in hard times and good times. God, in his mercy and wisdom, has given us songs throughout Scripture as a model.

In Judges 5, Deborah sings a war song of victory after Sisera's army was defeated by Barak. It includes praise to God (vv. 3-5, 31), an epic retelling of Sisera's death at the hands of Jael (vv. 24-27), calling out cowards and lifting up heros (vv. 12-18), and a sick diss track about Sisera's mom (vv. 28-30).

We don't really do war songs and battle ballads anymore, but we do still have them available to us in the Psalms. Additionally, the beauty of the Psalms is that they can speak into our lives no matter what the situation.

Luther said,

God has given us a songbook but he has also allowed his children to be creative like their Father, inventing new songs and hymns with which to worship him. In Colossians, Paul juxtaposes singing with the teaching of the Word, thereby giving us a guide for how to worship on Sundays:

Paul also contrasts singing songs of thanksgiving with things of the flesh like drunkenness and debauchery. He says that we need to make "the best use of the time because the days are evil" and then suggests singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs:

So we need to sing. But how can we grow in worshiping the Lord through song?

Sing Like You're Part of the Family

Find a Psalter and a hymnal and sing. The psalms were made to be sung by the family of God, but most of us grew up in churches that didn't sing them. Additionally, men and women have crafted moving hymns that proclaim the glories of God and have endured for centuries, but some of us may be unfamiliar with them. Not sure how to sing the psalms? Fear not, there is an app for that. Not sure what the tune is for that hymn? There is almost always a version of it on Spotify.

Parents, sing with your kids. My wife and I either sing songs from our hymnal or the ones that accompany our catechism every night with our son before he goes to bed. He now sings with us in his imperfect but joyful 2-year-old voice. Make it a rhythm during family worship or when running errands with your kids.

If you’re single, sing in the car on the way to work. No one can hear you and it's a great way to prep your heart for the day. Sing during your quiet times. Either learn to play an instrument, or make a playlist with your favorites with which to sing along. The more you do it the better you’ll be at it.

It’s Not About You

I'm talking to myself with this next one: Get over your preferences about worship style and song choice. It is not about you. Everyone has an opinion on what a good or bad song is, but hardly anyone has a say in how to lead a congregation in corporate worship through singing. The only real hill to die on is whether or not your church is worshiping biblically.

For example, I have strong opinions about singing the psalms. I think the church at large needs to do it more often, but the church I attend does not use a Psalter. We sing psalms sometimes, as well as hymns, and spiritual songs that stylistically fit our DNA as a church. And that is fine because it’s not my job to enforce my opinion on my church or pout when we don’t sing a song I want. Instead, I worship with my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I sing the psalms at home. You can too.

Sing Loudly, Boldly, and Joyfully

When you sing, let us sing as if your King is standing in front of you and you are telling him what you think about him. Sing as if the Creator of the universe, the only One who knows you more than anyone else, is sitting with you. Sing as if your friend down the row needs to hear a victory song about the good news of Christ. You don’t have to be good at it, but you have to mean it.

Two factors inhibit this: ignorance and confidence. Sometimes we don’t sing with boldness because we don’t know the songs. We don't want the horror of singing off-key or missing a lyric, as if that mattered. But we also don’t want to be a distraction, which does matter. Here is the solution: learn your church’s set list! Here is a link to our list of all the songs we sing on Sundays. Listen to them and become familiar with them. The more you do, the bolder you’ll be.

Second, we may not sing boldly because of a lack of confidence in our singing ability. To be fair, not everyone has been gifted with the singing voice of an angel. But God said make a joyful noise, not noise that is in perfect pitch. Maybe someone has criticized your singing voice all your life (I'm looking at you, Mom). Just as worship is not about you, it's not about them either. Don’t let someone's snide remark be the thing that keeps you from worshiping your Lord.

Sing the war songs of the church militant, and in so doing, worship your Lord on his throne.

This article was originally published by Matthew Watson with Awake! Put on strength!, and is used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.