Praise! Hymn book is no doubt intended to
smooth away the musical scruples of traditional believers,
but it is a foolish aim, because these scruples are based on
biblical convictions. The existing chasm between these
viewpoints will soon be forced into a full breach, and,
sadly, it will be a necessary division, because biblical
music convictions cannot live alongside the grotesque
profanities of worldly music in worship. This compromise is
terrible. It is deeply offensive to God, and utterly
injurious to Christians.
Ministers may continue to preach the Gospel
Musicians sound doctrine in the midst of carnal
noise - but they will only be serving Satan's purpose by
calming and reassuring the faithful, while corruption gains
total control.
We would plead with ministers and churches who have been
persuaded to regard this hymnbook as a product of godly
musical thought, to consider instead the full nature of its
compromise, and its certain shattering of the precious jewel
of reverent Gospel music worship. May
pastors and elders not come into the condemnation of
Jeroboam 'who made Israel to sin'.
Many churches which have
gone down this road in recent years have already become
markedly shallow, frothy and indifferent to biblical
standards. They have turned their Father's house into a den
of entertainers. The writer has many testimonies to this
effect, and has seen it in some very large music churches in
the USA. There, numbers have sometimes increased, but
faithfulness and spirituality have plummeted. This is the
future for those who defect to the contemporary worship
scene.
