We are fond of saying that worship is warfare. At its heart this phrase means that when the people of God wholeheartedly and unashamedly devote themselves body and soul to the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit, this is a militant act. Earth is enemy-occupied territory. It belongs to Jesus, but the powers of earth and Hell currently contest that rule. By worshiping the Triune God, we are declaring ourselves subject to someone outside the approved power structures.  

That is what we do each Lord’s Day. We gather in the presence of God and say that Jesus is Lord of Earth as well as Heaven, and that we will abide by his laws and give reverence to no one else. It’s not a neutral or private act. It is provocative and militant. Like massing troops on your nation’s border.

And here’s the thing: When the people of God give themselves to Him in glad-hearted service and devotion, the bad guys have no effective defense. As Christ said in Matthew 16, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not stand against it.” The devils have no counter to joyful reverence and obedience represented supremely in the Lord’s Day worship service.

Well, that’s not quite right. There is one counter. What do you do if your enemy has an unbeatable super-weapon? Try to get him to not use it on you. And that tactic has been extremely effective. When the Word is preached in power, the devils cower, so their best bet is to try have the word not preached, or not with conviction. When the high praises of God are in the mouths of the saints, its bad news bears for the principalities and powers, so their play is to get us to water down the songs and water down the singing until the people of God are either swaying and crooning along to feel good drivel or mumbling near a pipe organ.

So let it not be so with us. Let us sing heartily unto the Lord. That takes work. Nobody said it would be easy. Sing skillfully, the Psalmist says. The psalms and hymns of the church are weapons that the devils have no defenses against. So hone them, learn them, teach them to your children, and blaze away, following each shot with a thunderous “Amen.”

By which we mean, “There’s more where that came from!”