Men in Corporate Worship Gatherings

I by the grace of God began to read the Psalms through from beginning to end in my 20^th year and have done so ever since. Some years ago I sensed I was to read one a day for the rest of my life, so now I read through the Psalms multiple times in a given year. One of the themes I’ve been impacted by is that of how the Psalmist personally felt about corporate worship and what he/they wrote especially about men in corporate worship.

For those of us men who grew up in a worship setting or perhaps whenever we first started attending a local congregation worshipped then in a setting where men worshipping with abandonment  was not practiced or encouraged, it can be quite intimidating at first. May this meditation help all of Christ’s disciples, but especially we men to grow in the freedom Christ bought for us on the cross towards worshipping Him in spirit and in truth.

For the Psalmists (all of whom were men btw) one thing is clear, sitting in a worship service with arms folded and lips closed was never an option. Listen to David’s testimony, “With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord; And in the midst of many I will praise Him. For He stands at the right hand of the needy, To save him from those who judge his soul.” Psalm 109:30,31   Somehow we men can yell our heads off, often standing and pumping our fists or waving our hands at sporting events and even rock music concerts (for those of us who at one time did such), but when we gather with God’s people intimidation and fear of man totally envelops us. At sporting events and music concerts we have little regard for what others around us are doing or saying, but in worship services they all seem to be staring at us (we feel). Not David. He couldn’t wait to gather with God’s people. He sang the loudest and was the first in line to testify of God’s goodness.

We don’t know who wrote this one. But he vowed to give thanks to the Lord with all of his heart in the very midst of God’s people. “Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly.” Psalm 111:1

I’m not sure what paying vows looked like for this unnamed Psalmist. But clearly he was determined to do it when he gathered with God’s people for worship. “I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people….I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people,” Psalm 116:14,18

Now we get to Psalm 145, written by David, and a very important Psalm for God’s people and especially men among God’s people. And while he starts off in vs. 1,2 speaking of his own personal commitment to extol, bless and praise the Lord. In vs. 6 he appears to be specifically addressing the call and responsibility for the male gender in corporate worship to speak up about God’s works and His attributes. “Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness. They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.” Psalm 145:6,7  

“All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.”

One of the greatest needs of the church in our day is for men to be more vocal in corporate worship gatherings whether big or small about who God is to them and who God is to others. This was never meant to be left to the ladies brethren!!  I realize they find it easier and more natural it seems. God bless the women for their expressed devotion to Christ when we gather. But God never meant for the men to sit back and be casual observers in our worship times. God never meant for the men in the church to be focused on physical/material/financial things while the women worshipped, and prayed and prophesied and exhorted, etc.  God moves when the women do these things. But I believe He moves even more when the men do them.

David has more to say on this, “All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord,  And Your godly ones shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.” Psalm 145:10-12  The sons of men – the folks gathered to worship in any setting big or small have a great need to know of God’s mighty acts and the glory of the majesty of His kingdom. One of the ways they were meant by God to come to know these things is by men (and women) – “Your godly ones” – speaking of these things out loud when appropriate and by the leading and enabling and anointing of the Holy Spirit.

OK well that’s a bit of what the O.T. has to say. What about the New Testament?  Well twice in I Corinthians 14 wherein Paul is discussing the greater gifts of prophecy and tongues speaking and interpreting those tongue messages when God’s people gather, he sums up things by saying, “What is the outcome then?    First he asks this in vs. 15, “What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.”  Paul is trying to help them learn to discern when it is appropriate when God’s people are gathered to pray in the Spirit and when it is appropriate to pray with our known tongue and the known tongue of everyone else in the room; and when it is appropriate to sing with the spirit and when it is appropriate to sing words that are known to everyone. Everyone who gathers to worship Christ needs to learn to follow the leading and anointing of the Holy Spirit in those gatherings in everything we do – especially in praying and singing. Just because you may have learned how to sing in your choir at school or in a band somewhere does not mean you know how to sing (in a way that pleases God and edifies those around you) when you gather with God’s people to worship. This has to be learned over time.

The same is true about speaking out when God’s people gathers. The following passage makes clear that all of us can and should, though obviously not all at once and not all every time we gather unless we are talking about a small group gathering. “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” I Corinthians 14:26  Part of growing in maturity as a disciple of Jesus Christ is learning how to hear the voice of God in any given worship gathering and being His mouthpiece to others via a teaching, revelation, tongue with interpretation, etc.  The flip side of that is learning to receive from others and hearing God’s voice through others as they feel led to prophesy, or read a Scripture, or testify, or pray, or speak in a tongue with an interpretation, etc.

I find it very interesting that after Paul commands the Ephesian believers to “…be filled with the Holy Spirit,” in Ephesians 5:18, he immediately follows with “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;” Ephesians 5:19.  (cf. Colossians 3:16). Last Wednesday night in our monthly home group we had worshipped in knowns prepared songs and were sharing with and exhorting one another around the Lord’s table, and one of our men began to sing spontaneously, “What can take away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus…” We all sang the whole song and it was perfectly timed for what we were deliberating about. God delights in speaking to His people through His people.

Our last passage is from Paul to Timothy regarding corporate worship gatherings, “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.” I Tim. 2:8  Men were wired to pray alone and in public. Jesus the perfect man modeled this for us. (see https://www.kingdomstreams.net/post/prayer-in-the-life-and-ministry-of-jesus-christ-outline).  When Paul says “every place” he is not referring to locations as much as he is corporate gatherings. Any and every worship gathering ought to have praying men in it.

So for those of you men who have worshipped in churches where this is not encouraged nor practiced, and thus this seems overwhelming and scary, believe me I can sympathize with you. The church I grew up for my first almost 20 years did not practice this on the most part especially the spontaneity/being led by the Spirit in the moment part of this. And the same is pretty much true for the churches I worshipped in for the next 10 years. I had quenched the Spirit and grieved the Spirit and forbade to speak in tongues and despised prophetic utterances for my first 30 years in the church and now all of a sudden my eyes were opened and while I was glad God had opened my eyes to His truth and will and way, I DID NOT FIND THIS EASY! Much had to be undone in my mind and in my heart and soul/spirit.

Our Savior and the Head of the Church has been very patient and persistent with me. He will be to you as well as you seek to please Him every time you gather with God’s people. May every man who ever reads this find ever greater joy in being among God’s people and being the vocal responsive man God has called you to be for His glory and for the edification of His church in Jesus’s name, Amen!