Customer Reviews

Worship in Spirit and Truth

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If you are familiar with John Frame, you know that he is one of the best Christian theological writers around. With degrees from Princeton and Yale and thirty years of teaching at the seminary and graduate level (Westminister Sem. and Reformed Sem.), he is a very sharp guy and a deep thinker. But his talent comes in the way he is able to synthesize difficult concepts and place them in accessible and easily understood language.

This is a good book. He is coming from a Reformed perspective, with a broad commitment to the regulative principle of worship. But he has an openness which enables him to see beyond the social accidents of his tradition and go back to Scripture for correction and guidance. He is able to sort out what is inconsistent in his tradition with the main impulses that have driven it. He also is good at sorting out the modern equivalents to ancient Biblical directives.

This book discusses the proper elemenst of worship, various styles, and content. It is always fresh, accessible, challenging, and insightful, even when you disagree with the author. I highly recommend it.

If you are looking for other approaches somewhat at varience with Frame, you might try: Hughes O. Old (more liturgically rich; extremely good), or Robert Rayburn (a generation older and sometimes wiser). I also like Jeff Meyers, The Lord's Service (on covenant renewal).

A few preliminaries:
I know the author, he was my favorite prof at Westminister West, i think he is a significant and important theologian in the conservative reformed church and i appreciate both his wisdom and his writings. We were members of the church spoken about in the book. The book is a re-read for me, being the primary reading for a PCA Sunday School class on Worship, several more reviews of books for this class ought to follow, for i have about 10 on the table for this class. I am not unaware of the controversy over worship in the conservative reformed churches in the US, i know the book caused a big stir on the right, and J.Frame faced a lot of criticism over the way he handled the issues in the book.

It is written to be a Sunday School class on Worship in the Church. It is secondarily an entry into these worship wars fought primarily over music with the exclusive psalmody guys to the far right, traditional hymn singers just to the left of them against anyone who dares try to make worship more spontaneous, more contemporary or forbid introduce dancing in the aisles or drama into the morning worship service. I like to think of J.Frame as the overhead projector and Praise song defender, but his position is far more nuanced and justified then this, however i would not be surprised if that is what most people walk away from the book believing. He includes thinking questions to address as a group and short footnotes with each chapter.



The book is written to that general reader, interested party with just barely a high school education. There are not theological terms to look up, no sophisticated reasoning that requires a table or flowchart to follow, but rather a gentle introduction trying to lead people through the maze of the discussion without setting off either their internal explosives nor the mines in the worship wars. For that alone JFrame ought to be commended, it is a good introduction, he touches on all the major issues, and even adds a few important ideas to use to grasp what are the real issues.

What does God require of us in our worship of Him? How to answer the question? on pg xiv he says there are 3 types of literature on the subject of worship: historical, ideological, practical. His contribution will be to look at Scripture and interpret tradition through it, looking mostly at the issues in modern conservative Presbyterianism. He introduces the idea that meaningful worship is to do as God commands in language that expresses our worship to God and our edification of each other. His major point throughout the book will be that God leaves us a lot of flexibility on the issues and that theological traditionalists will try to minimize both freedom and flexibility.

Chapter 1 is "Some Basic Principles" and it starts with "What is Worship?"
Our first concern is to please God. He introduces his useful triad of: authority control and presence. Worship is to be: God centered, Christ centered and Gospel centered. It is vertical, people to God, God to people and horizontal, people to each other. It is broad and narrow and it is important.

Chapter 2 is "Worship in the Old Testament"
The distinction of tabernacle and Temple worship, and later synagogue worship.

Chapter 3 is "Worship in the New Testament"
This chapter mirrors the one before it and shows how Jesus is the fulfillment of the elements of O.T. worship. Jesus is God's dwelling among men. Worship in the broad sense is effected by the ideas of Christ fulfilling the rules and regulations of the O.T. ceremonial law.

Chapter 4 is "The Rules for Worship"
God regulates our dealings with the holy. The regulative principle is do only what God commands, versus the converse, it is allowed if not prohibited. The distinction of circumstances which he calls application, which i think is culturally determined things that are not transcultural and required to be transmitted to all new believers in all cultures until the end of time. His rejection of the regulative principle as applicable only to corporate and formal worship and the historical Puritan principles anchored in their battles with a state controlled church. "We must be both more conservaive and more liberal than most students of Christian worship: conservative in holding exclusively to God's commands in Scripture as our rule of worship, and liberal in defending the liberty of those who apply those commandments in legitimate, though nontraditional, ways." pg 46

Chapter 5 is "What to Do in Worship"
The elements of worship which he lists as: greetings and benedictions, reading of Scripture, Preaching and Teaching, Charismatic Prophecy and Speaking in Tongues, Prayer, Song, Vows, Confession of Faith, Sacraments, Church Discipline, Collections and offerings, expressions of Fellowship. note: he is cessionist.

Chapter 6 is "Arrangements for Worship"
Doing all in a fitting and orderly way. Worship must be intelligible, understanding is essential for those in the pews, this requires contemporaneity. Service stresses primarily the joy in the resurrection of Jesus. pg 69 Scripture nowhere orders plainness as a matter of principle, contra the Puritans. pg 73 We live in a sacramental universe and can not escape the complex usage of symbols.

Chapter 7 is "The Tone of Worship"
Reformed theology is uncomfortable with emotions, often advocating the primacy of the intellect, the view that truth comes first to the intellect and is subsequently applied to the emotions and the will. pg 77 How the worshipper should feel: reverance, joy, sorrow for sin, participation, faith, love, boldness, family intimacy. People's taste and worship styles. authenticity, meeting God in the experience of worship.

Chapter 8 is "God speaks to us: the Word and the Sacraments"
We encounter God Himself in the Word, both read and preached. Sacraments as visible words.

Chapter 9 is "We speak to God: Our Response to God's Word"
prayer, confessions of faith, congregational responses, individual participation. the extension of intelligibility to meaningful and alert participation by everyone.

Chapter 10 is "Music in Worship"
note. the author is a very good musican. music as vivid and memorable, driving the Word into our hearts. what does music do, why is it controversial? traditional Christian ambivalence to popular worship, Presbyterian history of suspicion of revival, aesthetic concerns about the quality of music, and the generation gap. Music criticised as being too popular, too subjective, and not doctrinally reliable. pg 116 The concern to accommodate the brethren, to hold each other in higher regard then concern for one's own preferences.

Chapter 11 is "Music in Worship: some controversies"
exclusive psalmody, instruments, choirs, solos, music of the body.

Chapter 12 is "Music in Worship: Choosing Hymns"
Scriptural and understandable to the congregation. the chief rule for music is that it reinforce rather than detract from the words. pg 139 cultural differences, not to cater to human taste but to honor God in his desire to edify the people in worship, sacrifice our own preferences as we look outward in the Great Commission to reach out to those ignorant of our traditions. the idea that the weaker brethen needs extra help and instruction but not to allow the church to be captive to their false or excessive scruples. they may have to seek their own fellowships. pg 142 the potential answer to the worship wars. such divisions are defeats not triumphs as lack of love, unity and peace lose out to judgement.

Chapter 12 is "Putting it all together"
is a step by step analysis of one Sunday in his church.


So is he successful? Did he introduce the topic and keep people going to his Sunday School class? What are his motivations and goals in the discussion?
The book is interesting and i think it holds people's attention, you can pick it up and start reading anywhere for an idea of what he is talking about, it is even in tone and writing throughout.
To know if he is successful we have to figure out what he is attempting to do. First, it looks like a justification of his worship service and style of worship. His motivations appear to be to defuse the EP and anti-praise song people and allow him the freedom to worship this way and still be able to justify everything with the regulative principle. His major goal appears to be the peace and unity of not just this individual congregation but the denominations this effects as well. Is the solution to have 3 or 4 similiar denominations, with the rightmost EP, then another traditional hymns with the left using praise songs and overheads, like he says, this is a defeat for the unity and peace of the body of Christ, although that is what appears to be happening in the country.

He has several distinctions that are under fire, mostly from the right. Broad and narrow worship, the church as modeled after the synagogue rather than the temple, the need for spontenaity in worship versus the Puritan pursuit of plainness. I need to do more study before i am able to make an educated guess at what i think is the right way to do things. I appreciate the author and hope his book gets the wider attention it desires as in this class at my church.

thanks for reading this short review. email me at rwilliam2 at yahoo dot com subject worship class if you can help with these issues. i will send the url to the worship class notes on request as well.

Two words I can confidently say describe all of John Frame's writings. They are "irenic" and "balanced". John Frame is one of the most irenic writers that I have ever read. His tone is always friendly and warm. John always has a kind word to say about others, even those that he disagrees with. He points out the positives and the negatives. Part of that irenic tone is also his use of humor. John Frame is a very humorous writer. It makes his writing very light hearted. On the other hand he can also be serious when the need arises, and it often does in dealing with controversial topics such as church worship.

John Frame is also balanced. He always takes a look at an issue from both perspectives. This is one of my favorite aspects of his writing. This book on worship is no exception. Where Christians disagree, Frame explains the differences and why each position is held. He then thoroughly and biblically explains his own position. He never attacks or denigrates the opposing view, but is always kind and charitable.

In this book on worship in the church, John explains what worship ought to look like in the New Testament church. He contrasts the way it is different from the Old Testament worship. Frame also compares the worship styles: congregational, puritan, Baptist, Presbyterian, etc. He points out the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Since Frame comes from a Presbyterian background he discusses the so-called "regulative principle of worship". This is basically biblical guidelines for worship. Even among Presbyterians, this is more or less strictly adhered to.

Frame is a strong supporter of customizing the worship service to a particular social context, while at the same time maintaining biblical integrity in the worship. I really appreciated that because it shows his heart to reach out to the lost. We ought not get stuck in tradition for tradition's sake. We need to be willing to branch out and try new things.

I learned a lot from this book. It made me reflect seriously on the way I have experienced worship and the way I am now. One thing that I appreciated from Frame is his support of having the congregation participate more fully in the service. Even so far as to offer testimony or insight from the Word of God. I think churches would do well to take his suggestions seriously.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in deepening their appreciation and understanding of Christian worship. John Frame really does encourage us to worship the Lord in Spirit and Truth.

"Worship in Spirit and Truth" claims to deal with the "principles and practice of biblical worship." John Frame examines what the Scriptures say about worship, discusses what elements should be included in corporate worship, elaborates on the dialogical nature of worship, and concludes with some advice regarding music in worship.

Frame's definition of worship is "the work of acknowledging the greatness of our covenant Lord." Such a definition is open to criticism in that it downplays the fact that it is God who gathers us, meets with us, forgives, edifies, nourishes and commissions us. Frame does maintain, however, that worship must be God-centred and gospel-centred and that it involves God speaking to his people, and they responding.

This book does provide the reader with a concise introduction to reformed worship, and presents a helpful overview of the issues involved.

Frame subscribes to the Westminster Confession of Faith, which asserts that the "Acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped... [in] any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture," (WCF, XXI, i.). This seems to cause Frame some problems. He claims that his own formulation "does not contradict the confession, but goes beyond it," (p. 43). This formulation revolves around the idea that the so-called 'Regulative Principle of Worship' is "no different from the principles by which God regulates all of our life." That is, we wisely apply biblical commands to different aspects of our lives. Yet, in failing to maintain a sharp distinction between worship services and the rest of life, Frame freely acknowledges that he is departing from the WCF, which also states that God has kept our consciences "free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in any thing contrary to his Word, or beside it in matters of faith and worship."

Another weakness of Worship in Spirit and Truth is Frame's handling of the relationship between Old and New Testaments. For example, he expounds an artificial contrast between the two in regards to the use of the Psalms in worship. Although he rightly maintains that the Psalms "contain a great treasury of doctrine and emotion," and still ought to be sung, Frame suggests that our "post-Resurrection position in history... makes our worship emotionally different from that of the Psalms," since the "longing, the laments... and the prayers for judgment... find answers in Christ."

Revelation 6:9-10, however, would suggest that this is an unnecessary and unhelpful division. There the (glorified!) souls under the altar cry out "How long?" While the resurrection brings us great joy, it does not replace longing and crying out for justice. This verse demonstrates that the imprecatory psalms still have a place in Christian worship. While Frame does not deny this, his failure to mention Revelation 6:10 is puzzling at best.

Frame's use of the Old Testament is also inadequate concerning his exposition of the concept of sacrifice. In discussing worship in the New Testament he asserts that "Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice for sin, and therefore brings an end to temple offerings of bulls and goats." This is indeed the case, but it does not mean that there is no longer an element of sacrifice in Christian worship. Frame does indeed mention that we all bring to God spiritual sacrifices of "praise, prayer, godly behaviour and our whole existence." He does not refer to this idea again, however, and seems not to take into account how it might affect corporate worship. Yet if Christians are to be "living sacrifices," this must surely mean that the Old Testament tabernacle and temple worship has much to say about how we are to worship.

This in turn leads Frame to dismiss any approach that seeks to derive an order of worship from biblical texts, since such passages almost always come from the Old Testament. He argues that a "Re-enactment of Redemption" liturgy obscures the fact that redemption is in the past, while a "Dialogue" approach divides worship too neatly. Frame therefore calls for a "recovery of biblical flexibility."

While Frame's critiques are valid, they ought not lead us to dismiss either of these arrangements. (Indeed, Frame does use the concept of dialogue in presenting the elements - though not the order - of worship.) Old Testament rituals have more to teach us than Frame supposes. One might have hoped for a theology of worship that was based on a wider range of texts.

Thus, this book leaves out much that might contribute to constructing a theology of Christian worship. Frame does a fine job of outlining the elements of worship, but regarding how these elements fit together, he provides the reader with nothing more than an anecdotal exemplar. He does not explore how Scripture informs our order of worship. Worship in Spirit and Truth therefore only represents a first step towards the development of a thoroughly biblical theology of worship.

As many of the reviewers have said, he does challenge us to go back to Scripture to analyze and perhaps even re-consider our assumptions. Because it is not intended to be a technical evaluation of all the specific nuances of the Regulative Principle of Worship (which is, we are to worship God in the manner He has revealed to us in His Word), there are issues which are not addressed here.

I would encourage those who are considering their own theology of worship to read this book. It is definitely thought provoking.

However, Frame does a couple of things that I find problematic -
1.) He blurs the distinction between public and private worship. There are things that I can and should do with my family as part of our worship together. However, I do not believe that I am allowed to preside over the Lord's Supper with my family. Some things are reserved for the corporate body of Christ and we need to be careful we don't blur that distinction.

2.) He blurs the distinction between "holy time" and "ordinary time". Because he does not stress the continuing nature of the Sabbath principle, he ends up blurring what is and should be done six days a week with what should be done once a week.

A helpful corrective would be if John Frame went back to Genesis 1-2 and applied his usual "trichotomistic" approach. He would find - a.) some things Adam was never to do [eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil], b.) some things Adam was to do six days a week [work and till the Garden], and c.) some things Adam was to do once a week [Sabbath rest].

Somehow, Frame's love of 3's is not applied in this book. To over-simplify, he argues that there are things you should do and things you shouldn't do.

Where John Frame's book proves especially helpful is in the area of music within Christian worship. Certain churches have found themselves in literal battlegrounds over music styles. Frame reminds his readers that when the focus moves away from the center-God-and focuses on something that is not-musical styles-then the church has lost something vital. Frame's insights on the use of music in worship makes this a worthwhile read.

This is a book whose very subject stirs up a great deal of controversy within the Presbyterian Church in America. The assumption is made early on that we are to follow the Regulative Principle of worship; that we are to worship only in those manners that are specifically taught in Scripture. This still leaves considerable latitude of views and this book has contributed to no small controversy within the Reformed Churches where strong opinions have entrenched themselves on how we are to utilize the Regulative Principle in directing out worship.

The first seven chapters take us on a journey through the foundational principles of worship, covering the history of worship in both Testaments as well as dealing with basic questions of arrangement and tone. This is followed by five chapters in which these principles are applied to the specific areas of the Word, the sacraments, congregational responses, music and even dancing. The final chapter shifts more to a personal testimony of how the author has sought to apply these principles within his own church setting. Each chapter is followed by a series of discussion questions that would make this book highly useful in teaching a small group or Sunday School class.

Considerable weight is made via 1 Corinthians 14 that worship is to be made intelligible by placing it into the cultural language of the day. This includes, not only the sermons that are preached, but the music that is used for worship.

One valid point that was made which is usually overlooked by those discussing this subject is that in worship, we should not be so preoccupied with God that we ignore one another (Page 8). Worship is seen to be, not only for God's benefit, but also for our benefit.

The fact that three chapters are devoted to music demonstrates the author's own preoccupation with this particular subject. One particularly enlightening point was made with regard to the cultural differences between music in the Old Testament era versus our modern perceptions: In our time, we tend to see music mainly as entertainment, or perhaps "art for art's sake." Matters of historical importance, however, like congressional bills and international treaties, are always written in prose. To put them into poetry or music would seem to trivialize them. It would, indeed, be ludicrous for a president of the United States to sing a new treaty agreement. But the use of song for this purpose would not have seemed odd in the ancient world. Then, the most important things were commonly expressed in poetry and music (Page 113). The point is made that music involves making the truths of God vivid and memorable.

Really nice condition and really an interesting read. I really enjoyed getting this book and it has been quite an aid in my studies on worship of all generas.

Worship in Spirit and Truth is an interesting study on the whole concept of worship from a Reformed perspective. For me much of this book was both completely new and very old hat.

What was most eye-opening in Worship in Sprit and Truth was the concept of "the regulative principle." That we can derive principles for ordering our services straight from scripture to make them the most God-honoring they can be seems like common sense. However, the strict and narrow ways that many Presbyterians have used this principle seemed too much for me to comprehend. The bible nowhere makes claims like our only being able to sing Psalms, and my experience and study of the bible have directed me to use of all kinds of means to get the message of God's love across in church and other venues. The fact that Frame had to spell that out is baffling to me. Frame's idea that teaching the word can be done in a myriad of ways, including use of instruments, drama, singing of "uninspired" hymns and songs, and conventional preaching, also seems fairly plain to me, but evidently controversial in some circles.

I spent half my time reading this book saying, "Duh!" and the other half challenged to rethink how I participate in and lead services at my church. All in all, it was a useful book that I plan to use with those I minister to.

Worship in Spite of the Truth.


Unfortunately in this book, Professor Frame frames his discussion of the reformed doctrine of worship with a rhetorical rubber hammer. As such it is nothing but one big extended session of begging the question in nicey nice tones and oodles of extraneous Scripture reference. He can't see the tree, never mind the forest, for all the bugs on the bark. But he does accomplish a few things of note.

One, he completely divorces the term "the Westminster Standards" from its original definition, which included the Directory for Publick Worship and the Form of Church Government, along with the Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. That way he can castigate the supposed extraconfessional strictures and burden of guilt of Puritan worship on modern presbyterianism, such as the Directory which really only further sets forth the practical implementation of the elements of worship in Chapt. 21:5 of the Confession.

Two, he completely ignores the distinction of "good and necessary consequences" found in the Confession 1:6, which is critical to the presbyterian and reformed understanding of the Second Commandment as opposed to Three, the strictly literal take on the commandment that he advocates. All Frame can say is that the Second Commandment only forbids gross idol worship and nothing more. "(T)he second forbids the worship of and god (even the true God) by means of idols (pp.37.38)." Yet the proof texts for the Regulative Principle of Worship - "Whatsoever is not commanded - explicitly or implicitly - in Scripture, is forbidden in the worship of God " - in Chapt. 21:1 of the Confession include the Second Commandment.

Even further, the Larger and Shorter Shorter Catechisms on the Second Commandment are only too explicit re. the RPW and his ommission of their statements only too obvious in his restricting the commandment to gross image and idol worship alone. In other words, the omission of good and necessary consequences is fundamental to his fundamentalist take on the Second Commandment contra the Confession and Catechisms and the subsequent omission of the commandment from his exposition of the doctrine categorically decides the question to his competence on the question. In the negative. Decidedly.

Four, he will redefine the "circumstances concerning the worship of God. . . common to human actions and societies (WCF 1:6)" so that five, in the end his doctrine/definition of worship- he wants to substitute "applications" for the "elements" of worship - can be considered faithful "to the general rules of the word, which are always to be observed." But in that his applications seem to be only a confused combination of circumstances and elements, the water is only further muddied.

All in all, not a bad days work for just a few little errors. Yet like those who have gone before him, Jordan and Poythress, and those who have followed him, Horne, Schlissel, Leithart and Gore, Prof. Frame merely demonstrates his incompetence to profitably discussing the confessional doctrine, never mind substituting something in its place, in that again, he can't/won't even give us the correct confessional definition.The regulative principle of worship is the good and necessary consequences of the Second Commandment. "Whatsoever is not commanded - explicitly or implicitly - in the Scripture, is forbidden in the worship of God" as set forth in the Confession and Catechisms of the Westminster Standards.

Even further, let the reader beware. If John Owen, a Puritan who helped write the congregationalist version of the Westminster Assembly's Confession of Faith ten years later in 1658, could say that all occasions of false worship follows upon the ignorance, neglect or weariness in the exercise of true faith in divine worship (Works 5:437), it ought to be no surprise that some of those who have attacked the reformed doctrine of worship these days on various trumped up and supposedly "covenantal" grounds, are now also attacking the doctrine of justification by faith based on the same type of shallow and superficial arguments and misrepresentations. Frame so far, is merely part of the assault on the worship of the reformed church, while others like Schlissel have gone on to assault the gospel of the reformed church in espousing NT Wright's gospel.