Someone asks, “Is it permissible to sing during the Lord’s Supper?” The New Testament does not address this question. In other words, we have neither a directive nor an example to substantiate the practice of singing during the Lord’s Supper. However, it is also true that we do not have a single specimen in the New Testament of a worship assembly to observe precisely how it was conducted. On the other hand, we do have occasions in which facets of New Testament worship were addressed because early Christians were practicing it incorrectly (i.e., multiple speakers at the same time, 1 Corinthians 14:26-33; women speaking in the assembly, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35; confusion and disorder in the assembly, 1 Corinthians 14:33, 40). The apostle Paul also devoted a significant amount of space in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 to address abuses of the Lord’s Supper observance (i.e., factions within the assembly, combining eating of food with the Lord’s Supper for the nourishment of the body rather than noting the spiritual memorial feast, partaking of the communion in an unworthy manner).
Especially abuses of the Lord’s Supper did – and continue to have – serious consequences. “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29 NKJV).
Though we do not have an example of a New Testament worship service in detail to examine, we do have sufficient information regarding the institution of that memorial supper to ascertain how it was observed – with or without singing. In this sequence after the Passover meal (Luke 22:20), Jesus Christ prayed for the emblems of the memorial feast, those present partook of the bread and the fruit of the vine, and then, they sang a hymn before departing (Mark 14:22-26).
Personally, I doubt that I ever would have thought up myself the practice of singing during the Lord’s Supper. The practice certainly is neither taught nor demonstrated directly or indirectly in the New Testament either. In addition, some Christians at least assume that singing during the observance of the Lord’s Supper would be distracting to their devotion at that sacred moment, despite other brethren proclaiming that singing during the Lord’s Supper heightens their spiritual involvement.
The safest pursuit would to be imitate Jesus Christ as He instituted the Supper. Furthermore, each child of God even aside from this question needs to make sure that he or she observes the Lord’s Supper in the correct manner to avoid divine, punitive judgment. “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Corinthians 11:29 NKJV).
