The defense of the regulative principle of worship by the authors of the Westminster confession

For two centuries the Westminster Assembly\u27s directory for worship dominated Presbyterian worship, and its influence has continued in presbyterian churches to this day. In view of the directory\u27s influence, it is surprising to find so little scholarly discussion of the regulative principle of worship that served as the theological keystone of the directory. This essay will explore new ground by considering the reasons why the Westminster Assembly decided to include the regulative principle of worship in the Westminster Confession and the directory for worship. My methodology will be to use documents produced by the Assembly and the writings of the members of the committee that wrote the Confession, discussing the reasons used in the seventeenth century to defend the regulative principle as God\u27s will for worship.1 This essay will begin with some background concerning the Assembly and its directory for worship, define the regulative principle of worship, and then discuss the arguments defending the regulative principle. Frequent references will be made to the Westminster Confession\u27s doctrine of Scripture, which is an important assumption behind the arguments. The essay will conclude with some important lessons from the Westminster Divines on worship