The Noise of Your Songs

The Noise of Your Songs

Amos 5:23 states, “Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.”

       At the time that this Scripture was penned by the prophet Amos, Israel’s heart was not right with God.  So Jehovah spoke through Joel to tell Israel that he would not accept their meet offerings, thank offerings, or their musical offerings.

       Because of Israel’s “heart condition”, God called their songs and their singing with instruments “noise”.  The Hebrew word rendered “noise” is hamown (1995) which means “a noise or a tumult”. 

       Church musicians need to tune their hearts before they tune their harps.  It was so in the days of the prophet Amos, and it is still true today.  Our hearts must be in tune with God or our musician is nothing more than noise to our God.  Your taking time to read and study God’s word is just as important as organizing and practicing the music for Sunday morning worship!  If you take time to read, pray, and get your heart in tune with God, you will not be apt to hear God say, “I hate, I despise your feast days…though ye offer me burnt offerings, I will not accept them…”

       I have always told my students that, “The God of performance is also the God of rehearsal.”  If you come to rehearsal with your heart in tune with God, and if you “practice the presence of God in rehearsals, you will never have to “put on” or act like you are enjoying God’s presence when you give God a musical offering in a church service.