They Musiced Distinctly

They Musiced Distinctly

Nehemiah 8:8, “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.  Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.  So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.”

            Have you ever thought about how the Levites actually “caused them to understand the reading”?  We have a tendency to read this Scripture passage “through Western eyes” with “Western understanding”.  Protestant Bible scholars have generally not understood, or have at least glossed over the fact, that during ancient times all Scripture was sung i.e. intoned by the Levite musicians. 

            So, when one applies current scholarship that all OT Scripture was musically notated with the te’amim above and below the text to our Western understanding of this passage in the eighth chapter of Nehemiah, one can deduce that it probably was the intoning of the Scripture that “caused the people to understand the law”. 

            The AV clearly states that “they read in the book in the law of God distinctly”.  This distinctness no doubt was made possible by the Levite musicians singing this portion of the OT Law.  Once again the Bible has left us principles of musicing that are still valuable to Christians in this century.  One of the principles that we should gather from this Bible lesson is that singing Scripture texts and song texts that are biblical will add specificity and spiritual understanding to our church music.

            Although the meaning and understanding of religious texts are often lost in the musical trappings that surround our religious musicing, causing worshipers and seekers to understand the good news of the Gospel should be the prima fascia case for our sacred musicing.  As we should remember as Christian musicians, the musical arts are not the doorway to the God’s kingdom.  However, we are instructed very clearly in Ps 100:2 to “come before his presence with singing.” As Dr. Watts put it, "Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God; But children of the heavenly king must speak his praise abroad."  One of the most effective ways of “speaking His praise” has been, over many centuries sacred musicing.

Song for the Day—We’re Marching to Zion by Isaac Watts   

Prayer for the Day 

LORD, I want to thank You for your Word.  I also want to thank You for creating music so that we are able to speak Your praise abroad by musicing the food news of the Gospel. 

Also. Like the ancient Levite musicians, please allow me to cause the people to understand as the Holy Spirit anoints my musicing unto You.  This I am asking in Your wonderful and worthy name.  Amen.

Thought for the Day

It is the message of our sacred musicing not that is most important but the music part of our musicing is also very important because style reflects on the hearer’s pinion of the message of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ.