Understanding Sacred Music

 

Understanding Sacred Music

The reason the Levite musicians could prophesy “in the words of God” for the service of the LORD is simply that they understood sacred music.  The Bible does not tell us that these musicians were proficient in all the artistic wisdom of Hurrians, Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Sumerians, or Akkadians, but rather in the sacred songs of the Temple.  Likewise, in the New Testament, in the Ephesian letter, church musicians are admonished to “speak to yourselves in psalms (psalmos 5568) and hymns (humnos 5215) and spiritual songs (pneumatikos 4152 oide 5503).”  The New Testament Christian musician is counseled to be knowledgeable in the songs of the Lord.  Colossians 3:16 also confirms that the Christian musician must be knowledgeable in the songs of the Lord when it states, “teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”.  These church musicians were knowledgeable in the psalms of the Bible, hymns or songs of laudation to God and spiritual or non-carnal songs.

Putting Specifics to What One Believes-part 2

 

Putting Specifics to What One Believes-part 2

As to the issue of naming names, St Paul mentioned Demas in 2Timothy 4:10 and in Galatians 2:11 Paul mentions Peter, ”But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed”.  Note that Paul mentioned people by name in his letters to other Christians.  Certainly modern thought would consider that St, Paul was not politically correct, but I would remind the reader that he wrote these letters under the inspiration of the blessed Holy Spirit.  It is one thing to think about what is right and wrong with religious music, but it won’t do much good if we do not share, in love, that knowledge with other Christians.

1John 4:1 teaches, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”  It seems that almost everyone is an expert on church music in this century.  Just as prevalent is the notion that worship leaders have heard from God that this or that way of musicing is “of the Spirit”.  Certainly, what 1John teaches in the fourth chapter of his epistle is apropos today.  Every worship leader is responsible to “try the spirits whether they are of God”.  A wise man once said, “You should believe almost none of what you hear and only about half of what you see”. 

Putting Specifics to What One Believes-part 1

 

Putting Specifics to What One Believes-part 1

It is not considered politically correct to specify what and whom when it comes to sacred music and musicing.  So, Christian musicians tiptoe through the tulips so to speak when it comes to putting specifics to what one considers to be wrong with some religious music and musicing. The Matthew 7:1,statement, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” is often used as a prohibition of making any musical judgements that are specific even though these judgments have legitimate foundations that have a Bible and or a music basis. The Bible also states in John 7:24, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment”.  The Bible also states in Matthew 7:20, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them”.

The fabric of music and the landscape that surrounds it is “Christian” only when it is congruent with and has a footprint that is theologically accurate and has the propensity to accurately represent the moral nature of God.  Christians have the right and the responsibility to inspect the music’s “fruit”.  Let me  put it simply, for those who find it difficult to conceptualize my writings.  If something looks like a duck, walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, swims like a duck, has a duck’s footprint, and associates itself with other ducks, one may safely make the judgment that it is indeed a duck.