Ancient Hebrew Singing Recorded in the Bible—part 2

Ancient Hebrew Singing Recorded in the Bible—part 2

          The discussion of who and to whom music should be sung reveals that there is a multiplicity of reasons for singing unto God.  The Bible teaches that that there is a universal responsibility for all to sing unto God.   Those who consider religious music to be merely a vehicle to display the church musician’s talents misuse sacred music.  Rather than using it as a vehicle of communication with God, they reduce its mission and purpose to a mere hocking of a talented (or not so talented) musician’s musical wares.

          It is no doubt true that women were excluded from participa­tion as Temple musicians in both the first and second Temples.  This does not infer that women musicians were inferior in talent or intellect.  There is evidence that it was the customs of ancient Israel and the type of music that women performed which kept their species of music separate from that of men.  I have not found any implication from the study of music in the Bible that women should be excluded from church music today.

Thought for the Day

A study of sacred musicing in the Old and New Testaments reveals that sacred musicing was not conceived by the ancient Hebrew musicians to be an art form to be consumed on the church musician’s desires.

Ancient Hebrew Singing Recorded in the Bible—part 1

Ancient Hebrew Singing Recorded in the Bible—part 1

          When a musician studies learn singing in the Bible, he or she will learn that vocal music was without doubt the most important component of ancient Hebrew music.  Ancient sacred music was conceived as a handmaiden of the "word of God".  Also, singing and playing are mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments.

          The study of Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs reveals a special responsibility for church music to be theologically sound.  As I have studied sacred music in both the Old and New Testaments, it has become apparent that it was a vehicle for the word of Christ.  As one makes application to church music in this century, it becomes apparent that it may become a means of grace to the Christian.

Thought for the Day

Christian musicians who suppose that studying ancient sacred musicing mentioned in the Bible to not be relevant miss a tremendous opportunity to gain an understanding of the relevance of sacred musicing.

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace-part 4

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace-part 4

             A musician who performs or leads others in sacred music must have the grace (charis 5485) God in his or her heart.  This Scripture is not referring to man’s charisma but rather God’s grace.  Although it appears that in the late 20^th century and now in the 21^st century many Bible translators have taken the view that charis should be translated in this verse as gratitude or in a graceful manner.  I see no logical reason t not follow the majority opinion of the earlier Bible exegetes that this Greek word should connote the grace of God that has been shed abroad in the hearts of men and women who have been truly “born again”.  Tis word should here represent God’s saving grace that changed the whole-life of the “new man”.

          With the aforementioned exegetical understanding, this verse strongly teaches that church musicians must be “born again” before they sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs in God’s house.  No amount of artistic, graceful, respectful, or thankful musicing can take the place of the church musician being a born-again Christian who has the Grace of God operating in his or her life.

Thought for the Day

Even in the Old Testament, the Levite musicians were commanded to live a holy life.  Mal 3:3 states, “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.”

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace-part 3

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace-part 3

           The Christian musician who is performing the psalms, hymn, and spiritual songs does so as a vehicle for giving thanks to God the Father by the mediatorial agency of God the Son.  We should not forget that musicing unto God is always done as a performance.  However, performing music for God’s glory is a much different performance than performing for the aggrandizement of the performer.  The Christian musician should consider all sacred musicing to be musical offerings unto God.  All this musicing should be musicing about God that is strictly for God.

          Although it is hard for many Christian musicians to view all sacred musicing as musical offerings rather than artistic musical sacrifices made unto God, that is exactly what they should be.  A historical look at music in the Temple in ancient Israel reveals that the evites did not consider sacred music to be an art form as we do in Western culture today.  It appears that ancient Temple musicians viewed it as a means of connection with JHVH.  Also, they considered their music to be a sacred trust that was at the center of all their musicing.

Thought for the Day

Although worship is not primarily about quality, a study of the Old Testament sacrificial system reveals that worshipers were commanded to give God the best offering that they were capable of giving.

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace-part 2

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace-part 2

          There is also another companion passage found in Ephesians 5:19-21, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

          I would like to take a brief moment to remind Christian musicians of the main reasons that we music mentioned in Colossians 3:16.   We must always music “in the name of the Lord Jesus”.  The Greek word used her is kurios (2962) which connotes supreme authority, or the one who is the Christian’s Savior, Lord and Master.  Christian musicians often tend to get lost in the fact that they are giving a music performance or that they work for and represent a particular church or Christian organization. All of the above may be true, but a Christian musician’s supreme authority is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Thought for the Day

Although many musicians do not think much about it, the way we lead others in their musicing will affect them spiritually.

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace-part 1

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace-part 1

          Colossians 3:16-17 teaches, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”  Many speakers and writers miss the lessons taught in these verses because many skip these verses in their comments or at least they make little or no mention of the music lessons taught here.  I suspect they were so intent on getting to the eighteenth verse so that they could once again tell women to submit that they miss the musical import of these verses in Colossians chapter 3.

Thought for the Day

What a musician fills his or her mind with will determine how that person does.  So be careful about what you see, hear, read, because it will affect how you music.

Music Philosophy Questions

Music Philosophy Questions

Below are ten questions that I have often asked my music philosophy students.  Take some time and see if you can answer them.  If you cannot perhaps you should give them further consideration.  For many of the questions there is no right or wrong answers.  I believe that every Christian student of music philosophy must struggle with these questions.

1  What is the general belief of the meaning of the term philosophy?

2  When considering Christian ministry in general, what does the Bible identify as the main thing?

3. What happens when music takes preeminence over preaching?

4 Explain why you believe that music can or cannot have a profound moral effect on the hearer.

5. What did ancient philosophers believe about music’s power?

6. Explain why you believed that music style is or is not neutral and therefore amoral.

7. Explain why you believe that music does or does not belong to the Christian performer, arranger or composer.

8. Why did Thomas Aquinas’ theory of nature and grace open “Pandora’s Box” philosophically?

9. What does the Bible teach about kosmos and aion and the Christian? Make application to how these terms relate       to the Christian musician.

10. How does man’s wisdom concerning church music differ from God’s wisdom?

Thought for the Day

One of the problems that Cristian musicians often have when conversing with musicians who are not Christians is that many believers are not able to articulate their philosophical music beliefs.

Doing the Work of God Deceitfully—part 2

Doing the Work of God Deceitfully—part 2

          God’s ways are higher than the ways of the world.  We, as Christian musicians, should notice that the world sells everything from food to liquor with sex.  The world uses man’s depraved nature and man’s natural sexual appetite for that matter, to present a multiplicity of products.  Why can’t Christians take advantage of man’s depraved nature and his natural sexual appetite for that matter to present the good news of the gospel?  The reason is that as Galatians 5:17 states, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

           The Galatian writer makes it very clear that the flesh and the sprit are contrary one to the other when verse seventeen tells us that the flesh lusts against the spirit.  The Bible teaches that the flesh and the spirit are not compatible.  It is a mystery to me that so many Christian musicians are determined to try to work them side by side as a team.  Placing the flesh and the spirit side by side is like placing a lion and a lamb in the same harness.  If one does, there is no doubt about it; the lion will eat the lamb.

          There is another reason that Christian musicians should not sell sacred things with sex.  It is deceitful to get people’s attention with sexual innuendoes and then hit them with the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thought for the Day

As Christian musicians we sometimes erroneously believe the notion that, since we love and serve the Lord, we are exempt from being influenced by this present world system.  This happens to us because of the constant subtle ways that the various popular music styles influence our psyche.

Doing the Work of God Deceitfully—part 1

Doing the Work of God Deceitfully—part 1

          What many Christian musicians have forgotten is that direction determines destiny.  If you start west on I 70 from Indianapolis, you will not arrive in Columbus, Ohio, no matter how much you desire to go east to Columbus, Ohio.  Getting a crowd’s attention by emphasizing the flesh will by no means draw them to Christ.  If a performer maximizes the physical, by doing so he or she minimizes the spiritual.  If a performer sings religious music and at the same time draws attention to the flesh, he or she will get a message across to the audience, but this message will not be good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The reason one cannot successfully sell sacred things with the sensual is that the Bible states in Galatians 6:6-9 that it just won’t work.

          Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption: but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Thought for the Day

Certainly Christian Musicians should have discernment when it comes to musing unto God. However, a Christian musician’s perceived understandings of the proper way to music unto God should be firmly grounded in Bible principles of music and musicing.  Although the Bible is not an exhaustive source of musical truth, what it does teach is “true truth”. 

Teaching the Next Generation to Music--Part 4

Teaching the Next Generation to Music--Part 4

          An often much overlooked necessity is studying music seriously.  It is no joke that “knowing is doing”.  A Christian cannot teach what he or she does not know.  In our highly educated world today it is ludicrous for one to try to instruct others in how to music and how to develop a music philosophy without as much as knowing the names of the lines and spaces.  Being a music consumer does not qualify one to instruct others in music.

          Christians must consider the whole of music.  This includes a long broad study or music which includes both sacred and secular music.  Everyone should have knowledge of classical, folk, pop, jazz, rock, country and a host of other types of music in order to converse intelligently with the generations to follow us as pastors, parents, and church musicians.  Anything less than music literacy and a general understanding of the performance practice of these styles will dwarf our possibilities of reaching our young people with a logical, reasonable, explainable, discussible, and practical philosophy of music.

Thought for the Day

          Why is it that many Christians both young and old believe that II Timothy 3:16, but have never considered that its truth extends to the whole of music?  It is over simplistic to pick and choose which verses on music to believe.  The fact that the Holy Writ and what it teaches is many times difficult to understand and interpret in the light of modern twenty fist century post-postmodern culture does not give a  musician the right to ignore the Bible’s teachings on music and musicing.  1Cointhians 13:12 explains very vividly, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”  The fact that, as 1Corinthians 13:9, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.” does not give us the right to ignore the truths taught in the Holy Writ about music.