Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day 

Although no one has proven how much of music’s meaning is found in its formal properties  and how much is associative,  a host of music philosophers have believed over many centuries that music does have meaning.  Therefore, the view of some Christian musicians in the late twentieth and twenty first centuries that only words have meaning is only a recent notion.

 

 

Musical Meaning in Musical Sounds part 4

Musical Meaning in Musical Sounds part 4   

1Cointhians 14:8 states, “For if the trumpet (salpigx 4536) give (didomi 1325) an uncertain (adelos 82) sound (phone 5456) who shall prepare himself to the battle?”  This verse has become an esoteric reference to the blowing of the shofar to give meaning to all members of the ancient Jewish encampment.  Again St. Paul made reference to meaning that musical sound gave to the common man.  As I said earlier the musical references to the aulos (836) which was a type of flute or pipe and the word kithara (2788) which was a hand held lyre were used because Paul no doubt knew that the people commonly understood that musical sound had meaning.   Also he knew that if the musical notes played on the flute and pipe were not produced accurately the meaning of the sounds would be altered. 

So Paul considered the reference to the blowing of the shofar (7782) i.e. the ram’s horn to be a good reference to the importance of understanding simply because the blowing of the shofar, and its musical meaning, would help to prove his point.  His audience knew that the shofar was chosen for sounding because of its ability to emit clear sounds.  The Greek words didomi, adelos and phone, which were well translated here in the AV, connote that if the trumpet were to give indistinct sounds the meaning of the sound would be uncertain.  In this verse, admittedly, the meaning could have been that the association that the distinct sounding had was the issue rather than the message of the musical sounds themselves.   It will suffice to say that Paul and his audience respected the meaning of accurately produced notes and that music did have meaning.  What is not absolutely clear is whether or not the formal properties of the music had meaning as music alone or how much of the music’s meaning was associative.

 

 

Thought for the day

Thought for the day 

Musical performance accuracy was well developed during the time of the writing of both the Old and New Testaments.  Musicologists have reason to believe that this high quality of instrumental performance extended to both sacred and secular music.

 

Musical Meaning in Musical Sounds part 3

Musical Meaning in Musical Sounds part 3 

 If music had the capability and power to send clear or unclear messages to the people of ancient Israel and during New Testament times, surely it has no less power over audiences today.  Therefore all Christian musicians must take great care about the musical techniques they use in their musicing unto God. Ancient cultures, including their philosophers, believed that music had great power and expressed meaning.  It has been only modern philosophers in the second half or the twentieth century, including many church musicians, who have believed that music was (and is) not capable of saying anything. 

I am well aware that this mention of music is found in the midst of St. Paul’s discussion of the controversy over known and unknown tongues. However, Paul made part of his point by this discussion of music and musical instruments. I believe that there is absolutely no reason to discount what this great linguist wrote here, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, about the message of music having distinction if the notes are played accurately.  It is a mistake thing to try to write musical meaning into places in the Bible where music is not mentioned, but it is just as big a mistake to ignore music when it is mentioned as succinctly as it is here in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.  I might also point out that the musical discourse in the sixteenth chapter of I Samuel, which is a discussion of music therapy, also does not mention singing any words.  The musical that David’s kinnor produced when he played with his fingers was efficacious without the use of vocal music.  The therapeutic effect was produced by the sounds i.e. the notes produced on the kinnor.

 

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day  

The fact that instrumentalists in ancient Israel (in the case of the shofar) and the flute and pipe during Paul’s lifetime, were expected to perform accurate notes with clear tone shows how developed instrumental music was during Bible times.

 

Musical Meaning in Musical Sounds part 2

Musical Meaning in Musical Sounds part 2    

As Bible music historians know, both of these instruments were pitch producing instruments which were capable of playing accurate musical melodies.  With this knowledge in mind one can understand the meaning of the Greek words diastole and phthoggos which were translated “distinction in the sounds” in the AV.  The word diastole means distinction or accurate and the word phthoggos means the musical notes being played.  So, if the instruments played the intended notes accurately their sound sent a distinctive message to the hearer.  Note that nothing is written in this passage of Scripture about the singing of words.  The distinction of the message came through the sounds produced by accurate production of the musical notes being played by the instrument.  The message sent by the musician was the result of the message of the music rather than by words sung by a musician. 

        The common man in ancient Israel knew what the sounds meant merely by the selection of tones that the musician played.  I believe that there is much more musical truth imbedded in the meaning or this Bible reference than is commonly believed or understood by musicians today. We know that the way that the ancient musicians musiced sent either clear or “uncertain” messages to the hearer.

 

 

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day 

 

The very fact that St. Paul used a musical illustration gives credence to the belief that music was treated with great respect during his lifetime.

 

Musical Meaning in Musical Sounds part 1

Musical Meaning in Musical Sounds part 1

 

        One of the objectives of developing a Christocentric music philosophy is to incorporate musical principles into systematic beliefs about the nature and value of a musician’s music praxis.  Every Christian must recognize that if the words of the songs we sing are truly biblical then they embody truth.  These music texts represent truth because the message of the “words” is true.  They represent what Francis Schaefer called “true truth”. 

       If the texts of Christian music must be constant and reliable then it stands to reason that the styles of singing should be constant i.e. consistent with the message of the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ and the entire God Head.  First Corinthians 14:7 teaches, “And even things without life giving (didomi, 1325) sound (phone 5456), whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction (diastole 1293) in the sounds (phthoggos 5353), how shall it be known what is piped or harped?” 

Some explanation of the words giving sound and distinction in the sounds is in order at this point in our discussion of I Corinthians 13:7.  The words that have been translated “giving sound” are referring to musical instruments that produce sounds and they specifically refer to the sounds of the aulos (836) which was a type of flute or pipe. The word kithara (2788) refers to a hand held lyre.

 

Prayer,Song, and thought for the Day

Prayer for the Day  

LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  The Book of Common Prayer 1892, p. 176  

Song for the Day    So Send I You by Margaret Clarkson   

Thought for the Day  

It is my opinion that every Christian musician is called by “I AM” to music unto Jehovah Elohiym.

God’s Strong Identity Part 2

God’s Strong Identity Part 2  

            God was faithful to Moses who had seemed to lose his courage and identity by expressing to Moses His strong identity, “I AM THAT I AM”.  Adam Clarke gave this lengthy and wonderful explanation, “These words have been variously understood.  The Vulgate translates EGO SUM QUI SUM, I am who am.  The Septuagint… I am he who exists.  The Syriac, the Persic, and the Chaldee preserve the original words without any gloss.  The Arabic paraphrases them, The Eternal, who passes not away; which is the same interpretation given by Abul Farajius, who also preserves the original words, and gives the above as their interpretation.  The Targum of Jonathan, and the Jerusalem Targum paraphrase the words thus: "He who spake, and the world was; who spake, and all things existed."  As the original words literally signify, I will be what I will be, some have supposed that God simply designed to inform Moses, that what he had been to his fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he would be to him and the Israelites; and that he would perform the promises he had made to his fathers, by giving their descendants the promised land.  It is difficult to put a meaning on the words; they seem intended to point out the eternity and self-existence of God.” Clarke’s Commentary, by Adam Clarke, Vol. 1, p. 306   As I read the above explanation of how scholars have rendered the Hebrew words, EHEYEH asher EHEYEH my heart soared with praise unto the God who is.  This is the identity of the God who spoke from the midst of a burning bush to the confused, lonely, and insecure Moses.

            If you are questioning who you are and what God wants you to do at this time in your life, lean hard on the Lord God’s strong power, sure identity, and strong name.  There are two name of god recorded in YHWH (3068) which means the self-existent independent eternal god who now is and  Elohiym (430) which means the supreme exceeding God.  He not only was during Moses’ lifetime, but He also is right now.  This strong existence and identity separates Him from all other false gods who are now dead.  They are incapable of helping you because they are dead—they do not exist now so they cannot say “I AM”.  However, I AM is sending you into this sin curse wicked world to testify of His strong name and identity.