Worship, Song, and
Praise
By Stephen Terry
‘His
brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed
instruments and pipes.” Genesis 4:21, NIV
Music
and its relationship to worship have been controversial almost since the fall
into sin of Genesis 3. The above verse places the beginning of certain types of
musical instruments clearly with the descendants of Cain. During Bible times,
music was a common part of worship. But later, for many centuries, no musical
instruments at all were allowed during worship. This is the period that
produced the wonderful Gregorian chants that some equate with meditative
contemplation and reverence.
Later
generations found that the pipe organ could be a beautiful compliment to
worship. While Jubal, descendant of Cain, was the father of those who play on
pipes, few today would dispute the elevated mood created by the strains of Bach’s
“Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” Yet, how did we get from the playing of musical
instruments by Cain’s descendants to its common use in worship today?
Apparently,
even though associated with Cain’s line, music did not die with the Noahic flood. Since only Noah’s family survived, we can
reasonably assume that his family included at least one who was familiar with
how music was made. This begs the question: If music itself was somehow evil,
why would it have survived the flood?
Many
centuries later we discover David the shepherd boy playing a stringed
instrument for King Saul to briefly deliver the king from demonic oppression. If
the stringed instruments were originated by Cain’s descendants, how could this
be? The only reasonable conclusion we can come to is that the instruments
themselves are not evil. It is the purpose to which they are put. And clearly,
as with David, the instruments can be put to good purposes.
Unfortunately,
this has not been the position of the Christian church through the ages. Often
it has been the instrument itself that was vilified. I have already mentioned
the period when even organs were not allowed even though they are commonplace
today. At other times, fiddles or violins have been referred to as the Devil’s
instrument, and today the same is often said of electric guitars and drums.
So
what does this mean? Is it really true that “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” is
worshipful when played on the organ or piano, but if played on the fiddle or
electric guitar, or accompanied by drums is now evil? Was that the case when
some church congregations a century ago could not afford pipe organs or even
pianos and humbly accompanied their “shaped note” singing with guitars and
fiddles? Were they sinning by doing so? Was that the case when Salvation Army
bands stood on street corners with big bass drums as part of their entourage?
Sometimes
simply the sight of the instruments is a concern. Who hasn’t heard someone
remark “Did you see that they had drums up front at that church?” Yet a praise
singer may use backup instrumental tracks for their special music presentation
during the service with nary an objection even though it contains tracks of the
instruments in question.
Recently,
I attended the North Idaho Camp Meeting in Bonners Ferry,
Does
country music mean Hank Williams, Sr’s “I Saw the Light,” or does it include
Toby Keith’s “Whiskey Girl?” Is he moved as much by Johnny Cash’s “Sunday
Morning Coming Down” as by Ronnie Hinson’s “The Lighthouse?”
Things
are no less confusing regarding his statement concerning rock music. There is a
world of difference between Bob Dylan’s Rock ballad “Blowing in the Wind” and
the Rolling Stone’s “Sympathy for the Devil.”
While
defining music by genre is a simple way of expressing likes and dislikes, it is
imprecise, sets groups of people against one another for questionable reasons,
and seems completely opposed to “Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew
5:9, NIV
Some
in an effort to be more precise have defined rock music as music which has a
back beat. In a music measure in 4/4 time the customary beat would be on the 1st
and 3rd beats of the measure, whereas with a back beat it is on the
2nd and 4th beats. This is an oversimplification of what
is going on in rock music and ignores things like syncopation, progressions,
etc. However, it is what is commonly emphasized by some as being the evil
element in such music. But back beats are not solely the province of rock
music. The Big Band music of the 1940s commonly used back beats as did several
other genres both before and after that time. We even find back beats used in
songs in otherwise acceptable hymnals.
Some
might ask why are back beats even necessary? That question is like asking a
third grader why they aren’t happy with a box of sixteen crayon colors. Why do
they want the bigger box of colors? We think nothing of denying a child the
tools for artistic expression that a 64-color box will provide, but we have a
hard time allowing that same artistic expression in music. The third grader is
not judged by how many crayons she uses to color her picture. Instead she is
judged by the picture itself. In the same way, the musician should not be
judged because of the musical tools used to create his work of art, but rather
by the work itself. Does it uplift? Or does it tear down?
Under
these criteria, we can see Michael W Smith’s “Healing Rain” for the uplifting,
healing, hope-filled work it is, and Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss’s “Whiskey
Lullaby” for the depressing work it is. Even though Smith’s work is a contemporary
gospel rock composition and
This
brings us to another point about music. It cannot be assumed that because music
is loud and clanging that it is improper, even for worship. We all like
soothing music’s calming effect on our nervous systems, but there are times
when we need to rise up with feeling and praise God loudly. Several passages in
the Bible support this. For example:
“The sons of Israel present in Jerusalem celebrated the
Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with
great joy, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day after day with
loud instruments to the LORD.” 2 Chronicles 30:21, NASB and “Praise Him
with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals.” Psalm
150:5, NASB When was the last time you
heard clanging cymbals as part of the morning worship service?
I
know this will most certainly not be the last article written on the subject of
music and worship. As long as we have differences of musical taste, there will
be those who want to support their particular likes and vilify their dislikes
from the Bible. Unfortunately, this
works against the spirit of unity in the church. Seventh-day Adventists are not
alone in this. I recently saw on the signboard of a local Baptist church that
they were now having two services, one from the hymnal and one from a contemporary
song book because the two factions could not agree to worship together. How sad
this is.
This
is not the loving unity that Christ said would identify His followers in the
Gospel of John. (See John 13-15) We believe
that we are living in the final days before Jesus returns. Should we be spiritually
flogging one another over music? It is a time to come together not to fall
apart.
In
the book, “Counsels on Health,” Ellen White put it like this: “`Press together; press together,’ are the words of our
divine Instructor. Unity is strength; disunion is weakness and defeat.” pg 517. Can we set aside the war over music? Precious
souls are looking daily for someone to tell them about Jesus before it is too
late. Isn’t that what we should concern ourselves with above all else?
Bible texts marked NASB, are from the New American Standard Bible and used by permission of The Lockman Foundation.
This Commentary is a Service of Still
Waters Ministry
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