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In this portion of our study we'll examine
the use of music in our worship to God. Every religious group I know of
uses music in their worship, but many different types of music are
used. What are the Bible's instructions regarding music in our worship
to God? To answer this question we'll study the NT scriptures dealing with music, consider the
Greek words used by the NT writers as they recorded the scriptures, and
review the history of music in Christian worship.
Definitions
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Sumphonia
(Strong's 4858, translated "musick")
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Mousikos
(3451, "musicians")
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Ode (5603,
"song")
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Hoplon
(3696, "instruments"; also translated "weapon" and
"armour")
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Ado (103,
"sing", "singing")
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Humneo
(5214, "had sung", "sang", "will sing")
-
Psallo
(5567, "sing", "will sing", "making melody",
"sing psalms")
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Kumbalon
(2950, "cymbal")
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Kalkos
(5475, "sounding brass"; also translated "money")
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Paizo
(3815, "play")
-
Kithara
(2788, "harp", "harps")
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Kitharizo
(2789, "harped", "harping")
-
Kitharodos
(2790, "harpers")
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Aulos
(836, "pipe")
-
Auleo
(832, "have piped", "what is piped")
-
Auleetees
(834, "pipers", "minstrels")
Old Testament references to Music (partial
list)
-
Instrument(s) of music:
21 references
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Play musical
instruments: 4 references
The Bible has much to say about music in
our worship to God. In our quest to understand the worship practices of
the one body of Christ we must spend a significant period of time considering
music. As we look around us we see many different types of music
practiced by different religious organizations. These varied types of
music can be broken down into two major groups: vocal and mechanical.
While all forms of music are in some way mechanical (that is, an instrument
generates different wavelengths of sound, producing different tones), when I
speak of mechanical forms of music in this study I'll refer to the varied
forms of non-vocal music. Instruments producing such forms of music
include the piano, organ, guitar, trumpet, etc. Vocal music will refer
solely to music produced by the human voice.
With the definitions established let's proceed
with a detailed examination of music in the Lord's church. While I'm
sure there are many different ways to approach music in the church, I'd like
to do so by asking and answering a series of questions. Once we know
the answers to these questions we'll understand music as it is authorized for
the members of the one body of Christ. Below I've included every NT
scripture (KJV) containing the words music (musick in the KJV), musicians,
song, instrument (or instruments), making melody, sing, sang, sung, singing,
cymbal, sounding brass, harp, harps, harped, harpers, harping, pipe, piped,
pipers, minstrels, or play. I've included the verses in the table
below. Following each verse is a series of columns. Each column
contains the answer to one of the following questions:
-
Is vocal (V) or mechanical
(M) music practiced in this verse?
-
If vocal music is practiced,
what was its purpose?
-
If mechanical music is
practiced, what was its purpose?
-
Does this verse refer to music
as practiced in heaven (H) or on earth (E)?
-
If this verse refers to music
on earth, is it music offered by members of the Lord's body in an assembly of
the church?
From the table we can now evaluate the use
of vocal and mechanical music as authorized by New Testament scripture:
-
Mechanical forms of music are
recorded as being used on earth and in heaven. On earth, this form of
music served to reflect a mood (sorrow at the death of a ruler's daughter) or
as an illustration (a parable spoken by Jesus, showing how those of that
generation were like children who didn't dance when a pipe was played; to
show how one speaking in tongues without love is like a "sounding brass
or tinkling cymbal"; to show how one speaking in tongues with no
interpreter is like a pipe or harp playing indistinct notes; to show the
sad state of "Babylon" after its destruction in that there would no
more be heard the sounds of harps or pipes in this city). There is no
record of it being used as part of a worship assembly. In heaven, it is
recorded as being used in worship to God (harps).
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Vocal music as well is
recorded as being used on earth or in heaven. On earth it was used in a
secular sense or in worship to God. In a secular sense, the elder son
heard music coming from his house after the return of his prodigal
brother. In worship, it was used in either an assembly of the members
of the Lord's church, or outside such an assembly. In Matthew and Mark
we read of Jesus and His disciples singing a hymn prior to entering the Mount
of Olives shortly before Jesus' crucifixion. In Acts we see Paul and
Silas singing praises while imprisoned. In Romans we see the response
of the Gentiles to the good news that Jesus was a minister of the
circumcision for the truth of God (Romans 15:8-12). In each of these three occasions we see vocal music being
used to worship God outside an assembly of the Lord's church. In an
assembly of the Lord's church we see vocal music serving several
functions: speaking to one another, worship, teaching, admonition, and
to reflect the mood of one who is merry. Vocal music used in heaven is
recorded as being used to worship God.
What conclusion must we reach from a study
of the NT scriptures that deal with music used in the worship assemblies of
the Lord's church? Only vocal music is authorized! But why
do so many religious organizations use instrumental music in their
services? Authorization for such use could come from one of two
sources: commandments of men or the Old Testament. In this study
of the church I could redo lessons that many have already published on the
internet. But I feel that would be of limited value and would do little
other than to increase the volume of material already available. In my
study of the church I chose to spend most of my time establishing authority,
and limit the time I spend on topics such as instrumental music. In the
end, what I say makes absolutely no difference. However, if what I
teach is based on a firm foundation, then one would do well to seriously
consider these studies. We've already laid the foundation. We
know that today one cannot look to the Old Testament for religious
authority. We know that one cannot look to the unfounded teachings of
men for religious authority. Opinions abound regarding instrumental
music in worship. Having established the New Testament as the sole
authority in religious matters today renders a study of music in the worship
assemblies of the Lord's church fairly simple. If it's not authorized
in the NT, it's not authorized at all. Naturally, in order to justify
the use of instrumental music, several have attempted to twist the meaning of
psallo to force it to include the use of instruments in its
meaning. I would like to take a brief look at this word to see if
instruments could possibly be included in its definition.
Psallo
The word is used 5 times in
the NT: Romans 15:9, 1 Corinthians 14:15 (twice), Ephesians 5:19, and
James 5:13. We see from the table above that the account in Romans does
not refer to music used in an assembly of the Lord's church (even if it did,
it is translated "sing" and the same rules noted below
apply). Therefore we will limit this discussion to the latter 3
verses. In each of the three we see an absolute exclusion of mechanical
instruments of music (other than the voice). Why? What did Paul
tell the Corinthian brethren to do? To sing with the spirit and with
the understanding. But how does this exclude non-vocal music?
Please notice who (or what) is to have the spirit and the
understanding: the one singing! How does a piano sing with
understanding? It cannot! The same statement can be truly made
regarding every other non-vocal instrument. The instrument cannot
understand anything. It simply responds to the commands given it by the
musician. One group may say, "I'll sing while playing an
instrument." This doctrine still cannot overcome the difficulties
presented in 1 Corinthians 14:15. Every instrument "singing"
is required to do so with understanding. Even with the members singing
and playing an instrument, the instrument will never be capable of
understanding what it is "singing." We see a similar dilemma
in Ephesians. In this verse we see that we are to speak to one another,
"in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your
heart to the Lord;". Again we must consider who is doing the
singing: The one with the melody in his heart. But how does an
organ develop a melody within its heart? It cannot! Just as the
piano is a lifeless instrument with no understanding, the organ is equally
lifeless and incapable of making a melody within its heart. Here we
again have that coordinating
conjunction "and", which we've spent much time considering in
other studies. "And" renders "singing" and
"making melody in your heart" of equal importance. Someone
will say, "Singing may refer to an instrument of music, while making
melody in the heart refers to the one playing the instrument." Is
this valid? Let's look at all of verse 19 to answer this
question. Notice what Paul says, "Speaking to yourselves in psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the
Lord;". Before Paul mentions singing he uses the following
words: "speaking", "psalms", "hymns", and
"spiritual songs." Let's look at each of these as we evaluate
the validity of the position noted above.
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Speaking: The Greek
word is laleo.
This word refers to the use of the voice to utter articulate sounds, to use
words, to talk.
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Psalms: The Greek word
is psalmos.
The word may refer
to either the striking or twanging of a musical instrument, or to a pious
song. Psalmos is derived from psallo.
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Hymns: The Greek word
is humnos.
This word refers to a song in the praise of gods, heroes, or conquerors, or a
sacred song.
-
Spiritual: The Greek
word is pneumatikos. The definition is complex, so please link to the on-line
lexicon for further study.
-
Songs: The Greek word
is ode
and is translated "song." Ode is derived from the
primary word ado,
which means "To the praise of anyone, to sing."
With these definitions in mind lets return
to Ephesians 5:19. Paul begins the verse with the phrase,
"speaking to yourselves." The word "speaking"
requires the use of the voice to utter articulate sounds (Greek laleo).
This word excludes instruments of music. His next phrase states,
"in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." The word "in"
is a preposition, and serves as a "function word to indicate means,
medium, or instrumentality." So the voice is to be used as a means to
utter articulate sounds in the form of psalms, hymns, and spiritual
songs. The phrase "singing and making melody in your heart to the
Lord" follows Paul's commandment for us to speak to each other.
Can we correctly interpret the word "singing" in Ephesians 5:19 to
include musical instruments? No! To do so would require taking
the word "singing" completely out of the context of the verse in
which it lies. Everything before it requires the voice, as does everything
after it (again, a lifeless musical instrument is incapable of making melody
in its heart). So to state that "Singing may refer to an
instrument of music, while making melody in the heart refers to the one
playing the instrument" is an erroneous interpretation of Ephesians
5:19. With this in mind, what other proof do we have that a musical
instrument is not authorized in this verse? Let's say one decides that
"singing" in this verse can be done with a guitar. What will
be required of the congregation in this scenario? Each and every
member must have a guitar and must be playing the instrument!
"But why do you say that" some might ask. Because the two
phrases are connected by a coordinating conjunction! Singing is just as
important as making melody in the heart. If a group decides that
musical instruments will be used in their services, they are required to
provide each member with an instrument to play. But who takes this
necessary step to properly apply this erroneous interpretation of this
verse? No religious group I'm aware of. So we see that those who
wish to use this verse to justify instrumental music misapply it two
different ways! First, an instrument cannot make a melody within its
heart. Second, even if it could, each member of the congregation would
be required to play one.
In James we read the third verse in which psallo
is used to indicate music during a worship service. James says to his
readers, "Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any
merry? Let him sing psalms." The phrase "among
you" specifies an individual who is part of the brethren to whom James
is writing (the "Twelve tribes which are scattered abroad", whom
James calls "My brethren" in chapter 1:1-2).
Chapter 5:13
could certainly indicate the one who is merry singing by himself, so this
verse may be applied to either the worship service or one singing as an
individual. In either situation we see again that instruments of music
are absolutely excluded. What is required of the one who sings?
They must be merry! Again, how can a set of drums be
"merry?" Just as with the piano, organ, guitar, trumpet,
violin, banjo, or any other non-vocal instrument they are incapable of
experiencing emotion. Only the voice has the necessary ties
to one's heart to sing in the fashion required by James. If you look at
the Greek words for "sing" and "psalms" in this verse,
you'll find that they are both the same word, psallo! Here James
lays to rest the issue of psallo referring to one plucking the strings
of a mechanical instrument of music. Psallo is an act of the one
who is merry. Musical instruments experience no emotion and cannot be
merry. The strings which are plucked in James 5:13 are the strings of
the heart, and is manifest as songs sung using the voice of the one who is
merry.
Summary
The purpose of this study on music in the
Lord's church has been to evaluate the teachings found in the New Testament
dealing with this topic. My intention was not to re-write previously
published material recording the history of instrumental music in
"Christian" worship. Many sources may be easily found on the
internet that provide a concise review of the acceptance of instruments of
music in "Christian" worship. As we've seen in our study, the
Lord never authorized inclusion of musical instruments in our worship to
God. "But what difference does it make!" some will ask.
If you are asking this question yourself, please reconsider the account of Nadab and
Abihu. As you recall, they made one seemingly insignificant change in
their worship to God. As human beings we are prone to ask, "Fire
is fire. What difference does it make where the fire came
from?" With regards to music in the church some might say,
"Music is music. What difference does it make what type of music I
use in worship?" Such questions are not ones we can ask. All we
must do is accept God's pattern for worship. Such worship we can
confidently affirm is in spirit and in truth. As we've seen, Jesus
tells us that the time has now come when the true worshippers of God will
worship Him in such a fashion (John 4:23).
To change the pattern of worship delivered to us is to fail to worship God in
truth. Such worship is vain. I hope this study of acceptable
music in the Lord's church has been of benefit to you. I'm sure the
concept of instrumental music rendering worship vain is foreign to many
people. If you find yourself in this group, please carefully reconsider
the teachings of the New Testament and determine to worship God as He has
instructed us.
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