God created all things on earth for man to enjoy in His presence, and He pronounced them “very good.” They are “to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe” (1 Tim. 4:3). Very early in the history of man, we are given a glimpse of how music came into being. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and built a city. While developing an environment without the conscious presence of the Lord, his family sought for amusement. This is how business, entertainment and science began. “Jubal; he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ” (Gen. 4:2121And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. (Genesis 4:21)).
God created the wonderful harmonic scale of music, and it should be, first of all, used for Him. He also equipped us with bodies capable of playing and hearing musical notes, with the view that we might respond to Him in praise. It is a pity to see music first being developed without God in view. Even the birds sing to their Creator. But the city that Cain’s family built was developed as a system of living in pleasure without God. It finally got so bad that God destroyed that generation with the flood.
King Saul
Let us pass on to the time of King Saul, when he prophesied while the company of prophets played music (1 Sam. 10:5). The Spirit of God came upon him and he was changed into another man. The power of the Spirit with the influence of music produced a change in Saul that made the people marvel. He had a good beginning. But the subsequent developments show that he did not continue in the path of obedience. In chapter 15 King Saul disobeyed the word of the Lord by not completely destroying the Amalekites and their cattle. In the next chapter an evil spirit came upon him, preventing him from sleeping at night. Saul’s servants said, “Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on a harp. . . . And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him” (1 Sam. 16:16,23). The music had its desired effect. But King Saul failed to judge the root of the problem, for he had rejected the word of the Lord. This point needed to be addressed rather than seeking relief through music alone. The music caused the evil spirit to flee, but it gave only temporary relief. There is no substitute for obedience. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22). Saul continued the same course even to the extremity of persecuting the one who played the harp to give him relief. In the end of King Saul’s life, he gave himself over completely to witchcraft. How sad!
King David’s Contribution
God then raised up a man who would use music in its right place to accompany the praise of Jehovah. King David, “the sweet psalmist of Israel,” instituted an order of praise and worship for the priests and Levites in the house of God that was built in Jerusalem. He restored order to the priesthood. He had learned that none but the priests should carry the ark of the Lord when he brought it up from Kirjath-Jearim. “David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy” (1 Chron. 15:16). “It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord” (2 Chron. 5:13). How wonderful to see the art of music being used to return praise to the Lord!
David, who was very gifted in music and in composing poetical psalms, established a good order, even to the point of giving the Lord His due place over his own dignity. Those who are gifted in music can easily become occupied with the use and enjoyment of it and forget the God who gave us richly all things to enjoy.
Throughout the following years of the kings, there were periods of declension and of recovery, but we do not read much of their singing and rejoicing to the Lord with music. Eventually, when deterioration came in and they were oppressed by their enemies, they had to hang their harps on the willows. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple and carried them into a foreign land, as it says, “There they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Psa. 137:34).
Nebuchadnezzar
After the captivity of Judah, we find that Nebuchadnezzar used music to unify all people in the worship of an idol he made. Through Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the God of heaven had revealed to him that according to the imagery of the head of gold in his dream, he was to be the first of the Gentile rulers established by God. Nebuchadnezzar then made a golden image of himself and, accompanied by various musical instruments, enforced idolatrous worship of the golden image. In essence, he was using the authority God gave him to usurp God’s place and His due worship. The use of music to accomplish this kind of worship is insidiously evil.
“Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up” (Dan. 3:45). These six kinds of musical instruments were effectively used to induce all but three to bow down to the image that Nebuchadnezzar had made. But the God of heaven used his three faithful servants as a witness that He was over all things. When they refused to fall down and worship the golden image, they were thrown into the fiery furnace. But One like the Son of God delivered them from the power of the fire, and Nebuchadnezzar blessed the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. A decree is made that none speak evil of Him.
It is apparent from this incident how music can influence in a wrong way. In this case, it gave a sense of religiousness to things attractive to the flesh. This can have a commanding power over the soul. Though the kind of music in itself was not evil, the purpose of the music, being idolatry, was wrong.
We Have Piped Unto You
In the New Testament there are few occurrences of the use of music. The Old Testament manner of worshipping Jehovah connected with the first man was set aside after Christ, the second Man, came. When the Jews rejected the Lord Jesus, this carnal way of worship was terminated. We see this happening in the first Gospel. In Matthew 11:17-1917And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. 18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. (Matthew 11:17‑19), the Lord said to them, “We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.” No matter what the messengers did, there was no response to God. What else could be done! They would not serve God. That form of worship must be set aside and another way opened up, for “Wisdom” is justified of it.
Christian Worship
This result is stated in the epistles where Christian worship is taught. Philippians 3:33For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. (Philippians 3:3) says, “We are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Then also in Colossians 3:1616Let 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. (Colossians 3:16) we read, “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.” No mention is made of musical instruments, for it is the heart that our God and Father wants. The Lord Jesus spoke of this beforehand to the Samaritan woman when He said, “The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-2423But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23‑24)).
Christianity raises us to a much higher level of relationship with God as our Father. The place of worship given to us is through our Lord Jesus Christ on the ground of resurrection. The Apostle Paul says it so clearly: “Henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:16-17). Even the apostles who knew the Lord Jesus here on earth did not continue knowing Him as a Man on earth. And surely those of us who never knew the Lord on earth should not go back to that way of worship. We know Christ in the new creation and worship in the new man. Let us then fulfill that role we have been called to, as Peter says, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). “Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 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” (Eph. 5:17-2017Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; (Ephesians 5:17‑20)).
D. C. Buchanan