Good Music Job 38:6-7 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Is there good music in the Bible? Yes!
In the Bible, you find two different “lines” of music, throughout. Good music comes from the Lord and bad music comes from the devil. In the prior broadcast, we studied the “bad” line of music from the devil. This week, we will concentrate on good music from the Lord.
In the book of Job, God asked Job some questions regarding the events of creation. One of the questions he asked him was, “(Job 38:6-7) … or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” This question reveals that joyful singing accompanied creation [check the context]. The morning stars are the angels (Rev. 1:20; 9:1), since they were singing even before the literal stars were created (Gen. 1:16-19). They were praising God for his creative work (Rev. 4:11).
After creation, the next time that we find someone praising God is in Exodus 15. God destroyed Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, “(Ex. 15:1) Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.” The song continues through verse 19. They were praising God for delivering them from their enemies. Similar songs of deliverance were sung by Deborah and Barak in Judges 5 and David in 2 Samuel 22.
In Num 21:17, we find the Jews singing praise to God for provision, for giving them water in the wilderness. In Deut. 32, God gave Israel a song as a witness against them when they would “turn unto other gods and serve them,” (Deut. 31:20). In 1 Ki. 4:32, we find that Solomon wrote 1005 songs to praise the Lord. In 1 Chr. 25, David had 288 men who prophesied with harps, psalteries, cymbals and horns. Additionally, David had 4000 men who praised the Lord with instruments that he made (1 Chr. 23:5). Then there are all the Psalms and the Song of Solomon. The Bible is loaded with good music.
In the New Testament, we find specific instructions, from Paul, concerning music. In Eph. 5:19, Paul says, “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.” Notice, in good music the melody is “in your heart,” the songs are sung “to the Lord,” and they are songs that are sung with gratitude (“giving thanks”).
From Eph. 5:19, we also find that New Testament good music falls into three categories. First, there are Psalms. Well, you know where and what those are. Second, there are hymns. They are found in your hymnbook. Third, there are spiritual songs. These are songs that appeal to the spirit, not to the flesh or the soul, and they are sung to spiritual instruments that are played to minister to the spirit. The more spiritual instruments are trumpets, psalteries, harps, timbrels, stringed instruments, organs, cymbals, and horns (Ps. 150). Of course, some of these instruments can be played to a sensual rhythm and stir up the flesh rather than minister to the spirit.
Today, people rarely sing the psalms, although there are many beautiful melodies to which they may be sung. Today, the hymnbooks are shelved and “choruses” are displayed on the wall, instead. Someone recently called these choruses “7-11” songs, you sing 7 words over and over again, 11 times. How true!! Today, spiritual songs have been replaced by “Christian” rock or “Christian” cocktail music which is written and sung to appeal to the flesh. The song services are led by praise teams (cheerleaders conducting a pep rally for Jesus) and preaching only occupies about 1/4th of the service.
The Biblical purpose of good music in the service is not to “draw a crowd” of young people or to get you “high on Jesus.” It is to, “(Col 3:16) 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.” See how the song service paves the way for the word of God to be taught and preached where it can “dwell in you.” Spiritual singing is to accompany good, hard preaching, not replace it!
Good music drives evil spirits away that would steal the word of God being preached in the services (1 Sam. 16:14-18, 22-23; Mk. 4:15). Today’s music can do nothing of the kind. It is the devil’s music. Just because the lyrics say something about Jesus doesn’t mean the “music” is “Christian.” It’s the world’s music. And like John said, “(1 John 2:15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Amen and Amen!!!
Christians are reluctant to admit that their “Christian” rock and “Christian” cocktail lounge music are “bad.” That’s because they “like it!” In this day of apostasy, what else would you expect? Synthesized keyboards, electric guitars, drums and light shows are hardly the instruments of Psalm 150. They are the instruments of the world’s rock bands. Avoid these things and stick with God’s good music.