Music | A People for His Name

Learning from Comparing Heavenly Music versus Earthly Music

July 26, 2025 — Leave a comment

The Spirit concludes His inspired revelation to mankind with a book that has four passages that speak either of musical instruments explicitly or indirectly by speaking of those who play them or both. Doing so, the final book of Scripture invites us to comparatively examine these passages to learn what they reveal about heavenly music versus earthly music because the first three passages speak about heavenly music, but the last one is about earthly music.

Heavenly Music

Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Revelation 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

Revelation 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

Earthly Music

Revelation 18:21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. 22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

I hope to add to this post in the future the lessons that I believe God wants us to learn from them. In the meantime, what do you think the Spirit want us to learn from comparing these passages?

In Music, Theology

“A Noise of War”

July 12, 2025

In the debates about Christian music, the Golden Calf Incident has been a battleground passage for many years. Christians have intensely disputed what the significance, if any, of the following verses is concerning Christian music:

Exodus 32:17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. 18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.

Comparing Scripture with Scripture is vital for interpreting these verses rightly. To that end, I have compiled the following passages that mention in some manner the sounds of war.

1 Samuel 17:20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.

2 Kings 7:6 For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.

Job 39:25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

Isaiah 5:26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: 27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: 28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: 29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. 30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

Isaiah.9:5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.

Isaiah13:4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.

Jeremiah 4:19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

Jeremiah 4:29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.

Jeremiah 6:23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.

Jeremiah 10:22 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.

Jeremiah 47:3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;

Jeremiah 50:22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.

Jeremiah 50:46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.

Jeremiah 51:14 The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

Ezekiel 26:10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.

Joel 2:5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.

Amos 1:14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:

Nahum 3:2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

Revelation 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

By carefully meditating on what these verses reveal, we put ourselves in the right position for the Spirit to illumine our minds concerning the right interpretation of Exodus 32:17-18. As God directs, in one or more future posts, I may treat further one or more of these passages to explain its relevance to interpreting what “a noise of war” signifies in this key battleground passage concerning Christian music.

In CCM, Interpretation, Music

Does God Like “Music of All Kinds”?

June 12, 2025

In his chapter God, My Heart, and Music in the book Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World, Bob Kauflin writes,

Actually, it seems that God likes music of all kinds. No one style can sufficiently capture his glory or even begin to reflect the vastness of his wisdom, creativity, beauty, and order. That doesn’t mean some kinds of music aren’t more complex or beautiful than others. It just means no single genre of music is better than the rest in every way.

Tellingly, Kauflin offers no biblical support of his own for these statements. Instead, he offers as his support the teaching of another writer who offers no valid biblical support for his views.

False claims such as these (by Kauflin and others) about God and His supposedly liking “music of all kinds” is one of the chief reasons that we have the debacle that we have musically in the Church in our day.

For a lengthy discussion of the issues concerning the viewpoint of Tomlin and others who hold similar positions, see the comments on Sharper Iron in my thread God Likes Music of All Kinds.

In CCM, Christian Books, Exposition, Interpretation, Music, Quotes, Theology

A Thought Experiment about “Wangula” Music

May 31, 2025

As a thought experiment, suppose that the Spirit had inspired one of the Scripture writers to write the following in one of the books of the Bible:

“Beware of wangula music.” (I made up this word; it does not refer to anything that I know of that exists anywhere or has ever existed.)

Suppose also that in His perfect wisdom, that was all the information that the Spirit chose to provide.

What would be done in treating such (hypothetical) inspired revelation?

No doubt something along the line of all the following would be set forth at some point by different people in discussing that (hypothetical) Scripture passage:

1. What is “wangula” music?

2. Why should we beware of it?

3. What instruments were used to play it and how specifically was it played?

4. How can we beware of it when we do not know what it sounds like?

5. Being beware of “wangula” music was merely something for particular people in a particular context.

6. Music changes and “evolves.” Even if we knew what “wangula” music was back then, that would not mean that our playing our “wangula” music would be a problem.

7. Just because some “wangula” music back then was a problem, that does not prove that all “wangula” music was a problem even back then or that any of it is now a problem.

8. God likes “wangula” music. He invented it.

9. “Wangula” music is itself amoral, neutral, or inherently good.

10. The warning wasn’t actually about the “wangula” music itself; it was about the hearts of the people back then who were misusing it.

11. Please, please give us an example of “wangula” music so that we can hear it.

In Music

The Sovereignty of God in Worship

May 25, 2025

God has sovereignly determined and declared that there is only one pathway to salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; etc.). Even as true believers acknowledge the sovereignty of God in salvation, many seem to me to reject the sovereignty of God in worship by rejecting that it could even be possible that He would accept some kinds of music in worship but reject other kinds of music.

Scripture provides revelation about God’s rejection of certain kinds of things in worship that by way of analogy justifies our holding that God similarly does not accept the use of all kinds of music in worship.

No Honey in Any Offering Made by Fire

Leviticus 2:11 No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.

In His sovereignty, God has rejected the burning of any honey in any offering of the Lord made by fire. He does not provide any explanation for this categorical rejection of the use of any honey in worship.

No Altars Made of Hewn Stone

Exodus 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

In His sovereignty, God has rejected the use of any altars of stone that are made of hewn stones. He does not provide any explanation for this categorical rejection of the use of any altars made of hewn stones in worship.

Conclusion

Scripture reveals to us that God has sovereignly rejected any use of honey or altars made of hewn stone in worship. God has not revealed any bases for His rejection of these things in worship.

Because we have explicit biblical revelation that teaches us that there has never been any universal acceptance in worship of all kinds of animal products or manmade altars, we have biblical basis to hold that the same is true concerning any supposed universal acceptance in worship of all kinds of music. Those who wish to affirm that God does accept the use of all kinds of music in worship must provide biblical evidence that shows that He does so.

In CCM, Interpretation, Music, Theology

Finished Singing through the Psalms Word-for-Word!

March 20, 2025

Last year on August 19, I began singing through the Psalms word-by-word. I did not use any written music or musical accompaniment to do so.

I freely varied my pitches, rhythm, tempo, and volume with which I sang the words of the Psalms. My goal was to not allow any such considerations to hinder or stop me from singing through each Psalm.

I also did not allow any other predetermined musicological considerations to limit my singing, such as using words that rhyme or singing the whole Psalm in the same key. I did so because such things almost certainly were not part of the singing of the Psalms as they were sung by those to whom God first gave the Psalms.

Because of its length, I broke up Psalm 119 by singing each 8-verse section on successive days. In the future, I may try to sing through the whole Psalm at one time.

On March 15 of this year, I finished my first time singing through every word of the book of Psalms! I praise and thank God for directing me to sing through His perfect hymnal and for granting me grace to finish doing so!

As God directs, I intend to sing through the book of Psalms word-for-word many more times in whatever years of life God sees fit to allow me to have in the future. I hope to do so both in English and in Spanish in the years to come.

Psalm 104:33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

Psalm 146:2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

Salmo 104:33 A Jehová cantaré en mi vida; A mi Dios cantaré salmos mientras viva.

Salmo 146:2 Alabaré a Jehová en mi vida; Cantaré salmos a mi Dios mientras viva.

In Discipleship, Music

How Pie Charts Help in Properly Applying Romans 14:1-2 to the Issue of How Many “Genres” of Instrumental Music are Acceptable to God for Use in Corporate Worship

March 14, 2025

I have been studying Romans 14 a lot lately. Recently, I got the idea of using pie charts to help us better understand and apply the teaching of Romans 14 about key differing viewpoints among Christians to the key issue of how many “genres” of instrumental music are acceptable to God for use in corporate worship.

The charts in this post are possible representations of the differing viewpoints that Paul addresses in this chapter. I am not claiming that the details of these charts are necessarily exactly in keeping with what the passage reveals because it seems that there are some uncertainties about the specifics of his teaching.

Eat All Things or Eat Herbs?

The first differing viewpoint that Paul presents concerns what Christians believe that they may eat:

Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

Many seem to understand this teaching by Paul to mean what the following diagrams show:

Romans 14:2a For one believeth that he may eat all things:

Romans 14:2b another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

They hold that what Paul says indicates that some believe that they should partake of all things while others who are “weak in the faith” believe that they should only partake of a specified subset of all things that the others believe that they may eat.

A careful comparison of this teaching by Paul with other revelation in Scripture, however, shows that this understanding is faulty. Neither the ones who eat “all things” nor those who eat (only) “herbs,” in reality, eat the following:

Plant and animal products that are poisonous to humans, such as poisonous berries and mushrooms (cf. the inability to eat poisonous stew [2 Kings 4:40]);

Human flesh (Deut. 28:57), eating blood (Lev. 17:10; Acts 15:20), or eating “things strangled (Acts 15:20);

Things known to have been offered to idols (Rev. 2:14);

Things that God did not create for humans to eat (thorns and thistles [Gen. 3:18]; grass [Ps. 104:14; Dan. 4]).

Taking into account these things that strong believers do not eat shows us that the correct understanding of “eat all things” in Romans 14:2 is the following:

Application

Romans 14:2 does not teach that strong believers eat all things in the sense that they eat all plant and animal products without any exceptions. There are many plant and animal products that are unfit for human consumption as foodstuffs—not consuming those things does not mean that one is “weak in the faith” (Rom. 14:1).

Many believers use Paul’s teaching in Romans 14:2 about strong believers eating “all things” to claim that teaching supports holding that all “genres” of instrumental music are acceptable to God for strong believers to use in corporate worship. Romans 14:2 does not support holding that viewpoint about the use of all “genres” of instrumental music in corporate worship because Romans 14:2 does not teach that strong believers eat all plant and animal products without exception.

Using Romans 14:2 as support for believing that believers who reject the use of certain “genres” of instrumental music in corporate worship are “weak in the faith” is a misinterpretation and misapplication of Scripture. A proper understanding of the teaching of Romans 14:1-2 and a proper application of that teaching shows that it is not true that Scripture supports holding that the use of all “genres” of instrumental music in corporate worship is acceptable to God.

In Interpretation, Music, Theology

“What Does Romans 14 Teach about Foods, Days, and Worship Music?”

February 15, 2025

I started a new discussion thread on Sharper Iron recently: “What Does Romans 14 Teach about Foods, Days, and Worship Music?” If you are interested in learning more about this subject, I encourage you to follow the discussion on Sharper Iron.

Below is my opening post in that thread.

I have been studying Romans 14 a lot lately. In this thread, I am interested in intensively exegetical and theological discussion about what Romans 14 teaches about foods, days, and worship music.

Paul begins his teaching by saying the following:

Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

Paul speaks of some who believe that they may “eat all things,” but others who are “weak in the faith” eat herbs. A sound handling of this teaching requires careful, thorough, biblical probing of this teaching.

When Paul says that some believe that they may eat all things, what is Paul actually teaching? To begin to answer this question properly, it is necessary to point out what Paul is not teaching.

When Paul says that some believe that may eat all things, he is not teaching that those who are not weak in the faith believe that they may eat all plant and animal substances whatever they may be, including even things that are known to be poisonous or otherwise unfit for human consumption as foods.

The teaching of Romans 14:1-2 does not show that Christians who do not eat plant and animal substances that are poisonous, etc. for human consumption are weak in the faith. Being strong “in the faith” does not entail that you believe that you may partake even of poisonous berries, mushrooms, etc.

In CCM, Exposition, Interpretation, Music, Theology

What Psalms 1:1-3 Compared to Romans 12:2 Teaches Us about the Right Approach to Worship and Music

January 30, 2025

Comparing Psalms 1:1-3 closely to Romans 12:2 profoundly teaches us vital truths about the right approach to worship and music:

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.	Romans 12:2a And be not conformed to this world:
Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.	Romans 12:2b but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.	Romans 12:2c that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The Spirit is the Author of both passages. Seeing how closely these passages correlate and keeping in mind that the Spirit began His perfect Book on music (the Psalms) in the manner that He has, we must understand that both Psalms 1:1-3 and Romans 12:2 teach us the same foundational truths about the right approach to worship and music!

We cannot have a right approach to worship and music apart from our first stopping being conformed to the world through walking in its counsels about worship and music. Categorical rejection of worship practices and music that are ungodly because they are worldly has everything to do with pleasing God with acceptable music for corporate worship!

“Worldliness is demonically energized, creaturely, lust-driven, arrogant enmity and opposition to God.”

Resources That Provide Answers to Key Issues Concerning CCM

In Interpretation, Music, Theology

Demons, Supernatural Evil, and Occult Music

January 18, 2025

Satan and his demons exist—they are real. They are incorrigibly evil.

Satan and his demons are spirit beings in ways that humans as spirit beings are not and never will be.

Satan and his demons have experienced realities that no humans on their own have ever experienced or will ever experience. They have knowledge that no humans on their own have ever had or will ever have. They have powers, abilities, and capabilities that no humans on their own have ever had or will ever have.

Because of all these truths about Satan and his demons, evil that is the result of direct or indirect demonic activity is of a supernatural character that other forms of evil are not.

Occult activities, therefore, are supernatural evil activities that are of a distinctively different character than other evil activities.

In keeping with all the preceding points, we must not approach music that is of the occult in the same ways that we approach other music. The supernaturally evil aspects of such music require us to categorically reject all music that is distinctively of the occult.

In CCM, Music, Theology

Archives For Music

Heavenly Music

Earthly Music

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

No Honey in Any Offering Made by Fire

No Altars Made of Hewn Stone

Conclusion

Share this:

Share this:

Eat All Things or Eat Herbs?

Application

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: