A People for His Name

Problematic Christian Music II

April 25, 2011

In Part I of this series, I discussed why we should not continue to sing two songs, Jesus, Rose of Sharon, and The Lily of the Valley. This post addresses three more songs that I think have problematic texts.

More Love to Thee is a great song that sets forth our desire to love Christ more. Stanza 3 reads, “Let sorrow do its work, Send grief and pain; Sweet are Thy messengers, Sweet their refrain, When they can sing with me, More love, O Christ, to Thee, More love to Thee, More Love to Thee!” I do not find any Scriptural basis for asking God to send grief and pain, so I refuse to sing these words. I think we should not sing this stanza.

Another song with problematic wording is Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone. Stanza 3 reads, “Upon the crystal pavement down, At Jesus’ pierced feet, Joyful, I’ll cast my golden crown, And His dear name repeat.” Part of the wording of this text is based on Revelation 4:10-11:

The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.

This passage speaks of the saints casting down their crowns at the feet of “Him that sat on the throne.” The following verses make clear that the Father is in view in these verses because He is the One on the throne from whom the Lamb takes the book (5:1, 7). Because the Father and not Jesus is the One before whom the elders cast down their crowns, we should not sing this stanza because doing so promotes a wrong handling of Scripture.

All That Thrills My Soul is Jesus is another song that I think has some problematic wording. The sentiment expressed by the seven words in the title, which are also the beginning words of the refrain, is wonderful. If I understand these words correctly, however, to sing these words is to affirm that nothing else thrills one’s soul.

I wonder then how often we can sing these words truthfully. If we sing these words but they do not truly reflect the reality of our hearts, do we not engage in improper worship? To address the problem that these words create whenever a believer’s heart is not all that it should be, he should either not sing them or alter them in some manner so that he expresses the desire that such would be true for him.

In Music

"The Holy Trinity"

April 24, 2011

Handley C. G. Moule’s words about ”God is love—1 John 4:8, 16“:

     “God is Love” [1 John 4:16]. Is the text then, after all, out of tune with the title? “God is Love.” The words are, as we have said, sublimely simple; yes, they are level to the heart of the little child. But then, they are sublimely simple. When we ponder them, there is a radiant depth in each, clear but unfathomable. Who can spell out all that is hidden in God? Who can analyze to all its depths what in regard of Him, is meant by LOVE? Who can see all the splendor shining from that link of life between them, “God is Love”? For it tells us that the Eternal does not only know what love means, nor only feel it as an emotion coming over Him. He is Love; it is His Essence, it is His Nature, it is His Life. Before all thoughts of loving action going out from Him stands here this radiant truth that Love lives and breathes forever in Him, as it were His very Self.
     Now is not this almost a confession already of the glory of the Holy Trinity? For the faith of the Trinity is but the faith that the inner Life of the Godhead is no awful Solitude, but a blissful Society which yet is One. It says that there is a glorious sphere within the “One Eternal” for mutual Affection, infinite in measure, absolute in tenderness and joy. It tells us that at the heart and at the head of the universe of being there lives, and wills, and acts, not a remote Unit, but a gracious Unity, within whose bright Essence, “dark with excess of bright,” Love is always meeting Love. And it bids therefore, not the little child only but the life-worn man, conscious of sin, of sorrow, of the grave, look upwards towards the Infinite with a certainty, deep as existence, that He can indeed be trusted and be loved, for He is Love.

So God the Father, God the Son,
     And God the Spirit we adore,
A sea of life and love unknown,
     Without a bottom or a shore.

Thoughts for Sundays, 239-40, bold words were in italics in the original

In Quotes

Give the Resurrection Its Full Significance!

April 23, 2011

Tomorrow, millions of people will celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Multitudes of people will likely do so, however, without much awareness of its full significance. They will do so because many preachers, theologians, and other Bible teachers have given noticeably limited attention to a key aspect of the significance of the Resurrection.

Although various aspects of the significance of the Resurrection have received considerable attention, especially its being a key element of the gospel (1 Cor. 15:3-5), one NT emphasis has not. Four passages, one in each major section of the current topical arrangement in most Bibles today, point to an important truth that should receive much more current attention than it has (John 2; Acts 17; Rom.14; Rev. 1).

John 2

John records Jesus’ forceful actions to cleanse the temple when the Jewish Passover was near (John 2:13-22). Seeing people who were defiling the temple through their mercenary activities (2:14), Jesus judged them by expelling them and violently disrupting their activities (2:15). He also judged them by ordering them to remove the offensive elements from the temple and to stop making His Father’s house a “house of merchandise” (2:16).

Seeing His actions, His disciples recalled the Scripture that said, “The zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up” (2:17). By recording both Jesus’ commands to the people and what the disciples remembered, John points his readers to Jesus’ judicial agency on behalf of the Father.

The Jews responded to Jesus by asking Him, “What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?” (2:18). They thus demanded of Him a sign for His authority to act as a judge on behalf of God to do what He did and say what He said.

Jesus responded, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (2:19). He thus informed them that His raising up His body after His death at their hands would be the sign of His judicial agency to cleanse the temple as He had.

In his Gospel, therefore, John records teaching from Jesus Himself that His resurrection would attest to His having been the Father’s Agent of judgment for dealing in this manner with these who had defiled His Father’s house. John adds that following the Resurrection, His disciples remembered what Jesus had said on this occasion and believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had said (2:22). Writing this, John teaches that the disciples believed that the Resurrection signified that Jesus was God’s judicial agent.

Acts 17

Luke’s record of Paul’s evangelistic ministry in Athens reveals teaching from Paul that closely corresponds to Jesus’ own teaching. At the climax of his evangelistic message at the Areopagus, Paul informed his audience of a key evangelistic significance of the Resurrection: By raising Jesus from the dead, God has proven to all men that He has fixed a day in which He will righteously judge the world through the Man whom He has appointed, Jesus (Acts 17:31). Because God has proven this to all men, He commands all men everywhere to repent (17:30).

Recording these statements, Luke attests to the universal significance of the Resurrection as God’s proof to all men that Jesus is His judicial agent. Both John and Luke, therefore, provide teaching about this key significance of the Resurrection.

Romans 14

Paul highlights the significance of the Resurrection for believers’ not judging one another in certain matters over which they differ (Rom. 14). As part of his explanation for why believers are not to judge one another in these areas, he says, “For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and the living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ . . . Let us not therefore judge one another (Rom. 14:9-13).

To instruct us not to judge one another in these matters, Paul makes a key statement about the purpose of both the death and the resurrection of the Messiah—He experienced both so that He might be the Lord both of the dead and the living. The immediately following statements make plain that one of the purposes of the Messiah’s death and resurrection was that He might be the Judge of the living and the dead!

Paul, therefore, joins John and Luke in teaching this key significance of the Resurrection. We thus have explicit teaching about this truth’s significance in the first century for Jews (proof of Jesus’ authority to cleanse the temple – John 2), all men (basis for God’s universal demand that all repent – Acts 17), and believers (stop wrongly judging one another – Rom. 14).

Revelation 1

John’s opening teaching in Revelation includes how the glorified Jesus ministered truth to him about His death and resurrection: “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, ‘Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death’” (1:17-18). Jesus comforted John by informing Him about His being alive forevermore though He had been dead. He added that He had the keys of hell and death, which communicated that He had authority over these aspects of God’s judgment of sinners. Juxtaposing these statements, Jesus linked His resurrection with His judicial authority.

Recording this teaching, John informs believers once again about the significance of the Resurrection for Jesus’ judicial agency. With all four sections of the NT setting forth this teaching, we should heed what the Spirit highlights for us.

On this Easter and forevermore, we should make known to everyone that God has proved to them through His raising Jesus that Jesus is the God-appointed Judge of the living and the dead! We should also praise God for proving that truth to all men and heed what else this truth means for us as believers (stop judging one another wrongly – Rom. 14; not fearing – Rev. 1).

In Discipleship, Evangelism, Interpretation

"Tested Through His Faithfulness to Chasten and Deliver"

April 22, 2011

The book of Judges may be understood as having the theme, “Tested through His faithfulness to chasten and deliver” (MCBC SS Notes, Summer 2009). Judges records how God’s people experienced a repeated cycle of failure, chastening, and deliverance. God showed His covenant faithfulness to them by subjecting them to testing and delivering them when they responded correctly to it. Through His loyal dealings with them, He restored them to a right relationship with Himself.

The life of Samson vividly displays the theme of Judges. Four chapters present two periods in his life: early life (13:2-25) and later life (14:1-16:31). These chapters are a remarkable record of divine involvement in his life:

Before his birth (13:2-23) – divine initiative; appearances of the preincarnate Christ; answered prayer of his father; revelation of his God-ordained life’s work
The Lord blessed him (13:24); we do not read of anything negative about his life to this point!
His marriage was of the Lord (14:4)
Four references to the Spirit’s activity in his life: 13:25; 14:6; 14:19; 15:14
First prayer (15:18-19) – gave God the glory; regarded himself as His servant; showed dependence on Him
Knew that he was a Nazarite to God from his mother’s womb (16:17)
The Lord departed from him (16:20)
Second prayer (16:28)

In spite of the great divine involvement in his life, Samson failed to be faithful to His God in numerous ways: went against parental advice; ate unclean food and gave it to his parents; married a Philistine woman; consorted with a harlot; loved a Philistine woman; sought his own vengeance (15:3, 7; 16:28). Interestingly, in the midst of his obvious problems with women, it seems that there may be evidence that he had some sense of marital fidelity (15:1-3).

In spite of Samson’s tragic unfaithfulness to Him, the Lord was faithful to Samson as he was tested through His faithfulness to chasten and deliver him. He was approved by his faith in our God (Heb. 11:32)! We read of him among the great cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1). Ultimately, Samson was blessed, approved, and is in heaven because of God’s choice!

Reading of the failures of Samson (as well as of every other judge that we read about in the book of Judges) fosters in us an anticipation of the perfect Judge:

These periods of peace, however, did not last, and after Gideon’s time there was no more rest for the people. As a result the Book of Judges encourages the reader to look forward to a permanent solution to the problem of sin and to ask, “When will the Lord raise up a deliverer who will give Israel more than temporary rest from her troubles?” Thus Judges prepares the reader for the Deliverer, the One Jephthah called “the Lord the Judge” (11:27), our Savior Jesus Christ. God’s people will face the problems of compromise, sin, disunity, and bondage, but God in faithfulness still provides deliverance. And our hope for a complete solution rests on the return of our Lord (Robert D. Bell).

As we await the coming of the Lord the Judge, we should live godly as He tests us through His faithfulness to chasten and deliver us:

Each generation has a God-given role to fulfill—this ‘Judges’ stage was to conquer the Promised Land and dwell as lights amidst a perverse world—as part of its loving God mandate. Let’s beg Him to graciously allow His Messiah to judge us and deliver us so that we can return to a right relationship to His Word (MCBC SS notes, Summer 2009).

In Discipleship, Quotes

Problematic Christian Music

April 21, 2011

Scripture teaches that music plays an essential role in Christian worship (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). God demands that we worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24; cf. Phil. 4:8). The words in some Christian songs are problematic because they do not handle the Scripture accurately.

Two such songs are Jesus, Rose of Sharon, and The Lily of the Valley. These songs are based on the same Scripture passage: “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters” (Song 2:1-2). Both songs are problematic because the expressions the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of Valley both refer to a girl:

Here the beloved spoke of herself as a rose of Sharon . . . The Hebrew word for rose is [habasselet]. In Isaiah 35:1, its only other occurrence in the Old Testament, it is translated “crocus,” which may be the meaning here. It was a common meadow flower. The lily too was a common flower mentioned often in the Song of Songs (2:1-2, 16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2-3; 7:2). Though in her humility she likened herself to common flowers of the field, her statement (2:1) reflects a significant contrast with her earlier self-consciousness (1:5-6). Her improvement probably was because of her lover’s praising her (1:9-10, 15). (BKC: OT, 1014; bold in original)

I am the rose of Sharon. The bride is still speaking. It is difficult to determine which flower the bride refers to. . . . Crocus appears to be the best translation. . . . As the lily among thistles. The bridegroom speaks. In her humility the bride may think of herself only as a beautiful but humble crocus; he regards her as a lily among thistles. So far as lilies surpass thistles, so far does she surpass other maidens. (The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, 598; bold in original)

Should we, therefore, continue to sing these songs that express beautiful sentiments about Jesus but do so with plainly problematic use of Bible wording?

In Music, Quotes

Martyn on Humility and Prayer

April 20, 2011

John Sargent in his biography of Henry Martyn, missionary to India, records the following from a letter by Martyn to his sister concerning his dealings with himself about his own pride:

The pride which I see dwelling in my own heart, producing there the most obstinate hardness, I can truly say my soul abhors. I see it to be unreasonable, I feel it to be tormenting. When I sometimes offer up supplications, with strong crying to God, to bring down my spirit unto the dust, I endeavour calmly to contemplate the infinite majesty of the most high God, and my own meanness and wickedness. Or else I quietly tell the Lord, who knows the heart, that I would give him all the glory of everything, if I could. But the most effectual way I have ever found, is to lead away my thoughts from myself and my own concerns, by praying for all my friends; for the Church, the world, the nation; and, especially by beseeching that God would glorify his own great name, by converting all nations to the obedience of faith; also by praying that he would put more abundant honour on those Christians whom He seems to have honoured especially, and whom we see to be manifestly our superiors. This is at least a positive act of humility, and it is certain that not only will a good principle produce a good act, but the act will increase the principle.

The Life and Letters of Henry Martyn, 70-71

These words encourage me to avail myself more of the great value of intercessory prayer.

In Quotes

Handling the Evangelistic Accounts in Acts More Accurately: Part I

April 19, 2011

Scripture provides us with numerous evangelistic accounts, especially in the book of Acts. Because such material comprises a sizeable portion of one key book of the NT, we should be all the more diligent to handle it as accurately as possible.

Over the years, however, I have observed recurrent problems in the handling of the evangelistic accounts in Acts. One of the most problematic aspects has been the widespread unwarranted assumption that what the evangelist(s) testified in a given evangelistic encounter was limited to what Luke records. In his very first account, Luke provides us with explicit indications that such was not the case.

Acts 2 records Peter’s message at Pentecost. Luke provides us with a lengthy record of the witness that Peter gave, including 23 verses about his actual message (2:14-36). He, however, also provides us with two explicit statements that show that we do not know the entirety of the witness given on this occasion.

First, prior to Peter’s message, Luke records that the crowd were “all amazed and marvelled” because of what they were hearing (2:7). They said, “We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God” (2:11). Luke does not tell us anything more about what this testimony included, and we have no definitive way of accounting for what information the crowd received at this time that prepared them for Peter’s message. Because the filling of the Holy Spirit supernaturally produced this testimony (2:4), we must hold that this was information that played a divinely ordained part in the ultimate salvation of the approximately 3,000 people that were saved that day (2:41).

Because we do not know exactly what testimony the crowd received immediately prior to Peter’s message, we cannot say with certainty that Peter did not testify a particular truth to them. Thus, this aspect of the record of Peter’s evangelism at Pentecost teaches us that it is not legitimate to use this passage as evidence for arguing against other teaching about what we should testify in our evangelism (for example, 10:42).

Second, Luke records that the crowd responded to Peter’s message by saying, “Brethren, what shall we do?” (2:37). Peter responded with authoritative direction (2:38) and an explanation of that direction (2:39). Luke then adds, “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this untoward generation'” (2:40).

Luke specifies that Peter gave them “many other words” of testimony and exhortation and summarizes that ministry with a six-word statement that plainly does not record all that Peter gave them at this time. Saying this, Luke provides us with a second explicit indicator that he has not given us a record of all the testimony that these people received on this occasion. We thus do not and cannot know exhaustively what these people did hear to be saved.

Because the Pentecost account is the first evangelistic encounter that Luke records, we are justified in approaching it with special regard from that literary standpoint. Given that fact, Luke’s giving us two explicit indications that he has not given us an exhaustive record of the testimony given on that occasion is noteworthy and implicitly instructs us that we should not regard any of the following accounts in the book as an exhaustive record.

Furthermore, because the Pentecost account records both the first instance of apostolic evangelism after the Ascension and the beginning of the Church, it is one of the most important evangelistic accounts in Scripture. It is also one of the longest recorded evangelistic accounts. In addition to its being the first recorded evangelistic account in Acts, these facts make Luke’s not giving us an exhaustive record of it even more significant.

Based, therefore, on the two explicit indicators from the Pentecost account about its not being an exhaustive record (2:11, 40), we should learn to handle the evangelistic accounts in Acts more accurately by not viewing them as exhaustive records of what was testified on those occasions. The lack of mention of a particular truth in any of the accounts in Acts does not definitively tell us that there was no testimony given to that truth in that evangelistic encounter.

In Evangelism, Interpretation

Verses Concerning Comprehensive Prosperity

April 18, 2011

The following passages concern the prosperity of God’s servants in various ways. Two (Num. 6:22-27; Ps. 35:27) use the Hebrew word shalom, which signifies comprehensive prosperity, including physical health. One stresses prospering in everything one does (Ps. 1:1-3). Four point to comprehensive prosperity through teaching that pertains to the prosperity of our entire being in various respects, including physical health (Prov. 4:20-22; Eccl. 11:9-12:1; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; 3 John 2).

By meditating on these passages, our minds will be renewed to have God’s perspectives about the comprehensive prosperity of His servants.

22And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying,
On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
24The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
27And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.
(Numbers 6:22-27)

1Blessed 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.
2But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3And 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.
(Psalm 1:1-3)

Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause:
yea, let them say continually,
Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
(Psalm 35:27)

20My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
(Proverbs 4:20-22)

9Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth;
and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth,
and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes:
but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
10Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh:
for childhood and youth are vanity.
1Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh,
when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
(Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1)

23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly;
and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body
be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
(1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24)

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper
and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
(3 John 2)

In Discipleship, Health

Scholarly Comments on the One Who Forgives

April 17, 2011

This post compiles some scholarly comments about Jesus as the One who forgives our sins:

The Pharisees’ attitude is probably like that expressed in [Luke] 5:21: ‘Who can forgive sins but God?’ In Luke-Acts, the right of Jesus to judge and thus forgive sins is one of Luke’s major claims, which shows one must deal with Jesus in order to be accepted by God (Luke 24:47; Acts 10:42; 17:31; on the Son of Man’s authority, see Luke 22:69; Acts 7:55-56). Here is raw eschatological authority, and the Pharisees know it. It is not the claim of a mere prophet. —Comments on Luke 7:49 by Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50 in BECNT, 707; bold added.

The term [Son of Man] is eschatological in Daniel; Jesus uses it in the same way in Matt. 24:30 and 26:64, and this is done also in the Revelation passages. But this Judge at the great consummation cannot be the judge only then, his work must reach back through the entire process of redemption, the consummation of which is the final judgment. [In Luke 5:24,] Jesus very properly thus expands the title and applies it to his person in the days of his humiliation. . . . Authority . . . to remit sins ‘on the earth’ during the era of grace comports with ‘the Son of man.’ To bring to us and to make our own this remission Jesus had to come on his great mission as ‘the Son of man.’ —Comments on Luke 5:24 by R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel, 303; bold added.

The resurrected Jesus is announced to be the Judge-designate. . . . Without this point, we might be tempted to think of the resurrection as something tremendous that happened to him but which has no relation to us at all. Without this statement that the resurrected Lord is the Judge-designate, we might believe the story of Easter and comment, ‘Terrific! But after all, that was Jesus. What has that got to do with us?’ Verse 42 [of Acts 10] answers this question by linking our destiny to that of Jesus, for it tells us that Jesus is every man’s Judge. This statement says that the man whom God designated to judge us is the man executed on Golgotha and raised on Easter. If, then, our destiny depends on the verdict of this Judge, we must recognize that the story of Jesus is the story of the one who will be the arbiter of our status before God. Suddenly for each individual, the story of Jesus is transformed from a piece of interesting ancient history to the disclosure of ‘where my destiny hangs.’ This change makes the story of Jesus real news. But it still does not show why this is good news; it could just as well be bad news. . . . These words [v. 43] transform the information about Jesus into the good news for all mankind. According to this early sketch of the gospel, the good news consists of the headline that the Judge forgives those who believe on his name. That is, he forgives those who believe he is really the Judge. Here is the heart of the good news in this sermon: The Judge forgives. —Leander E. Keck, Mandate to Witness: Studies in the Book of Acts, 68-69; bold added.

Here [Acts 10:43] Peter underscores that it is faith in the Jesus he has just described that brings the forgiveness. So the way of salvation is through the judge of the living and the dead, by appealing to him to forgive sin, which leads into the way of peace through the gospel (v. 35). —Comments on Acts 10:42-43 by Darrell L. Bock, Acts, 400; bold added.

In agreement with Keck and Bock, Schnabel regards Acts 10:43 as an ”exhortation to turn in faith to this judge in order to receive [the] forgiveness of sins.” Eckhard J. Schnabel, Jesus and the Twelve, vol. 1 of Early Christian Mission, 713; bold added.

What do you think about these scholarly comments? Do you agree with their saying that Jesus is the Judge who forgives sin?

In Gospel, Interpretation, Quotes

"Play Skillfully with a Loud Noise"!

April 16, 2011

The book of Psalms is the only collection of songs that God has inspired. It therefore has divine authority that we must heed in understanding what God wants us to do in our music. Those who would be disciples in their music must pay attention especially to the commands that God gives concerning the music of His people. In that respect, Psalm 33 is an especially important passage for understanding God’s mind about music because it records multiple commands and explains the basis for them.

Psalm 33:1-5 presents five commands from God concerning our music. The righteous are to “rejoice in the LORD” because praise is fitting for the upright (33:1). Those who would fulfill all their obligations to God and man must continually delight themselves in God in their music because He deserves such praise because of all that He has done, especially for them (cf. 33:18-22), and because such activity befits those who are upright before Him.

The righteous must also praise Him and sing to Him with various string instruments (33:2). Both of these commands make clear that God wants us to use string instruments in our worshiping Him.

Moreover, we are to sing to Him a “new song” (33:3a), which is a mandate for freshness of quality in the music that we sing to Him: “Praise should be spontaneous and fresh—new mercies demand new songs” (BKC: OT, 819). Repeated commands and statements about such songs (Ps. 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isa. 42:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3) show that this is a vital element of godly music.

These four commands teach that God calls for joyfully worshiping Him with quality music that consists of the singing of words accompanied by string instruments. Repeated references to the LORD (“in the LORD” [33:1a]; “the LORD” [33:2a]; “unto Him” [33:2b; 3a]) emphasize that He is to be the object of such worship.

Finally, we must “play skillfully with a loud noise” (33:3b). This command conveys God’s mandate that believers be skillful in playing stringed instruments, which calls for diligent preparation for such worship of God. It also mandates playing energetically so that the instruments will produce “a loud noise.” To meet this demand, we must worship God with all our might (cf. 2 Sam. 6:14; Eccl 9:10) and do the best we can in playing skillfully.

This command receives considerable expansion in the passage, with the next two verses serving as the explanation of the basis for the command (33:4-5). Four statements comprise the basis for the mandate to worship God skillfully with instrumental music:

“The word of the LORD is right”
“All His works are done in truth”
“He loves righteousness and judgment”
“The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD”

These statements highlight the perfections of His word and His works. They also set forth His excellent character, especially as it is bountifully manifested in the earth.

Alternatively, this teaching (33:4-5) may be the basis not just for this command, but also for all the preceding commands as well. Either way, the great elaboration of the basis for His authoritative direction concerning our music shows that we must excel in our music because He demands that it be in keeping with the excellence of His word, His works, and His person!

Based on this teaching, believers must continually be involved in activities to become skillful at playing string instruments for the glory of God. Renewing our minds with these truths, our homes, churches, and schools should provide suitable opportunities for the continual discipling of top-notch Christian musicians by those who are already highly skillful and dedicated Christian musicians.

In Music

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John 2

Acts 17

Romans 14

Revelation 1

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