After having some time to think this past weekend while down in the south once again, I was finally able to solidify my own opinion on a theological issue that has eluded me for years and years: the use of instruments in worship.
After worship yesterday at a church which made use of instruments during their service, I found myself wondering just why exactly I felt that their use was inappropriate. I knew from early childhood that the answer had something to do with Old Testament worship, much like the issue of exclusive psalmody did. So I started thinking about just what Old Testament worship was, and what it stood for.
If we look at Old Testament worship, from animal sacrifices through the use of incense and even the use of instruments we will observe that all of the worship practices of that day had one element in common. They all revolved around one's senses. But more importantly than that, they all caused one's senses to picture something that was to come...that is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. They were all pieces of an infinitely larger portrait.
They were all a foreshadow of Christ's coming. So once He came, the things that pointed to that event became obsolete. But what happened after Christ's coming was that Christianity as a whole, particularly the converted Jews, still wanted certain elements of the worship practice (things that had been implemented for centuries upon centuries of their history) to remain in use for the sake of tradition.
As we all learn early on in life, change comes hard to all of us...
The books of Hebrews and James were both written to those who wished the practices of the Old Covenant (the agreement concerning worship that God made with his people before the coming of Christ) to continue. In those books the people of God are told that to attempt to continue on with those practices was an insult to God, since Jesus already fulfilled them. Why wish for what was merely a symbol, when the very thing that it symbolized has been given to you in full?
Now, since the use of instruments in worship was a part of this Old Covenant practice, it falls among the same category of activities. Why wish to use what merely symbolized Christ, now that he has already come?
Thoughts? Additional arguments? Counter-arguments?
About Me
- Ascottishsamurai
- I am a simple student...trying to figure out which way the Lord is pulling me. At present I am a communications major. I chose this field of study for two reasons: The first of these reasons is that I fear that I might be being called to become a pastor. This frightens me for yet two more reasons. The first is that I know just how fallible of a man I am and how desperately I need grace, and do not trust myself to teach and sheperd the people of God as such. The second is that I have seen first hand, being a pastor's child for so many years, just how difficult a life in the ministry can be to the family of the pastor. But should this not be God's will for me, I feel that a major in communications will be a very marketable degree that will allow me to break into many different fields. In the end I know that the Lord will have me doing exactly what He wants me to be doing.
2 comments:
Hey friend,
not to just be argumentative, but I was wondering if you could give me references in either Hebrews or James that talk of a musical instrument being usd in worship as an insult to God. I am semi-confused about this whole opinion, and part of me would turn it away as traditional nonsense, but I would really like to understand what you mean first. To me,Music is a gift from God, the way all sounds in the universe weave together in unity. It is a gift that should be honored by using it to give Him glory. I play guitar for worship services on occasion, and really all the time by myself. I suck at singing, but when I can play, I know I am praising Him just the same, if not even more intimately. As far as I know, God never commandded Isreal to praise Him with Instruments, did He? He did command them to make sacrifices and to obey the Law, but in the end instruments were a choice made by the people, which He did not reject. These are my thoughts for now, and I would appreciate a reply. Joy to you
Bert, sorry for taking so long to reply, and thank you very much for the interaction. It is very rare, that I get to debate theological matters through this medium in such a friendly fashion.
You do have a good point, and to start my defense I would like to be sure to draw a distinction between use of instruments in "private" and "corporate" worship.
In my studies I have absolutely no problem with using instruments to praise and bring glory to God in private worship (aka when we are doing our devotions, or spending time alone with God or even in a group). There is nothing wrong with that, and certainly music is indeed a wonderful gift from God to be used to this end.
However, corporate worship is a much more formal activity, about which God has very specifically provided direction as to how He would like it to be accomplished.
There is an interesting historical note in regard to this from 1 Chronicles. I am actually going to quote my dad on this, author of a book on the subject (Worship: From Genesis to Revelation), though this is not a quote from his book, but rather a quote from a forum for theological discussion between members of the puritan tradition.
"1. The use of musical instruments in the OT worship was a function of the Levites, who presided over the sacrificial system.
1 Chronicles 15:16 'And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.'
2. The specifically appointed function of these Levites was to minister before the ark of the LORD.
1 Chronicles 16:4-6 'And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel: 5 Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals; 6 Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.'
1 Chronicles 16:37 'So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required:'
3. Those appointed to play musical instruments were specifically-named members of the priestly family, who were charged to employ the "instruments of God" in connection with the burnt offerings "according to all that is written in the law of the LORD."
1 Chronicles 16:39-42 'And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon, 40 To offer burnt offerings unto the LORD upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the LORD, which he commanded Israel; {morning...: Heb. in the morning, and in the evening} 41 And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever; 42 And with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters.'
4. Within the order of the priests and Levites there were 4,000 appointed to play musical instruments made by David himself for the purpose of praising God.
1 Chronicles 23:2-5 'And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. 4 Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand were officers and judges: 5 Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.'
5. In addition to ministering before the ark of the LORD and praising in connection with the burnt offering, some of the priests and Levites were set apart to prophesy with musical instruments.
1 Chronicles 25:1-2 'Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was: Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king.'
6. The employment of the instruments was a function of the priests, arrayed in white linen.
2 Chronicles 5:12-13 'Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets. 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 musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;'
2 Chronicles 7:6 'And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.'
7. The use of the musical instruments by the Levites was carefully done according to the prescription of God through His prophets - only Levites, and only the specific instruments appointed by God.
2 Chronicles 29:25-26 'And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets. And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.'
8. The Levitical function of employing the musical instruments commenced with the offering of the burnt offering.
2 Chronicles 29:27 'And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.'
9. The Levitical funtion of employing the musical instruments stopped at the completion of the burnt offering.
2 Chronicles 29:28 'And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.'
10. When the burnt offering was finished, the instruments were put away, but the singing of praises continued in reverent worship to God.
2 Chronicles 29:29-30 'And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped. Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.'"
Thus, once the sacrifice itself became obsolete, the need for the instruments that were so focal a part of that process also became unnecessary.
Basically, this can all be wrapped up in the concept of the Regulative Principle of Worship, which the RPCNA (Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America) adheres to. The concept is that Rather than saying in terms of worship "we'll do what has been expressly commanded, and anything that hasn't been expressly forbidden is also okay" we'd say "what has been commanded we'll do, but we won't attempt to add to worship in ways that God Himself hasn't expressly commanded through the means of his Word".
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