Music
Is it time to shoot down the sacred cows?

 

It's interesting that we have so many "IFB's" who would like to take away our liberty in Christ as far as praise and worship is concerned. In the past and present we've got those who condemn short hair, women wearing trousers, and of course now we must attack the kind of music one uses for worship in church services or privately. And lest we give any offense to these brothers and sisters who are sensitive to our modern worship music, with drums included (gasp!), let's play them in secret so we don't reveal how ungodly we truly are to these fine godly folks. We certainly don't want to give the impression that we have gone into an African trance and our bodies possessed because we have drummed up the African spirits with songs that have a beat.

Let me make it clear, this article has nothing to do with Christian "rock bands". This article also has nothing to do with Terry Watkins web page, which always seems to pop up when music is discussed. Terry Watkins articles are full of holes, inaccuracy and false aspersions. As well stated by another concerning Terry Watkin's article, "While some of his info is correct, much is Terry's opinion. The overall article is divisive and judgmental; pinning the sins of the miscreants onto the sincere and believing artist, and lumping them all into one narrow-minded box is WRONG."

This article has to do with people who love hymns as well as modern day music of Praise and Worship songs. It's about people who have the freedom in Christ to praise him with all kinds of instruments, and praising "his name in dance" (another unpardonable sin?). Apparently with some IFB's there's not "a time to dance."

We have come to a sad state of affairs when we now have people who start making such ridiculous comments as, "Have the hymnals been trashed in favor of the overhead projector?" "Has the choir been supplanted by a contemporary praise?"

My, we certainly don't want to let anyone know our church uses an overhead projector. We certainly don't want to be accused of trashing our hymnals. What I'm wondering is, how did the millions of Christians ever survive without such songs before the time of Fanny Cosby, Horatio G. Spafford, S. J. Henderson, et alia?

When the topic of tambourines was brought up about being used in worship and praise, and what should we do with them, one woman replied that we should, "Pitch it."

I would like to quote one gentleman who made a very good point.

 OK. Its time to let the scriptures shoot down the Sacred Cows and the straw men. You know, those straw men like "women with tambourines causing chaos in Pentecostal churches, and praise bands playing louder than the people, Pentecostals thrashing on the floor, and hymnals with three part harmonies and notes that promote more reverent music and worship?" Yep, those are straw men.

What do the scriptures say about singing praise?
 

Psalms 100: 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Colossians 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.

Do the scriptures give anyone the liberty to claim their worship out of hymnals is superior to the worship of those who sing modern songs and use overheads? No They do not!! The scripture does say; "Sing unto the LORD a new song."

The Sacred Cow named "Our Hymnal with old hymns and Stamps Baxter campfire songs promotes better worship" bites the dust. Not to mention that the attitude that singing out of hymnals with over 600 hymns with notes and three part harmonies is in any way superior is self centered western thinking, when you consider the fact that foreign Christians less fortunate than we, don't have hymnals or overheads.

What do the scriptures say about the Sacred Cow called "Music with a beat is ungodly?"

Psalms 149:3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
Psalms 150:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Do you strum timbrels, tabrets and cymbals? Do you blow into them to get music? NO! You "BEAT" on them. This produce a loud "BEAT" to praise God with at his command. Now if you want to hold on to that Sacred Cow, do so at the cost of contradicting God to his face.

What do the scriptures say about praise bands that are loud and overpower the people and don't sound as reverent.

Psalms 149: 3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

Psalms 150:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

The scriptures describe nothing less than a huge band that plays LOUDLY. God himself has said to praise him on these instruments LOUDLY. Which part of that do you not understand or not want to believe? Thus the Scriptures shoot down the Sacred Cow called; "Praise Bands are less reverent than IFB pianos." So most of these Sacred Cows are sacred not because of what Scripture says, but because they are the vain traditions of men making void the doctrines of God. "Why?" we might ask. Because it's about what you want and not what is pleasing to God. So take it up with God. But don't berate those believers who believe God for exactly what he says. If your Bible believing IFB's don't want to believe that part and choose NOT to dance and NOT to praise him loudly with God ordained instruments, and would rather stand stock still and sing out of the hymnal and sound reverent and be free of chaos caused by women with tambourines, its very OK with me.

Other comments consists of, "If you have to shout to be heard, you are not singing or giving praise, but are indeed shouting. If you have to try to shout to be heard by God, something is terribly wrong." "Loud music does not cater to the spirit, but to the flesh."

What does the Bible have to say?

  "O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.." -Ps. 47:1

"...and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD. -2 Chron. 30:21

"Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise." -Psalms 33:3

"And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high." -2 Chron. 20:19

 "And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer" -Neh. 12:42

"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise." -Psalms 98:4

"Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals." -Psalms 150:5

"But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee." -Psalms 5:11

"Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart." -Psalms 32:11

"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." -Psalms 35:27

"Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy." -Psalms 132:9

"I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy." -Psalms 132:16

"Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." -Isaiah 12:6

What was that about "If you have to shout to be heard, you are not singing or giving praise, but are indeed shouting?" What was that about loud music does not cater to the spirit, but to the flesh?" I supposed a Christian is supposed to look and feel like they've been sucking on lemons all day? Are saved human beings not allowed to get "emotional" when praising and worshipping God our Saviour? It's okay to get emotional at football games, cheer for whatever team, jump, stomp your feet, clap, and shout, but the Christian cannot do this when he praises and worships God? It's interesting, when "pet doctrines" are formed one begins to deny the very Scriptures they claim to believe. If one has a problem praising the Lord as instructed above, could it be a matter of "pride"? Would you be telling God that is not how we should praise Him?

As one woman wrote,

"We are all accountable for that which we say and do , not only in service on Sunday morning....( is our heart and our lives right before God) but every single day of the week. No one should go to church with the attitude of appearing to be Godly before those in the community. But if we go with a worshipful heart open to hearing and doing and living in light of the word of God....then who should judge that we are not worshiping or praising correctly or in the way the Lord would not wish for us to do...because it is different from the way another would choose to do so."

When it comes to praising and worshipping God, it's not a matter of catering to the flesh, what makes "us" happy, or makes someone else happy, it's about pleasing our heavenly Father. All the Scriptures above are instructions of how one can praise and worship the Lord God Almighty, whether it be with instruments, in dance, shouting, clapping, singing and making melody in your heart.

The bottom line? It's not about opinions of what is considered right or wrong music, whether actions are right or what pleases us, it's all ABOUT HIM and what He requires of us. As stated in the end of the article "Anyway"

You see, in the final analysis,
It is between you and God;

 It never was between you and them, anyway.

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