"Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp! Praise Him with tambourine (also referring to drums at that point in history) and dance; praise Him with strings and pipe! Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!" - Psalm 150: 3-5
In the next two or three blogs I want to discuss the Biblical legitimacy of the use of instruments in worship. There are some churches who don't use instruments. Calvin believed in the use of psalms only - and un-accompanied. Zwingli went even further and excluded music from worship entirely. It was not that they hated music; as reformers they felt they were maintaining integrity in worship. They were trying to make a strong, obvious difference in what was practiced by the Roman church at the time. Another reformer, Martin Luther, took a very different position when it came to music. He believed that music was a gift and creation of God, and should be used at its best to glorify Him.
But we need to ask the question based on the Bible rather than on man's own principles. Are instruments permissible in the worship of God? Do we find Biblical foundation and support for using instruments? I believe so.
On the basis of God's Word it appears that instruments should be used in worship as long as they are a contribution and not a distraction from worship and the purposes of worship. We live in a day where there is great debate about what instruments are appropriate. Some want to say only those that have been associated with the church for a certain period of time. However, many of the instruments used and their evolution can be traced back to Old Testament instruments mentioned in Scripture.
I do think that care should be given as to how the instruments are played, being careful that associations with the world are not evident. Of course that is a judgement call that has to be made in a spirit of humility, prayer, and divine guidance. God reminds us through the prophet Amos of the trouble for those "at ease in Zion" (6:1) - those who are not following the Lord's commands: "Woe to those . . . who sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp . . . but care nothing about the ruin of Joseph." We need to make sure there is a Biblical theology and philosophy behind the use of instruments in worship. I remember sitting at the piano even as a teenager and worshipping the Lord. I knew and sensed in my spirit that it was true worship. Next time we will look at what the Old Testament says and later what the New Testament says to us about this subject. mjm
