Praise in Song

Part 5

Guest Post

I must confess that when I started looking into this theme of praise and worship through music in the Bible, I never realized how vast the subject was! I was amazed at just how many verses in scripture talk about singing and praising God and just how many times musical instruments were used in the worship of the Lord.

So now, after countless hours of reading and studying, I've come to the conclusion, that it's going to be a lifelong event of finding more and more gems in the Bible relating to this topic and that I can't possibly keep writing on the subject continually. That's not to say that I can't keep jotting down the verses as they come to light and looking into them further. I know that I've barely scratched the surface, but hopefully I've gotten you thinking and interested in delving more into the ways that we can worship God and the use of music in our praise and adoration of Him.

This past week, I was sent a small piece of an old prayer letter of my dad's that dealt with this very subject of music, and it was so good, that I felt I needed to share it in summary of my mini series on praise and worship in song.

So, below is a guest post that I trust will help

shed more light on the subject.

“Does your church have the best music in town? That seems to be a strange question, doesn't it? But I'm not thinking of talented musicians, skilled song leaders, large choirs, and Easter cantatas. I'm thinking of the music in Matthew 18:19, where the scripture says,

“Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”

Can you see the music there? The key is the word, agree. It comes from the Greek word, sumphoneo; the basis for our word, symphony. An interesting translation of this word is found in Luke 15:25, where it is translated, musick.

“Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came

and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.”

Now it all fits, doesn't it? My church or my home can have a melodious, harmonious symphony of worship and service. Our Lord calls it “agreement in asking:, or prayer. As we think and act along these lines, let us remember that the composer of our music is God, so that our agreement is with Him.

Let us also remember that, in order to be truly symphonic, we must “play the tune” God has written for us in His word, not some little ditty of our own (and don't forget, symphonies don't include many solos).

And last, we must not forget that our part in “the best music in town” will depend greatly on following our conductor, the pastor. He must study the score, God's word. He must cultivate a personal friendship with the composer in order to know the moods of the music, and he must train us to play well. The world is waiting for you performance. Make it the best music in town.”