In 1818, German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer wrote “Music is the Food of Soul” in which he used a melody as a metaphor for the human life. Though it was not what he intended, his title morphed into “Music is food for the soul” as millions of singers, composers, and musicians have lost themselves in songs in the years since. Modern American composer Stephen Sondheim wrote, “If I cannot fly, let me sing,” emphasizing again the wondrous heights to which a song can lift the human soul. Is it any wonder then that music has long been a central part of the worship of God?
Early in the Old Testament we find songs featured as the Israelites thanked and praised God for His repeated rescue of them from their enemies. A son of Cain, Jubal, was the inventor of the harp and hand organ, and it is from his name that we get the word “jubilee.” The sister of Moses, Miriam, led the women in singing and dancing after Pharaoh and his army had been swallowed up by the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to escape unharmed.
The judge Deborah and the general Barak celebrated Israel’s defeat of her enemies with singing, and David was called to play on the harp to calm King Saul when he was troubled. When David became king, he ordered the use of musical instruments and songs during the worship in the tabernacle, something that had not been done before that time. And of course, if was during this time also that David and others composed the songs that make up the book that we know of as Psalms in the Bible today.
When Jesus went to the Temple, there was music and singing, and this continued until the destruction of the Temple in 70A.D., when Jews forbid the use of instruments in the worship of God. Nonetheless, the Judaeo-Christians continued the Jewish tradition of music in worship and this spread to the gentile Christians. However, as the western Church became more centralized in Rome, they moved to Gregorian chants and short responsive phrases sung by the congregation. The Eastern Orthodox churches, however, continued with more melodic psalms and songs.
Gradually, more melodic songs were sung in western churches, particularly following the Reformation, although musical instruments were still not used in many churches. Eventually, however organs and stringed instruments were allowed in Catholic churches, and finally pianos in protestant churches. Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) argued, however, that since scriptures didn’t command the use of instruments in the worship of God, they should not be used. As a result, English Puritans, Scottish Presbyterians, and some protestant churches today do not use instruments in their services although they do sing, and often in glorious harmony!
I, however, hold to Psalm 98:4-6 which admonishes us “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.” So, I rejoice in the wondrous sound of instruments accompanying the songs of praise and adoration during a service. My husband and I, as a French and History teacher, took groups of students and adults to Europe throughout our career, and there was nothing so wonderful as to visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris when the huge organ was being played. The glorious notes resounded from the walls and ceiling of the vast cathedral, stirring the heart. How could God not enjoy those rapturous, worshipful melodies which certainly moved the hearts of the congregants as they listened and sang in worship to Him?
But as music evolved over the centuries, it still evolves today. Now, few churches continue to use hymnals, opting instead for putting the words on a screen or screens in front of the congregation. And many churches have abandoned the traditional hymns that I grew up with and moved instead to more modern melodies whose messages may be good, but whose melodies do not always lend themselves to echoing in your head during the week. Other, and I think wiser, congregations, have gone to a mixture of both, singing some traditional hymns and some modern songs. Why do I think this is wiser? Because the best hymn is the hymn that stays with the person in the pew. It’s the song that person is suddenly humming when he or she wakes up, or singing quietly as he or she showers. Those words become implanted in that person’s mind. Words like these:
“I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus, the Nazarene
And wonder how He could love me
A sinner condemned, unclean
O how marvelous, O how wonderful
And my song shall every be!
O how marvelous, O how wonderful
Is my Savior’s love for me!”(1)
Or
“O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all, the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed!
Then sings my soul, my Savior, God to Thee,
‘How great Thou art, how great Thou art!’
Then sings my soul, my Savior, God to Thee,
‘How great Thou art, how great Thou art!’” (2)
Or
“Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless O abide with me.”(3)
And then from this more modern song, words which are my constant prayer:
“And all my life You have been faithful.
And all my life You have been so, so good.
With every breath that I am able,
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God!” (4)
I hope you have hymns that dig themselves deep into your soul, hymns, whether traditional or modern, that run through your mind as you wake up in the morning or as you drive to work; hymns whose melodies are catchy and easy to remember, but whose words bear a message that speaks to your heart about the goodness, the greatness, the glory of God!
“How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see,
How great, how great is our God!” (5)
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1.I Stand Amazed in the Presence, (Charles Hutchinson Gabriel); 2. How Great Thou Art, (music/lyrics Carl Boberg, trans. Stuart K. Hine); 3. Abide with Me,( Henry Francis Lyte); 4. The Goodness of God, (Jason Ingram et al.); 5. How Great Is Our God, (Chris Tomlin).