Anon: The fundamental principle of all true worship or
service is, it
must be
done in obedience to God. Jesus said: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
God,
and him only shalt thou serve." To change God's appointment or
to
worship in a way not commanded is to refuse to worship or
serve him.
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither
shall ye
diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the
Lord your
God which I command you." (Deut. 4: 2, R. V.) "Ye shall not do
after
all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever
is
right in his own eyes . . . What thing soever I command you,
that
shall ye observe to do: thou shalt not add thereto, nor
diminish from
it." (Deut. 12: 8-32, R. V.) "Thou shalt hearken to the voice
of the
Lord thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command
thee this
day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy
God." We
are to seek to do what is right in the eyes of God and to do
what he
commands. neither adding to nor taking from.
The regulative
principle is a
Presbyterian doctrine which has been supported
down through
protestatent history and simply followed by the Americal
Restoration
Movement. Those Experiencing God to become much like Jesus
have
developd a Post Modern or Post
Denominational set of principles.
However, those who honor Christ by remaining faithful to
His Word
always test faith and practice based on the teachings of
Jesus or the
Apostles.
Logos
computation, reckoning
2. statement of a theory, argument,
ouk
emeu
alla
tou
l.
akousantas
prob. in Heraclit.50; logon
ēde
noēma
amphis
alētheiēs
discourse and reflection on reality,
IV. inward debate of
the soul, reflection,
deliberation
Regulative and formative forces,
derived from the intelligible and operative in
the sensible universe,
Opposite to epithumia
A. desire, yearning, longing after
a thing, desire of or for it, Theaomai :--gaze at,
behold, mostly with a sense of wonder, 3.
view as spectators
Opposite Pathos A. that
which happens to a person or thing, incident,
accident, Moralizing Rhetoric
Opposite Poiein to excite passion,
Arist.Rh.1418a12;
V. Rhet., emotional style
or treatment,
Opposite Enthousi-astikos , ē, on, A. inspired, “phusis” Pl.Ti.71e;
esp. by music,
Prose, OPPOSITE -poięsis, Id.R.390a;
OPPOSITE -poiętikę, D.H.Comp.6;
OPPOSITE poięmata, onomatopoeic
word
OPPOSITE emmetra Modus 2. The
measure of tones, measure, rhythm, melody, harmony, time;
in poetry, measure, metre, mode: Mūsĭcus a, um, adj., = mousikos.
X. the Word or Wisdom
of God, personified as his agent in creation and
world-government,
Theologians are doomed to call God a liar or
INCOMPETENT. If God had wanted any kind of music in
the tuneful sense He was INTELLIGIBLE But denied by C.
Leonard Allen.
mousikos
kai
melōn
poētēs”
2. generally, votary of the Muses, The
Muses were the LOCUSTS unleashed with Apollon their
"musical worship leaders." The Greek and Latin literature
identifies them as dirty adulteresses
http://www.piney.com/DocHesTheog.html
[25] the Muses of Olympus,
daughters of Zeus who holds the aegis: “Shepherds
of the wilderness,
wretched things of shame,
mere bellies,
we know how to speak
many false things as though they were
true;
but we know, when we
will, to utter true things.”
...and
they bade me sing of the race of the blessed gods that are
eternally,
but ever to sing of themselves both
first and last.
pharma^kon 3.
enchanted potion, philtre: hence, charm,
spell, Od.4.220
sq., Ar.Pl.302,
[Circe, Church, Corinth mother of harlots] Theoc.2.15
The singers [Muses], instrument players and craftsmen
as sorcerers in Revelation 18.
Anon: God gave his people judges
until the days of Samuel, the prophet. "His sons walked not
in his
ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and
perverted
judgment. Then all the elders of Israel . . . came to
Samuel, . . .
and said unto him, . . . Make us a king to judge us . . . And the Lord said
unto Samuel, Hearken unto
the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for
they have
not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that l should not reign over
them." (1 Sam. 8:
3-7.)
Anon: To ask a change of God's order,
even when perverted by bad men to evil ends, was to reject
God as
their Ruler and King. God warned them of the evils the kings
would
bring upon them, but granted their request and permitted
them to
make the
experiment of
serving God in a human
government, seeking
earthly
greatness
while trying
to serve him.
"But were it
evident, which it is not, either from this (2 Chron.
29:25) or any
other place in the sacred writings, that instruments of
music were
prescribed by Divine
authority under the
law, could this be adduced with any semblance of reason
that they
ought to be used in Christian Worship? No..." (Adam Clark,
Commentary, Vol. II, PP. 690-691).
Only during the afterthought
of the burnt offering of the goats for Israel as a
political effort to get them to help protect Jerusalem
from attack that the Levites under the king and commanders
of the army made a great instrumental noise. Christ
in the prophets wills ay that God commanded neither
sacrifices or burnt offerings when they came out of Egypt
by pure grace.
"It was only permitted
to the
Jews as sacrifice was, for the heaviness and grossness
of their
souls. God condescended
to their weakness, because they were lately drawn off from
idols; but
now, instead of organs, we may use our own bodies to
praise him
withal." (Chrysostom on Psa. 149, Vol. iii, p. 634).
"The instruments were
used as
worship to God and to give glory and elat to the earthly
kingdom. They were
tolerated by God as were many other things during this
period, that
he did not approve. The establishment of the kingdom
itself was an
act of rebellion against God" (David Lipscomb, Queries and
Answers,
pp. 226, 227, and Gospel Advocate, 1899, pp. 376, 377).
Anon: He permitted this that they
might prove the evil results of supplanting God's order with
their
own inventions.
This law of
God, forbidding the adding to or taking
from the commandments of God, is stamped on every page
of God's word
from Genesis to Revelation.
It demands that
every soul loyal to God shall refuse all fellowship with,
and take a
decided stand against, all efforts to add to or take from
the
appointments of God.
All that pertained to
the
kingdom and its earthly greatness is given to us as
warning to be
avoided, not as example to be followed.
Anon: In this double effort God
permitted them to introduce, and tolerated, things that
would
promote
earthly
grandeur and
display while seeking to do the things that he
commanded.
Two
accounts of this experiment are given. One of these is by
the prophet Jeremiah, as is generally believed,
in the books of Samuel
and Kings.
1, Jeremiah was a
prophet of God. A prophet was the mouthpiece of God
and spoke for him to men. He gives especially the efforts to
serve
the Lord and the failures through the kings.
Christ in Jeremiah 7 said that
God did not command sacrifices or burnt offerings.
1A. But: The other
account
supposed to have been written by Ezra, the priest
gives the things
done to exalt and glorify the nation
among other nations, and is contained in the books of Chronicles,
Ezra,
and Nehemiah.
2. A priest spoke to God
for the people.
2A. But: Ezra wrote to excite
the national
pride, to
arouse the
people to reestablish the kingdom in its former glory
after the
return from the captivity of Babylon. Hosea (13: 9-11, R.
V.) tells
the origin and the end of the experiment: "It is
thy destruction, O
Israel, that thou art against me, against thy help. Where
now is thy
king, that he may save thee in all thy cities? and thy
judges, of
whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?
I have given thee a
king in mine anger, and have taken him away
in my wrath." God gave them kings to punish them for
desiring to set aside his government;
Hosea 13:9 O Israel,
thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.
Hosea 13:10 I will be thy king: where is any other that
may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom
thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?
Hosea 13:11 I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took
him away in my wrath.
Hosea 13:12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin
is hid.
Hosea 13:13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come
upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay
long in the place of the breaking forth of children.
Hosea 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of the
grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be
thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction:
repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
Hosea 13:15 Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an
east wind shall come, the wind [7307 Spirit] of the LORD
shall come up from the wilderness, and his
spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried
up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.
Hosea 12:2 The LORD hath
also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob
according to his ways; according to his doings will he
recompense him.
Joel 3:1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time,
when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and
Jerusalem,
and when the punishment
through
the kings drove them away from God instead of
drawing them back to
him, he took the kings away in his wrath and left
them a prey to
their enemies, without either an earthly or a
heavenly king to defend
them.
This whole experiment
of a kingdom was a warning to all others not to change the
order of God.
Nehemiah
12:27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem
they sought
the Levites out of all their places, to bring
them to Jerusalem,
to keep the
dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings,
and with singing,
with cymbals, psalteries, and with
harps.
Nehemiah 12:45 And both the singers and the porters kept
the ward of their God,
and the ward of
the purification, according to the commandment of
David, and of Solomon his son.
Nehemiah 12:46 For in the days of David and Asaph
of old there were chief of the singers, and songs
of praise and thanksgiving unto God.
God
promised David a Tent
But, Solomon built God a house
But, God does not dwell in houses built by human
hands.
To do so must bring ruin.
In
the history of these kings, as given by Jeremiah,
not a word
of approval is given of the
introduction or use of instrumental music in the regular
worship of
God;
nor is it
mentioned with approval by any of the prophets,
although all of them,
from Isaiah to Malachi, prophesied in the
days of the kings,
when the
instruments were in use.
The timbrels and dances by Miriam and the
women in their rejoicing over the passage of the Red
Sea are
mentioned (Ex. 15: 20), when Saul met the minstrels
and prophesied (1
Sam. 10:: 5-10), and when David attempted to bring up the
ark from
the house of Abinadab and Uzzah was slain (2
Sam. 6: 5-7).
It is mentioned as a part
of
the worship only in the books written by Ezra
in his efforts to excite the national pride
and to reestablish the kingdom in its
earthly glory. When mentioned by him,
he is careful always to
keep it
clear that the use of instruments was ordained by David,
as distinct
from the things ordained by God for his service.
When
David numbered the people this brought on a plague where
David turned
the wrath of God upon the people rather than accept guilt:
finally God
gave him a place for a TENT at the well-established center
of Jebusite
Star worship. In Acts 7 Stehphen said BUT Solomon
built God a
house; BUT God does not dwell in houses built by human
hands nor is He
worshipped by the works of human hands.
T
he account of its
first establishment by David is given in
1 Chron. 16: 4,
5, R. V.:
"He [David] appointed certain of the Levites to
minister before the ark of the Lord, and to celebrate
and to thank and praise the Lord,
the God of Israel: Asaph the chief," and others under him. David
appointed these.
But: Distinct from
these were "Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests
with trumpets continually, before the ark of the
covenant of
God."
God commanded Moses to make two
trumpets to be sounded by the
priests. (Num. 10: 2.) "
On that day did David
first ordain to give thanks unto the Lord, by the
hand of Asaph and
his brethren." (1 Chron. 16: 7, R. V.)
Throughout the chapter the distinction is kept up
between the priests with the trumpets
appointed by God
And the Levites
under Asaph appointed by David to perform
on the instruments of music. Verse 42, A. V., says, "with
them [the priests] Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets
and cymbals for
those that should make a sound, and with musical
instruments of God;
"the Revised Version more correctly says, "with
instruments for the
songs of God " and instruments invented by David for
the songs of
God.
During the conflict with
Saul (1 Kings 22) Abimelech refused to kill all of the
priests
Samuel 22:19 And Nob,
the city of the priests,
smote he with the
edge
of the sword, both men and women, children
and sucklings,
and oxen, and
asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
Abiathar, the son of Saul's priest, Ahimelech
(molek) ran to David and was made a high priests when the
Kohathites demoted.
Therefore, David radically changed the
role
of the Levites from being the virtual slaves of the priests
and let
them perform priestly services:
To this end a
further division was made into twentyfour courses, corresponding to the same number of priestly
courses.
The officers and judges,
taken from the family
of Kohath, served outside the sanctuary and in
great part outside Jerusalem. Levites Shaff Herzog 6
1Chronicles
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:
1Chronicles 16:38 And Obed-edom with their brethren,
threescore and
eight; Obed-edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah
to be porters:
1Chronicles 16:39 And Zadok the priest, and
his brethren the priests,
before the
tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at
Gibeon,
1: 1Chronicles
16:40 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;
But 1A: 1Chronicles 16:41 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;
1: 1Chronicles 16:42 And with them Heman
and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals
for those that should make a sound, [h8085
to get attention]
But 1A: and with musical instruments of God.
And the sons of Jeduthun were porters.
1Chronicles 16:42NET Heman and Jeduthun were in charge
of the music, including the trumpets, cymbals, and the
other musical [singing] instruments used in
praising God. The sons of Jeduthun guarded
the entrance.
1Chronicles 16:42NIV Heman and Jeduthun were
responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and
cymbals and for the playing of the other instruments
for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were stationed
at the gate.
1Chronicles 16:43 And all the people departed every
man to his house: and David returned to bless his
house.
Again, in 1 Chron. 25: 1,
2, R.
V., it is said: "Moreover David
and the captains of the host
separated
for the service
certain 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 them
that did the work according to their service was:
of the sons of Asaph;
Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asharelah, the sons
of
Asaph;
under the hand of
Asaph, who prophesied after the
order of the
king [David]."
1Chronicles 25:1 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:
1Chronicles 25:2 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.
1Chronicles 25:3 Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun;
Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah,
even all that were
cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight
1Chronicles 25:7 So the number of them, with their brethren
that were instructed in the songs of the LORD,
even all that were cunning,
was two hundred fourscore and eight.
At the consecration
of the temple of Solomon, the
instruments were used. (2 Chron. 5: 11-14.)
2Chronicles
5:11 And it came to pass, when the priests were come
out of the holy place:
(for all the
priests that were present were sanctified, and did not
then wait by course:
2Chronicles 5:12 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:)
2Chronicles 5:13 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;
2Chronicles 5:14 So that the priests could not stand
to minister by reason of the cloud:
for the glory of
the LORD had filled the house of God.
You
will
notice that at the great crashing sound a great
HEAVINESS or
darkness descended upon the temple: this put the
symbolic presence of
God, the mercy seat and the Word once under the mercy
seat. God was not
IN the temple but he CLOSED DOWN all access to the godly
people.
Revelation
15:5 And after that I looked, and, behold,
the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in
heaven was opened:
Revelation 15:6 And the seven angels came out of the
temple,
having the seven plagues,
clothed in pure and white linen,
and having their
breasts girded with golden girdles.
Revelation 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the
seven angels seven golden vials
full of the wrath
of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Revelation 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke
from the glory of God, and from his power;
and no man was
able to enter into the temple,
till the seven
plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
The service is described
in 2 Chron. 7: 6, R. V..
"And the priests stood,
according to their offices;
the Levites also with instruments
of music of the Lord
[margin, "for the songs of the Lord"],
which David the king
had made
to give thanks unto the Lord."
2Chronicles 7:4 Then
the king and all the people offered sacrifices before
the LORD.
2Chronicles 7:5 And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of
twenty and two thousand oxen,
and an hundred and
twenty thousand sheep:
so the king
and all the people dedicated the house of God.
2Chronicles 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.
Solomon "appointed, according
to the
ordinance of David his father,
the courses of the
priests to their
service,
and the Levites to their
charges, to praise,
and to minister
before the priests, as the duty of every day
required." (2 Chron. 8:
14 R. V.)
2Chronicles 8:14 And he
appointed,
according to the order
of David his father, the courses of the priests to
their service,
and the Levites
to their charges, to praise and minister before the
priests,
as the duty of every
day required: the porters also by their courses at every
gate:
for so had David the man of God commanded.
"Jehoiada
appointed the offices of the house of. the Lord
under the hand of the priests
the Levites, whom David had
distributed
in the house of the Lord,
to offer the burnt
offerings of the Lord,
as it is written in the law of Moses,
with rejoicing and with
singing, according to the order of
David." (2 Chron. 23: 18, R. V.)
2Chronicles 23:18 Also Jehoiada
appointed the offices
of the house of the
LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites,
whom David had
distributed in the house of the LORD,
1.
to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is
written in the law of Moses,
1A. with rejoicing and
with singing, as it was
ordained by David
In all of these examples the
services commanded by God and the
instrumental services commanded by David are kept distinct and
in
contrast.
Hezekiah "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 the commandment was of the Lord
by his
prophets." (2 Chron. 29: 25, R. V.) While the command to use
the
instruments was by David, it is said that "the commandment
was of the
Lord by his prophets;"
but what
commandment? Clearly not the
instrumental service which here as elsewhere is said to be commanded
by David; but if this be the correct reading, the feast
of the
passover, which was now observed, was the great
command of God
through his prophets. While this is true, there is no doubt
that the
Lord tolerated the instrumental service as he did
the kingdom.
He did
not approve the kingdom. When they asked it, he told them,
"They have
rejected me, that I should not reign over them," and
warned them of
the evil it would bring upon them.
The instrumental music was a part
of the kingdom and the rejection of God; yet he
tolerated it, and it
was called "the kingdom of the Lord." (2 Chron. 13: 8.) The
Septuagint
Version, the one used by Christ, reads:
"For by the
commandment of the Lord, the order was in the hand of the
prophets,
and the Levites stood with the
instruments of David,
and the priests
with the trumpets."
The Syriac, the Arabic (two of the oldest
translations), and the Vulgate agree with this. It
certainly does not
mean that God commanded the use of the instruments,
when it is so
often said that David commanded them, in contrast with
the things
that God commanded.
"And the Levites stood with the
instruments of David,
and the priests with
the trumpets . . .
And
when the burnt offering began,
the song of the Lord
began also, and
the trumpets,
together with . . . instruments of David king of
Israel." (2 Chron. 29: 26, 27, R. V.)
Josiah observed the passover
feast.
"And the singers
the sons of Asaph were in their place,
according
to the commandment of David." (2 Chron. 35:
15.)
Ezra went
up to Jerusalem from Babylon to reinstate the kingdom after
the captivity.
"And when the
builders laid the foundation of the temple
of the Lord,
they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets,
and
the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to
praise the Lord,
after
the order of David king of Israel." (Ez.. 3:
10, R. V.)
Remember, the
priests with the trumpets were ordained by God through
Moses;
the
cymbals and other instruments, by David.
Nehemiah gives an account of
the dedicatory services held in the days of Zerubbabel.
In chapter
12: 24, R. V., he says: "
And the chiefs of
the Levites . . . to
praise and give thanks, according
to the commandment of David the man
of God, ward against ward."
Nehemiah 12:22 The Levites
in the
days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded
chief
of the fathers: also the priests, to the reign of Darius
the Persian.
Nehemiah 12:23 The sons of Levi, the chief of the
fathers, were written in the book of the chronicles,
even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.
Nehemiah 12:24 And the chief of the Levites:
Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel,
with their brethren over against them,
to praise and to
give thanks,
according to the commandment of David
the man of God, ward over against ward.
Verse 36 says: "And his
brethren, . . .
with the musical instruments of David the man of God."
Nehemiah 12:36 And his
brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai,
Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with
the musical instruments of David the man of God,
and Ezra the scribe before them.
Nehemiah 12:37 And at the fountain gate, which was over
against them,
they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the
going up of the
wall, above the house of David, even unto
the water gate eastward.
Nehemiah 12:38 And the other company of them that gave
thanks went over
against them, and I after them, and the half of the people
upon the
wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the
broad wall;
Verse 45 says:
"And they kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the
purification, and so did the singers and the porters, according
to
the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son."
Nehemiah 12:45 And both the
singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and
the ward of the purification,
according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon
his son.
Nehemiah 12:46 For in the days
of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the
singers, and songs of praise and
thanksgiving unto God.
These are the places in
which
instrumental music in the service is mentioned in the Bible,
and it
is always attributed to David in contrast with the
things ordered by
God.
No service appointed or
approved by God is attributed to any man
as this is to David. God tolerated it as a part of the
kingdom, itself a rebellion against him as a part of the
experiment to
maintain a kingdom with earthly glory and to serve
God at the same
time.
After David invented the
instruments of music, he, in the
psalms, exhorted that they, with the dance, should be used
to praise
God.
In 1 Chron. 22: 5 David
gives the spirit
that
prompted the kingdom
and use of instrumental music: "
David said, Solomon my
son is young
and tender, and the house that is to be built for the
Lord
must be exceeding
magnifical, of fame and of glory
throughout all countries:
I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David
prepared
abundantly before his death."
1Chronicles 22:9 Behold, a son shall be born to
thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest
from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be
Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in
his days.
1Chronicles 22:10 He shall build an house for my name; and he
shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will
establish throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.
Stephen
in
Acts 7 says that God permitted David a TENT but Solomon
built God a
house But God does not live in houses built by human
hands.
This service was
introduced to add earthly splendor to the
kingdom among the nations, not to obey God. That
this earthly splendor and glory were not pleasing to God is
clear. Haggai (2: 7-9, R. V.), the prophet, said of the
second
temple: "I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord
of hosts .
. . The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the
former,
saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give
peace, saith
the Lord of hosts." Jesus, the Prince of Peace, came
to the latter
temple, though so greatly inferior in earthly splendor to
the former.
That God condemned
David for introducing this service is clear from Amos
6: 1-6, R. V.: "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion,
and to
them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the
notable men of
the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!
. . . Ye
that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of
violence to
come near; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch
themselves upon
their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the
calves out
of the midst of the stall, that sing idle songs to the sound
of the
viol; that devise for themselves
instruments of music, like David;
that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the
chief
ointments; but they are not grieved for the affliction of
Joseph."
The invention of
instruments of
music by David is plainly condemned and placed
among sins offensive
to God.
Some have strangely
contended that this does not condemn the introduction of
the
instruments by David, but only the ribald and lascivious
songs and
the fleshly indulgences of these people;
but how could these
evil things
be said to be like David's invention of instruments
if it was
approved by God?
Such a comparison would
be
absurd.
The invention of
instruments of
music by David is the acknowledged evil to which
other things are
compared to show that they, too, are sinful. Every time it
is said to
be ordained or appointed
by David,
it is
condemned by God.
"Add thou not unto
his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a
liar " (Prov.
30: 6)
that is, if a man claims
to be
a servant of God, yet adds things to the service
of God which God did
not ordain,
he is held by God to be
a liar.
"The prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my
name, which I
have not commanded him to speak, . . . even that prophet
shall die."
> For I spake
NOT unto your
fathers, nor commanded them
in the day
that I
brought them out of the land of Egypt,
concerning
burnt
offerings or sacrifices: Jeremiah 7:22
> But this thing commanded I them,
saying,
Obey my voice, and
I will be
your God, and ye shall be my people: (CENI)
and walk ye in all
the ways that
I
have
commanded
you, (CENI)
that it may
be well unto you.
Jeremiah 7:23
Jer 23:17 They say
still
unto them that despise me,
The
Lord
hath said, Ye shall have peace;
and they
say unto every one that walketh
after
the
imagination
of
his
own
heart,
No evil
shall come upon you. "You can SOW discord and
steal from
the owners"
Despise tthe Word of God of God and using
your own words
is:
Blasphēm-eō
, pf.
2.
speak
ill or to the prejudice of one, slander,
“peri tēs emēs diatribēs” Isoc.15.2,
cf. D.l.c.,
ib.82; “b. kata tinos” Isoc.12.65,
cf. Arist.Fr.44;
“hosa eis hēmas eblasphēmēsan” D.51.3;
“b. tina” Babr.71.6,
Ev.Luc.23.39,
etc.: abs., Phld.Lib.p.8
O.:—Pass., to have evil spoken of one, “beblasphēmēmenous” Id.Vit.p.12 J., cf. 1 Ep.Cor.10.30.
3. speak impiously or irreverently
of
God,
blaspheme, “eis ton Kurion” LXX Da.3.29(96);
“eis to pneuma to hagion” Ev.Marc.3.29;
eis ta theia
Vett. Val.58.12; “tous theous” Id.67.20:
abs., LXX 2 Ma.10.34,
al., Ev.Matt.9.3.
To add or teach things as
parts
of the service of God that he has not commanded is a
fearful sin of
presumption that brings death. This explains why all
the writers are
so careful to keep it distinct from things ordained by God,
and that
it should be understood as an invention and addition of
David.
lnstrumental music was
brought
into the temple service as a part of the effort to build
up an earthly
kingdom
and to give earthly
glory and fame
to that kingdom. God
tolerated it as he did the kingdom, which he warned was
rebellion
against him-a rejection of him, that he "should not reign
over them."
This music came in to give
earthly glory to the kingdom and passed away
with it.
It is not
mentioned in the lengthy history of the kingdom as
given in the books
of Samuel and Kings; nor is it mentioned by
any prophet with approval, although the
prophets all lived and wrote during the days
of the kings.
It is mentioned only
in the books of Chronicles, Ezra,
and Nehemiah, which are taken up largely with
genealogical tables and
such things as would arouse the national pride of the
people and
excite them to build again the temple and city of
Jerusalem and
reinstate the kingdom of Judah after the return from
captivity in
Babylon.
It was tolerated by God,
as polygamy, war, slavery, and
earthly kingdoms were tolerated (and while tolerated these
were not
accounted sin to those using them); but It bears the clear
marks of
the disapproval of God even in the Mosaic dispensation.
The great promise of
God to man
was made to Abraham: "In thee shall all
families of the earth be
blessed." (Gen.. 12: 3.) This promise to Abraham was based
upon, and
coupled with, the requirement that Abraham and his children
should
obey God. Abraham's faith and fidelity were often tested;
and while
he showed the weaknesses and infirmities incident to
humanity in his
failures when temptations came upon him, he maintained his
loyalty to
God; and in the great tests and trials that came upon him,
he was
faithful and true to God, and became "the friend of God" and
"the
father of the faithful."
But Abraham's children
were not
faithful; they disobeyed the Lord and transgressed
his commandments.
Out of this transgression
grew the covenant made at Sinai.
This was
musical idolatry of the Egyptian triad.
The law of
Moses "was added because of transgressions,
till the seed should
come
to whom the promise was made;
and it [the law] was
ordained by angels
in the hand of a mediator." (Gal. 3: 19.)
This covenant, embracing
the law, was not a part of the original promise and
covenant; but,
owing to the breaking of the original covenant
by the children of
Abraham, this covenant was added to train and school them
and to
bring them to the point that they would be prepared for the
fulfillment of the original covenant made with Abraham
in the coming
of the promised seed, in whom all the nations of the earth
would be
blessed.
This Mosaic law was
intended to
be only temporary, to last until Christ should come.
Jeremiah (31:
31-34) foretold: "I will make a new covenant with the house
of
Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the
covenant
that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them
by the
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt;
which my covenant
they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the
Lord: but
this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel;
After those days, saith
the
Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts,
and write it in their hearts; and will be their
God, and they shall be my people.
And they shall teach no more every
man his
neighbor,
and every man
his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all
know me, from
the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the
Lord: for I
will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin
no more."
Paul
leapfrogs
all of the Law of Moses and proves that Christ is the
fulfilment of the Abrahamic Covenant:: We are saved BY
faith for (what
I means is) that those who have been baptized into
Christ have put on
Christ and are sons of Abraham.
The Mosaic covenant was to
last
until the promised seed [Christ] should come. He
would come and in
his person fulfill all the requirements of the law,
perfectly live up
to its demands; then in his death he would take it out of
the way and
it should give place to the better covenant based on better
promises,
the promise that in the seed of Abraham all the nations of
the earth
should be blessed. The promise in the Mosaic covenant was
that the
fleshly family of Abraham should inherit the land of Canaan.
Much of the writings of
Paul is
devoted to proving that this law,
intended to bring
earthly blessings
to the fleshly family of Abraham,
had been taken out of
the way, had
been superseded and swallowed up by the
better covenant,
based upon
the better and eternal promise that all nations should be
blessed in
the family of Abraham. "
Who also hath made us able
ministers of the
new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit:
for the letter
killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration
of
death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious; . . .
which
glory was to be done away: how shall not the ministration of
the
spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of
condemnation be
glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness
exceed in
glory . . . For if thatwhich is done away was glorious, much
more
that which remaineth is glorious." (2 Cor. 3: 6-11.)
One, the
Old Testament, is called "the letter;"
the
other, "the spirit."
Literal law, without the
spirit
arousing the heart, none could obey; it condemned all. Its
laws were
written in stones.
The laws of "the
ministration
of the spirit" are written in the heart;
they stir, excite, and direct the heart and the life.
This
is why Jesus outlawed
"body" worship demanded that He only sought worshipers
who worshiped
in spirit (mind) and in truth. Paul insisted that
"singing" abandon
the pagan external melody and the singing be "speaking"
the revealed
Words of Christ (Spirit) one to another with the
"singing" being in
the heart or mind.
External melody or
instrumental
music is legalism based on the literal law. The law, in
turn was
"added because of transgression." The transgression was
musical
idolatry at Mount Sinai. Therefore, legalism and idolatry
is to try
to resurrect Law-based (punishment-based) rituals.)
Much of the letter to the
Galatians is taken up in teaching, illustrating, and
enforcing the
distinction between the two covenants. "A man is not
justified by the
works of
the law [of
Moses], but
by the faith of Jesus Christ." (Gal. 2: 16.)
"Received ye the Spirit
by the works of the law [of Moses], or by the hearing of faith [in Jesus] ? . . .
Having begun in the
Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Gal: 3: 2,
3.)
They had started out under
the ministration of the Spirit, but were
disposed to turn to the law of
Judaism given
to the
fleshly family
of Abraham. Paul then shows the difference in the workings
of the law
of Moses and that of Christ.
One applies to the
fleshly children; the other, to the spiritual children.
One is intended to
secure an
earthly inheritance; the other, a spiritual and eternal
inheritance.
"Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of
transgressions, till
the seed should come to whom the promise was made." (Verse
19.)
The law of Moses was to
continue in force until Christ, the promised seed, should
come. "The
law was our schoolmaster (The "rod" was the oriental
incentive) to
bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
But after that faith [in
Jesus]
is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster [the law of
Moses]"
(Verses 24, 25.) In chapter 4 Paul likens those under the
law to
servants, or slaves;
those in Christ, to sons. He speaks of them:
"These are the two
covenants;
the one from the mount Sinai [the law of Moses], which
gendereth to bondage, which is Agar . . But
Jerusalem which
is above is free, which is the mother of us all
[Christians]." (Verses 24-26.) " Cast out the bondwoman
[the law of
Moses] and her son [those under the law of Moses]:
And their dead
bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which
spiritually
is called Sodom
and Egypt,
where also our Lord was crucified. Revelation 11:8
"Hagar" or slave worship
was
performed at Mount Sinai when the clergy led the people
back into
Osiris (under the image of the
bull, Apis)
worship using dance and instrumental music. Music was
introduced in
Jerusalem when David sinned by the census and was so
fearful of God
that he could never return to "inquire of God again."
The Jerusalem above was
where
John worshiped "in the spirit" on the Lord's day. He was
meditating
on the Word of God which was "worship in spirit and in
truth."
for the son of the
bondwoman
[those under the law of Moses] shall not be
heir with the son of the free woman [those in Christ]. So
then,
brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman [under the
law of
Moses], but of the free [in Christ]." (Verses 30, 31.)
"Christ is become of no
effect
unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are
fallen
from grace." (Gal. 5: 4.) To go to the Jewish law and seek
justification through obeying it is to turn from Christ and
fall from
grace.
The use of
instrumental music is always justified by appealing to
David or the
Psalms. However, David was a king replacing the rule of
God and under
a law which could not be kept and which would destroy
Israel. Musical
instruments never accompanied "congregational singing" as
an act of
worship. In fact such worship was outlawed (Numbers 10:7)
Therefore, to drag
instruments
into the "worship" because it has the power to drag God
down or drag
the "audience" in by sheep stealing is ceremonial legalism
which is
condemned by the rest Jesus came to replace the burden of
"anxiety
created by religious ceremonial."
The book of Hebrews is a √
between the two covenants, showing the superiority of the
latter to the former. "He taketh away the first, that he may
establish the second." (Heb. 10: 9.) "This is the covenant
that I
will make with them after those days, saith the Lord."
(Verse 16.)
"By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us."
(Verse
20.) One is law; the other, grace. Going back to the law of
Moses is
falling from grace. (Gal. 5: 4.) With all of these plain
declarations
of the taking away the law of Moses and establishing the new
covenant, the law of Christ, and with warnings against going
back to
the old, men claiming to believe God persist in going back
to the old
law, taken out of the way by the death of Christ, to learn
duty,
instead of coming to the new. It is singular that with this
clear
prophecy of Jeremiah and its fulfillment pointed out by the
Spirit of
God, men should not see this truth. No truth is more fully
and
clearly taught, illustrated, and enforced in the Bible than
this.
The
Book of Hebrews proves that
The Law of Moses was imposed and led to an earthly
sacrificial system:
to destroy that God sent forth Christ into Jesus of
Nazareth to let the
Jews literally get a taste of sacrifician their "god"
whereas they had
been involved in virtual God or king-sacrifices because
they had been
turned over to worship the starry host: except when
restrained the
Levites engaged in Molech worship: offering burnt
offerings of infants.
The Old Testament stands
to the
New Testament as an old Constitution of a State stands to a
new one.
A Constitution may be suited to a people at one period, but,
with
changed conditions, be unsuited to them in essential
features at
another period. When the old Constitution is superseded by a
new one,
all of the old Constitution that is of permanent good is
brought over
into the new one and such points are added as the changed
condition
may demand.
The law of Moses was
suited to
the people when it was given. These conditions changed. God
superseded the Mosaic law with the law of Christ. In giving
the new
law, he brought all of the old law that is of permanent good
over
into the new law and added such other laws as are good for
man. All
of the old law that was left out of the new law is condemned
by God
as no longer good for man. That a practice was in the Jewish
law and
left out of the Christian service is a more specific
condemnation of
it than if it had not been in the old law. If in neither, it
may have
been passed over as indifferent; but being in one and left
out of the
other shows that it was condemned and rejected by God.
Instrumental music in
worship,
polygamy, easy divorce, burning incense, and animal
sacrifice were
all permitted (tolerated)
in the Old
Testament, but
rejected from the New Testament. "Then there come to Jesus
from
Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying, Why do thy
disciples
transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not
their hands
when they eat bread. And he answered and said unto them, Why
do ye
also transgress the commandment of God because of your
tradition? For
God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that
speaketh evil
of father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say,
Whosoever
shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou
mightest
have been profited by me is given to God; he shall not honor
his
father. And ye have made void the word of God because of
your
tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you,
saying,
This people honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is
far from
me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as their
doctrines the
precepts of men . . . But he answered and said, Every plant
which my
Heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up. Let them
alone: they
are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both
shall fall
into a pit." (Matt. 15: 1-14, R. V.) He denounced as
hypocrites those
who added so harmless a practice as washing the hands as
worship,
while claiming to be his servants. In this he taught that
any
addition to his worship, however harmless and good it might
seem, is
sinful, and those who lead and who follow in this work will
fall into
the ditch of ruin. Nothing can be added by human hands
without sin,
and everything not ordained by God must be rooted out of the
vineyard
of the Lord.
Ps. 87: 7 "As well the
singers
as the players on instruments shall be there " is claimed to
be a
prophecy of what will be under Christ, and foretells
instrumental
music will be used; but the Revised Version translates this,
"They
that sing as well as they that dance shall say, All my
fountains are
in thee," which would nearer prove that dancing should be in
the
worship than instrumental music.
THE LEXICONS.
It is claimed that "psallo,"
translated
"sing" in the Scriptures, carries with it the idea of
instrumental accompaniment. This is not correct.
Liddell and Scott's
"Standard Greek-English Lexicon" defines it:
"'Psallo' to
touch,
feel, stir, or move by touching." It means the
twanging or vibrating
of a cord. Because singing is done by the twanging or
vibration of
the vocal cords, and is the most common form
of music,
it came to be
applied exclusively to singing. Just as the word "bury."
Its original
meaning was to cover up with anything. It is so generally
applied to
burying in the ground that we always understand "to bury"
means to
bury in the ground, unless a modifying word, such as
"water,"
"clothing," or other substance, is mentioned, in which the
thing was
buried. "Baptize" and " bury" mean the same thing; but to
baptize in
water is so common that unless the word is modified by
"spirit,"
"cloud," suffering," or something used to bury or baptize
in, all
understand, to baptize is to baptize in water.
"Psallo," unless
modified by
the name of an instrument, always means to sing. "Psallo"
is
frequently used in the Bible, and is never
translated "to sing with an instrument" or "to play the instrument." When it is
said that the harp or
other instrument was played, the instrument is always named. This is true in all Greek
literature.
Bagster gives the same definition, and adds: "In the New
Testament,
to sing praises." Liddell and Scott say: "Late, In New
Testament, to
sing with instrumental accompaniment."
This means that it was
never
found so used in Greek literature; but in recent times
persons have
claimed it
was so used
in the New Testament just as "baptize" is claimed to mean to
pour or
sprinkle water upon people.
David's
Praise word in the
instrumental Psalms is Halal from which we get the word for
LUCIFER
which speaks of a light and sound show to steal people's
prophecy. Hillel,
Judges
12:13.
-Sophocles,
Antigone
Chorus
[791] You seize the minds of just men and drag them to
injustice, to
their ruin. You it is who have incited this conflict of
men whose flesh
and blood are one. [795] But victory [Nike] belongs to
radiant Desire
swelling
from the eyes of the sweet-bedded bride. Desire sits
enthroned in power
beside the mighty laws. [800] For in all this divine Aphrodite
plays
her irresistible game.
-Commentary [800]
in that contest which nikai implies. We
find empaizô with a dat. (1) of the object, as Her.
4.134
empaizontas
hęmin, 'mocking us': (2) of the sphere, as Ar.
Th.
975 choroisin empaizei, 'sports in dances.'
The
en of empaizei
here might also be explained as (a) in the imeros, or
the blephara,
i.e. by their agency: or (b) 'on her victim.'
But
the interpretation first given appears simpler. (Cp.
Vergil's absol.
use of illudere, G. 1. 181, Tum
variae illudant pestes.)
Both Zamar and Psallo are a
WARFARE word and never a WORSHIP word.
Psallô
(psao)
1. to touch
sharply, to pluck, pull, twitch,
Aesch.; toxou
neuran ps. to twang the bow-string, Eur.; belos ek keraos
ps. to send a shaft
twanging
from the bow,
schoinos
miltophuręs
psallomenęI phurôI. metaph. to mingle
together so as
to
soil or defile,
confuse, to
be doomed to
have one's hair defiled
with earth,
thęriôdous from a confused
and savage
Tox-euma , atos, to, A. arrow,
metaphor, of songs and words S.Ant.1085
Sophocles,
Antigone
Teiresias
There, now, are arrows
for
your heart,
since you
provoke me,
[1085] launched
at you, archer-like, in
my anger. They fly true--you
cannot run from their burning
sting.
Boy,
lead
me
home, so that he may launch his rage against younger
men,
and
learn
to keep a quieter tongue [1090]
and a better mind within his breast than he now bears
Verg.
A. 12.394
Quickly to his side
came Iapyx, dear favorite and friend
of Phoebus [Abaddon, Apollyon], upon whom the god bestowed
his own wise craft and power, Iove-impelled.
The gifts of augury were given, and song,
with arrows of swift wing:
Sophocles, a native of
Greece,
and long professor of Greek at Harvard University, published
a
lexicon, the title-page of which is: "A Greek Lexicon of the
Roman
and Byzantine Periods (from B.C. 146 to A.D. 1100). It
embraces the
period of Jesus and his apostles." He enumerates the Greek
writers
embraced in, and bearing on, the period. In making a lexicon
for that
period he consulted
all
the writers of nearly two thousand years, embracing the New Testament
and the Septuagint
edition of the Old Testament.
During this period
he did not find a
single
example of "psallo" being used to mean anything else, save
to chant,
to sing.
He defines "psallo" and
its
derivatives: "'Psallo' ; to chant, to sing; 'psalmos' psalm;
'psalmodia' psalm singing; 'psalmodas' psalmist;
'psaltarion'
psalter, or collection of, songs; 'psaltes' ;a chanter,
church
singer; 'psaltria' ; chantress; 'psaltos' played upon the
psaltery,
sung; 'psaltodeo' to sing to the harp.
"Only "psaltos" carries
the
idea of playing on the instrument.
"Psaltodeo" is
composed of two
words the "psalm" and the "ode." The ode refers to lyric
poetry, or
poetry to be sung with the lyre. Hence the two words
combined mean to
sing to a harp or instrument. This shows "psallo" alone
cannot refer
to both the voice and the instrument. Had he found "psallo"
used in a
different sense during this period by an accredited writer,
he would
have been dishonest not to give this additional meaning. I
do not
believe an example of a different use of it can be found in
the Greek
literature of any age of the world.
Webster defines psalm,
"'Psalm'
is derived from the Latin word that means 'to play on a
stringed
instrument;'" but in giving the meaning in English no
reference is
made to the instrument. Webster gives these
definitions:
''Psalm' a
sacred song; a poetical composition for praise or worship of
God.
'Psalmist' a writer or composer of sacred songs.
'psalmistry' the use
of psalms in devotion. 'Psalmodic' relating to psalmody.
'Psalmodist'
one who sings sacred songs. 'Psalrnodize' to practice
psalmody.
'Psalmograph' a writer of psalms. 'Psalmographer' a writer
of psalms,
or divine songs and hymns 'Psalmography' the act of writing
psalms,
or sacred songs. 'Psalm singing' the act of singing psalms;
psalmody."
There is not an allusion to the use of an instrument in
any of the forms of the word. Words frequently lose their
original
meanings. The word "cancer," an eating sore, is derived from
"crab,"
a fish, because it puts out roots like the legs of a crab.
"Candidate" is from "candidus" white, pure; "prevent" meant
to go
before, to lead the way; "edify" meant to build a house (now
it means
to instruct the mind). Few words retain their original
meanings.
Some claim that if they
protest
against it, yet work with it, they are blameless.
Pilate protested
against the crucifixion of Jesus, yet went with the party
that
crucified him. Was he guiltless? The protest is the proof of
conscious guilt in participating in the wrong.
Then my faith is that it
is the
duty of those who believe a church sets aside the order of
God to
Strive to correct that wrong, to be patient and forbearing
in it;
and
if they fail in this, to withdraw and at once go
actively to work to
form a true church and observe the true service of God. If
they quit
work because others have gone wrong, they will die and the
cause of
truth will perish in their midst.
Go to work to maintain the truth of
God and to induce others to accept it, and God will bless
you. "I
call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that
I have
set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse:
therefore
choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed: to
love the
Lord thy God, to obey his voice, and to cleave unto him: for
he is
thy life." (Deut. 30: 19, 20, R. V.)
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