iil hed EKER LHe EE Ere a i = = = Dr Roberta R. KingA Time to Learn God's Approach to Singing make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for ling, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here Paul states his view and ap- th to music -- speak to one another! In other words communicate and do it with gs -- various types of songs, such as psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Note that gs should be sung “from the heart” or wholeheartedly. In other words, put your whole lfinto it. Do not hold anything back from the Lord; give your all as you sing to others jto Him. Likewise, in Colossians 3:16, Paul teaches us even further that we should the word of Christ dwell in you richly...as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual gs with gratitude in your hearts.” Here Paul says that the Word of Christ should dwell hin us as we sing songs so that they teach us and instruct us about Christ. Paul knew tmusic communication, songs that communicate to make a difference for the King- mof God. He certainly followed God’s approach to music and song! Five Biblical Guidelines for Using Songs hathave we learned from God and leaders in the Bible that can help us as we seek to esong in a Christian way? Let’s take a look at how we should use song in our minis- esand lifestyle: Use Songs for Building Relationship with God png can be used in many ways. They can also be used in bad ways. Yet, what we have ned from God and leaders from the Bible is that the first priority for using song as tians is in building relationship with Him. This means that God can speak to us ough a song and that we can speak to Him through a song. There is a “call-and-re~ onse” in our relationship with Him, a dialogue or talking back and forth in communi- aing with and growing in Him. !) Use Songs for Teaching about God is much to learn about God, who He is, what He has done and what He does for us ngiis an effective means for communicating truth about Him. Songs should proclaim is glory and majesty. They should also go beyond exclaiming His greatness to also lude what He does not want us to do. Songs should be used to instruct, advise, wam admonish about God. He desires that we live out the Christian life in dedication to We must allow His Word to dwell within us through song. J) Use Songs for Allowing God to Minister to You od does indeed seek reiationship with us and gets emotional over you. Songs should be means of allowing God to speak to us, to experience His love for us. He longs to show 25A Time to Sing His compassion for us. And we can also show our excitement and passion for Allow God to minister to the deep recesses of your soul where your whole being and heart — are truly convinced of His profound love and care for you. 4) Use Songs for Ministry to Others in MANY Ways Like Moses, David, and Paul, we need to integrate songs into our ministry styles. In words, do not limit songs to a Sunday morning worship service. They are impor worship, but songs can also be used throughout your own daily activities and in of the church. You can use songs in evangelism, discipleship, and worship in many) ways that you have not thought of before. Do not limit Christian songs to only one ity. Allow them to breathe life into every activity within and outside the Church. In way, they can communicate on many more levels and have a deeper impact. 5) Use Songs for Giving Honour and Glory to God We have seen in our study that God always responds to humble, obedient people songs are a sincere expression of their hearts, attitudes and worship of Him. No what the situation, God wants us to acknowledge Him in ways that bring Him h and glory. Whether it is the temple dedication (II Chron. 5) or Paul and Silas in pri (Acts 16), it is always appropriate to give Him praise and adoration. God longs for praise, adoration, and worship at all times...and He loves to receive it in song! Biblical Answers to Your Questions We've looked at the way God and three well-known Biblical leaders used songs. might be saying to yourself, “Heh! They do not know what we have to live with in own setting. Things are different today!” Yes and No. Some things are indeed diffe today, yet many things are very much the same. Lets look at a few of the common questions that we struggle with almost on a daily bi Question #1 When is a Song “Good”and When is a Song “Bad”? Does God accept all songs? What was required for songs to be acceptable to Him? can we use as guidelines? First of all, isn’t it interesting that nowhere in Scripture, do see God condemning a particular style of music? Since the Bible as we know is wri in words only, the musical style of its songs is not known. We do not have the sound g, the songs ringing in our ears. Yet, I’m sure God was very aware of the different styles music from the various cultures. What we do have are the song texts that remain behit This shows us what is especially important to Him: the texts! 26A Time to Learn God's Approach to Singing ‘Anical The term, musical style, refers to the actual musical sounds and how they are put together. This would include different types of scales, the use of varying beats, the use or non-use of harmony, the types of instruments played, and vocal quality used. Musical style is often what we think we cannot use from our own cultures. Yet, it is interesting that God does not make any comment on any particular style not being acceptable to Him. Rather, that God is more interested in the person doing or participating in the music, the actual style. In one sense, they are non-musical issues. are four major issues that are of concern to God in relation to song. Let's look at Scriptures once again: First and foremost, the condition of the believer’s heart is of greatest importance to God when using song, not the musical style. Matthew emphasizes God’s primary concern that people not only speak nice things about Himself, but that they must be asincere expression of their relationship with Him. These people honor me with their lips, But their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; Their teachings are but rules taught by men. (Matthew 15:8-9) ‘hearts must be sincere and genuine when we sing God’s praise. They must match the of the song. We must be sincere about out words. We cannot fool God, singing ings about Him that we do not believe. God goes beyond the words of a song and looks the condition of our heart. He is not interested in us following empty rules, but in our itment and allegiance to Him. }) Second, our actions must match the words of our songs; they are the statements of our faith. As we have already seen in Amos 5:21-24, God hates and rejects “the noise of our songs” because of the condition and prejudice of our hearts against our neighbours~fellow human beings. He requires justice and righteousness. These take priority over any song. Our lives, especially our thoughts and actions, must reflect and be true to what we sing. 1} Several Scriptures point us to this fact. James points out that Abraham was counted 1} fighteous through his actions not only his words. He was willing to offer up his son, , in obedience to the Lord. “You see that a person is justified by what he does and 27A Time to Sing not by faith alone (James 2:24).” Faith is the basic requirement, yet it is meanin is only sung about without changing our lives. We are told further in Titus 1:16a/ claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.” How does this relate to singing a song? We can sing the praise of God, yet d meaning of the song through our actions. The apostle Paul speaks of the problems having a form of godliness but denying its power (II Timothy 3:5a).” What mean for the use of songs in the Christian’s life? We can have a form of godliness singing but deny the power of God in our lives by not following through in serv living Lord and by not showing compassion and care for our neighbours! Songs empty if we do not sing them with sincerity or in relationship to God. C) Third, God requires that we are totally consecrated to Him and that we sit praise and glory in unity with others. Commitment to God includes being co ted to our Christian brothers and sisters. These are two sides of the same coin| the great requirement for the acceptance of a song and our worship. I’m s music was wonderful and performed with excellence, when the Israelites sa fore Him at the bringing of the ark into the temple (II Chron. 5: 11-14). Yeti the fact that all the priests, regardless of their divisions or status, first of all « crated themselves to God. Not only were they focused on singing His praise glory, but also they did so with one voice. They sang as one people, undivi There was unity among the priests before God. Then, God honored them by glory filling the temple. He comes to be present with us when we dedicate selves first to Him and also come in unity with our brothers and sisters before D) Fourth, God requires that the words or messages of our songs do not go against principles and commands. If the lyrics of a song come directly or indirectly Scripture, they must be faithful to God’s intended message. Composers ensure that the message of their songs are interpreted according to their context understood in their proper meaning. When is a song “good?” When we sing to God: 1) With a RIGHT heart, 2) With RIGHT actions, and 3) With RIGHT commitment to Him. The commitment must demon UNITY with our brothers and sisters as we sing together in UNITY harmony. 4) With the RIGHT message. 28A Time to Learn God's Approach to Singing asong “bad?” When we do the opposite of the four things above. A song is bad sing to God: 1) With a bad attitude, not really agreeing with the words of the song. 2) When our actions betray our commitment to Him; often we are not living a life that shows justice and righteousness in our actions with others, 3) When we are not dedicated to God first and we lack unity with our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. 4) When the message of our songs distorts God’s Word and the words are not faithful to the biblical text. #2: Are there really Non-religious Songs in the Scriptures? ihe Bible really recognize or use songs that were a part of everyday activities? As a of fact, once we start looking at the Scriptures and the sources of various texts, we that many songs from the people’s culture are used in Scripture. God knows we are singing about in our everyday lives. In fact, He will take and use these songs or admonish us. God works within our cultures. He knows very well how we and act. His main concern is that we come to Him. Mee A Jewish scholar has pointed out the various cultural songs that are in- cluded in Old Testament passages. Songs were included on a consistent basis; there are many songs found within the Old Testament! They are songs that accompany the various events that we experience in life. Take a look at the type of non-religious, life event songs we find in the Scriptures: ‘eligious Songs Used in Scripture jar Songs Numbers 21: 14, 15 Songs of Triumph Exodus 15:20; Judges 5:1ff 1Sam, 21:11; Isaiah 14:4 Marching Songs Numbers 10:35, 36; II Chron. 20:21 Working Songs Numbers 21:17,18; Judges 9:27; Isaiah 5:1; 16:10; 27:25 65:83 Jer. 25:30; 48:33; Song of the Builders + at laying the corner stone Job 38:7 + at laying the top stone Zech. Song of the Watchman Isaiah 21:12 29A Time to Sing 7. Love Songs Psalm 45; Song of Songs 2:14; 5:15; Ezek. 33:32 8. Wedding Songs Gen 31:27; Jer. 25:10; 33:11 9. Drinking Songs Job 21:12; Ps. 69:13; Is. 24:9; Amos 6:5 10. Dance Songs 11. Songs of the Palace II Sam. 19:36; Amos 8:3 12. Songs of the Courtesan Isaiah 23:15, 16 13, Songs of Derision Job 30: 9; Lament. 3:14, 63 14. Songs of Mourning and Lamentation II Sam. 1:18-27; I Kings 13:30; TI Chron. 35:25; Ecel. 12:5; Jer. 9:16,17; Ez. 27:30, 32; Amos 5:16; Zech 12:12-14 Partly Religious And Partly Non-Religious Songs + Sung By Israelites At Pilgrimages Psalms 120-134 The “Songs of Ascents” sung by the pilgrims coming to the Fé of the Lord (Is. 27:13; 30:29; 31:45 Jer. 31:12). + There are strong indications that these songs were sung at s occasions before they were incorporated into the book of Ps: (based on Sendrey 1969:8 om nical scholars such a Sendrey often refer to non-religious songs as secular s those songs that do not specifically address religious topics. SECUI SONGS are songs that do not speak specifically about God. Yet they about everyday life. “Secular songs” may be children’s play songs of above, songs for weddings, for going to war, work songs, love songs, songs for the palace. Just as we have many songs in our own cultures that go along everyday life, the Israelites also had similar songs. God, who is involved in all are our lives, knows about such songs. Thus, we find the above non-religious songs ino: rated into the text of the Bible. In this way, He shows how He knows all about us: concerns and our desires. For the Christian, all of life is dedicated to God in our relat ship with Him, 30A Time to Learn Gods Approach to Singing estion #3: The Culture Question: Can God Use Songs from Our Cul- or in our Cultural Style? ‘Aswe have seen in Question #2, cultural, everyday life-event songs have been used in Old Testament. YES! God can use songs from our culture. Paul in the New Testa- ment also took and redeemed “secular” or “pagan” songs so that they taught about God eePhil 2:6-11). Indeed, Paul and Silas were singing songs in the cultural, musical style that they knew when they were imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:25). Christian hymns fiom the West did not yet exist. It would be hundreds of years (like 1500 years!) before songs would come into existence. First century Christians sang in the musical style knew yet followed the guidelines we have discussed above ian songs has changed. Usually, the popular, everyday song style becomes “re- deemed” by putting Christian words to familiar tunes. Let’s look at what happened in England with the creation of the Salvation Army, as just one example True Story William Booth, believing the 19th century English church had become too dh } refined to reach the cities’ poor, took the gospel into the streets. He organ- ized his workers into a “Salvation Army,” complete with uniforms and niilitary rank, With hecklers and drunks abounding, the “army” didn’t always find preaching easy or fe.A local builder, Charles William Fry, offered himself and his three sons as body- guards. As it happened all four played brass instruments, which they carried along to gcompany singing. Booth’s rowdier supporters were soon dragging along concertinas, bells, hunting horns, injos, tambourines, and drums to praise the Lord. Said one leader; “It sounds as if a ss band’s gone out of its mind.” tion Army recruits did not stick to traditional hymns but invented their own words rousing popular tunes. “Here’s to Good Old Whiskey” became “Storm the Forts of ss.” Booth had his doubts about this trend until one night, hearing a beautiful endition “Bless His Name, He Sets Me Free,” he asked about the tune. “Why, Mr. Booth, that’s “Champagne Charlie Is My Name,” the embarrassed singer replied. at settles it,” Booth said. “Why should the devil have all the best tunes?” Soon 400 ands were crashing about England, playing his tunes with Christian words. (From The Devotional Study Bible, 1987, The Zondervan Corporation, p. 482.) 31A Time to Sing Uncommon In Kenya, a common response to the idea of using our own mi Knowledge is “Phen, what makes the difference for a Christian?” Christi posed to be different. After all, doesn’t Scripture tell us that we Creation” in Christ (Gal. 2:20)? Many argue that if we are new then we must give up our cultural music. That is why we sing the West — to show that we are different. How is it that we are to ent? But here is the real question. Must we change who we are in order for God to No, absolutely not. If you look at God’s approach to singing and to the requi “good songs”, we see that God is looking for something more important. He concemed with a change of heart, with allegiance to Him, with allowing Him form what we have and who we are in character in order to bring Him glory So, What is a “New Creation” in Christ? According to Marcy Kari musician and worship leader in Nairobi, becoming a “New Creation” is like old, dirty, white shirt and washing it. In washing the old shirt, it goes through ai that renews the fibers. This restores the shirt to its original state of freshness, cl and original purpose. Like the shirt, becoming a “New Creation” in Christ restores His people to Gots nal intention for them. They come into relationship with Him. An old shirt, w washed, is not thrown away. Similarly, we are the same people; we do not our total way of life. For example, we speak the same language and sing in musical styles. Yet, we are totally different. We no longer use certain words ino guage, because it does not honor God. More importantly, we think and speak at things. We speak of God Almighty and His goodness to us! Still, we do so by the same language. In this way, as human beings, we are restored to our true p living in relationship with God, bringing Him honour and glory! Likewise, our: musical style, then, can also be washed anew in order to restore them; they are bring us into relationship with God and to bring Him honour and glory. So, can God use songs from our cultural background and in our cultural musicals Absolutely! We have seen from the Bible that song and music are connected to He is the creator of music, composes songs, uses them for His purposes, and kn to express His joy over us through song. We have also seen that God’s people use in many ways. Songs are connected to people in the Bible as well; they are a part lifestyle and means of communication. Each musical style can be cleansed to glory and to proclaim His message of love and salvation. 32A Time to Learn God's Approach to Singing ing this, how are we called to use songs in the African Church today? How do we the pattern that God has set forth in the Scriptures? We must now discuss and find tthe requirements for using song styles from our own cultures in a Christian way. That our topic for discussion in the next chapter! IEEE EIEIO SSSI IOI I Group Exercises 1) Tell of at least one time, when you sang a song where your heart was far from the message of the song? What was the song? What was your response to the song? 2) Tell of at least one time when you sang a song and it touched you deeply: it made a difference in your life. 33