by Tom Wacaster
Those who advocate the
use of instruments of music in worship to God often appeal to Psalms 150:3-5
for support of such a practice. But does the chapter lend support for instruments
of music? Should we take a passage that is quite obviously Hebrew poetry,
interpret it as prose, and use it for authority to bring a piano, organ,
stringed instruments, or cymbals into the worship of the church? We think not;
and hence the subject for our study in this week’s “Tom’s Pen.”
Praise him with trumpet
sound: Praise him with psaltery and harp.
Praise him with timbrel
and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise him with loud
cymbals: Praise him with high sounding cymbals.
These verses emphasize
the depth of praise. Although we are not authorized to use instrumental
music in our worship and praise to God, it is significant that there is a wide
array of items used in praise unto God as noted by the Psalmist. These include
(1) trumpet sound, (2) psaltery, (3) harp, (4) timbrel, (5) dance, (6) stringed
instrument, (7) pipe, (8) cymbals, and (9) high sounding cymbals. The question
we must entertain is whether or not these methods were intended to be
perpetual. Were these instruments intended to find a place in worship in the
New Testament? I suggest not, for the following reasons:
1) These things were
introduced by David, and adapted by Israel; there is no indication that God
ever authorized these things Himself, but that He simply ALLOWED them to be
brought into the worship, much like He allowed Israel to have a KING;
2) There is not even so
much as a hint that these things were used in the first century church. Neither
scripture nor history gives any indication that they were used as acceptable
means of worship. Instead, the New Testament authorized new methods, designed
to emphasize the spiritual rather than the physical (i.e. prayer, Lord's
supper, preaching, singing of spiritual songs, giving).
What, then, is the
living message of this portion of the Psalm? It is poetic language; and
each part of this ensemble of instruments is designed to teach us some
important truth regarding our worship to God. May we suggest the following
regarding the mention of each of these “instruments.”
“Praise him with the
trumpet of sound” –
The Hebrew word ('shophar') spoke of the curved ram's horn used by the
watchman to warn of impending danger as well as the call to come to worship.
The Psalmist was suggesting that the sleeper must be aroused from his sleep.
The sound of the trumpet would awaken his thoughts so that he would become
focused upon the obligation at hand – that of praising Jehovah. Away with sloth
and indifference! Praise to God deserves and demands a sober mind focused upon
the occasion of the moment. It is unfortunate that many a deluded soul enters
the auditorium for worship, and sits down to pass the time, often amusing
himself with activities other than worship, and on occasions drifting off into
sleep. Such need to be awakened with the trumpet call to worship.
“praise him with
psaltery and harp” – The
“psaltery” ('nabla') was a hollow stringed instrument; perhaps like the
guitar or mandolin. The “harp” ('kinnor') was another stringed
instrument, but consisted of a somewhat deeper sound than the psaltery. In
order to compose and play music on these instruments the worshipper would have
to train and prepare himself intensely and with great determination. The point
to be emphasized here is the undeniable truth that acceptable worship demands
proper preparation prior to our coming into the presence of God. We should take
the time to fine tune the “skill” (if I may be permitted to use that word) of worship.
“timbrel and dance” – The “timbrel” ('toph')
would have been similar to our tambourine. The Psalmist links the timbrel with
dance. The idea seems to be that the use of the timbrel naturally flowed down
to the beat of the feet in dance. Notice that the music thus involved both the
hands and feet, i.e. the whole of the worshipper. When David danced before the
ark on its journey back to the Temple he did so because of the depth of his
love for God. Only the best would do, and the intensity of involvement was
implied on that occasion as it is clearly taught here.
“stringed instruments
and pipes” –
The “stringed instruments” ('men') and the “pipes” ('ugab') the
Psalmist focuses the various chords and sounds that could be produced by the
strings and wind instruments. The deep melody of the heart is the focus of the
Psalmist. When the worshipper reaches deep into his soul and plucks the strings
of his heart in worship to his Creator he has captured the focus of this verse.
“loud cymbals…high
sounding cymbals” –
The trumpets are sounding, the stringed instruments adding the warm and deep
chords of melodic music, and the wind instruments are piped. All that remains
is the crescendo that comes with the sounding of the cymbals. The point
emphasized is the full and rich climax of true worship.
The full orchestra is
now in place. With the mention of these instruments the Psalmist would draw the
worshipper's attention to the expertise involved in worship. It is not
necessary for the saint to understand the advanced techniques of music, but it
behooves each and every child of God to at least put forth the effort to
develop and use his ability in singing to the best degree possible. It is
astonishing how indifferent we sometimes appear to be when it comes to singing
a song properly. No, we are not suggesting that God measures our worship by
whether or not we are “on key” or in perfect harmony with those in the
assembly. But the very fact that we are singing praises unto our God should
motivate us to do our best; and our best will be better if we take the time to
study at least the basics of music and put forth every effort to make our
singing the best possible. We must caution, however, lest the worshipper focus
upon his own abilities and his pride render his worship vain. Our worship
begins with the trumpet – God's word calling us to worship in “spirit and in
truth” (Joh 4:24). Our hearts are poured out, the strings of our heart plucked
with our love and devotion for God. As we sing our hearts swell with gratitude
and appreciation for the God Who has saved us. From the depth of our hearts the
“cymbals” crash as our praise to God is poured out to He Who sits on the
throne!
The student who sees
nothing more in these three verses than instruments of music has missed the
true meaning of David’s call for praise with “the trumpet, harp, timbrel,
stringed instruments, and loud cymbals.”