What The Bible Says about Music

 I want to share a quote with all of you. I am no longer a Slave to Fear I am a Child Of God. I would like to now look at some scriptures that talk about what the Bible says about music. The scriptures we are going to take a look at tonight are Psalm 95 verse 1, Psalm 105 verse 2, Colossians 3 verse 16, Ephesians 5 verse 19, Hebrews 2 verse 12, Psalm 71 verse 23, Philippians 4 verse 8, Acts 16 verse 25, Ecclesiastes 7 verse 5, Amos 6 verse 5, Proverbs 25 verse 20, Psalm 57 verse 7, Revelation 14 verse 3, and Exodus chapter 15 verse 1. When we think about music in the Bible and we think of the music of Christian songs that we hear on the radio or somewhere else, how is it different now to what it was like in Bible times?

When we think of the people that God chose in the Bible to have gifts for music and to play music for those He called to share music in Bible times, we think of how there are many different Bible stories of who they were but we also look at different scriptures that talk about some of the instruments and the people that God chose. I found a site where someone put a lot of scriptures as well as descriptions of these things, and so what I would like to do right now is take a look at Revelation chapter 18 verse 22, before looking at some other things relating to this.

I would like to share the description of what they wrote for David and the description for Him says this: It is said King David played the harp to soothe Saul's anxiety. He was an accomplished musician in his time and an instrument maker. A poet by nature, David charmed others with the songs he wrote and played for them. He was a wise and creative king and is the Biblical figure most remembered for his musical abilities.

Now I will share the description of what they wrote and found for one of the instruments: Most harps in Biblical days had 10 or 12 strings. Harps were played to worship as well as to soothe and entertain. It was often played with the hand while walking and sometimes had a sounding board.

We take a look at this and so we now ask ourselves how does this and how can this compare to Christian songs and Christian Music today? 

Well, I like to think that it compares by seeing how God shows us that we can make music by playing an instrument, singing, writing poetry, dancing, and there's so much more. One of the greatest things is the songs that we hear now to what we may have heard if we were there in Bible Times to hear David play for a king, because when you hear people whether it be on the radio, in church, at an event, at school, on tv, in a movie, or on YouTube and even Facebook live, the instruments of the sounds and the voices of what is spoken or said or however God has given them the gift to share what He places on their hearts or on ours, we see that it's different. 

We see how it's grown over time, but it is different because we don't really know what type of songs that David played. The reason I say that is because when we stop and I mean stop and think about it, people in Bible times did not write what an artist or you or I would write down to share with others, they played their instrument and David is an example of that because He played for a king who was sad but became happy again after hearing the music that was played. 

Now we go to that story of David who played for a king, now the king who enjoyed David's music, also was jealous of David, and He didn't want David living. God chose David to later on take over as king for someone who turned His back on God and didn't do as God wanted or instructed.

This story can be hard to read sometimes, but what we get from it is impactful and a blessing.

I like to share a quote with all of you. It came from a book I've been reading on and off called There's No Such Thing As Can't. Now you may wonder why I would share this type of quote on a study about music well let me share the quote first, and then I will explain why I did. 

The quote says this: All you can do is be you, be okay with how God made you, and do the best with what you've got. Alright so the reason I shared this quote on a study like this tonight, is because we need to remember that it's okay to do things that we may normally not do wether it be playing an instrument, singing, writing poetry, dancing, whatever it may be, God created us differently and we are going to be the light that God made us to be. So we go back to that quote and remember, all we can do is be us, we can be okay with how God made us, we can do our best with what God has given us and know that He's in control of it all.

I am going to share something the person wrote and shared on this site, that I did a little while ago about the culture for some of these things that we've learned about.

The Greeks - The word "music" comes from the "muses", the daughters of Zeus and patron goddesses of intellectual and creative pursuits. Music was very important to the Greeks and an integral part of ancient Greek society. Music was always present at marriages, religious ceremonies and funerals. Epic poetry was turned into ballads and staged musical dramas were common.

When we look at this, and we look back to what we have been learning about, we see and we know that there is so much history and knowledge, but we also see how God continues to use us each and every single day to tell our testimonies which are our stories. We see that God gives us strength, we see that God puts things on our hearts so that we can share it with others and not hold back from sharing it. God wants us to share our gifts through music, writing, poetry, dancing, playing an instrument, singing, no matter what the gift may be, we can be sure that God will help us through it and show us that we are so much more.

Here are the things that I want to leave all of you with tonight. When walking through the valley, I know I am not alone. The Lord is my strength and my song.

Where words fail, music speaks. Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. 

There is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music is.

Psalm 21 verse 13 says: Rise Up, O Lord, In all your power. With music and singing we will celebrate your mighty acts.