GOD'S PRAISE BAND -- Devotional for July 9, from "Good Seeds"

Sing for joy in the Lord, O you His righteous ones, for praise is becoming to the upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre, and sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy. (Psalm 33:1-3)

There are some believers today who say instrumental music does not belong in the New Testament church. They admit lyres and harps were certainly a part of Old Testament traditional worship, for the Psalms verify that fact; but since the New Testament is silent about musical instruments being used in worship, we are told we must be content with “the only musical instrument made by God” (I have this inscription on a T shirt, preceded in large letters by the word, V O I C E). Now we probably shouldn’t go so far as to group these people with those who say, “If God intended for man to fly He would have given him wings,” but to be so rigid and wooden in Bible interpretation exposes one to inconsistency and unnecessary ridicule. For example, do these “non-instrumental” Christians have Sunday School in their churches? They’d better not, for there’s no mention of such a thing in the New Testament. Nor do we find church buildings discussed there, or dedication of babies, or Bible teaching curriculum, or Christian colleges, or career pastors, or even Christian books, for that matter. Just because something is not specifically named in the New Testament doesn’t mean we must do away with it – or avoid coming up with it. There are principles and precedents given in Scripture that can guide the way we live and worship, and once properly interpreted, we can be confident we are living according to God’s law and pleasure. When the woman at the well tried to pin Jesus down as to the proper place to worship God, Jesus refused to let His Father be put into a box, but gave her this practical, if not so specific, principle: “Those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). In other words, it’s not where your body is located, but rather if your heart is right with God, that makes all the difference when it comes to worship. A more common controversy in Christendom today has to do with the kinds of instruments being played in church, or the way they’re played. And people can get pretty hot and bothered over the particular “style of worship” they are sure is – or is not – pleasing to God. What are we to think or do about this? Maybe two principles gleaned from today’s passage can offer some assistance: 1) No music is right for God if the man is not right with God; but if the worshiper is becoming to the Lord, so will be his praise; 2) God barely distinguishes between the instrument HE made and the ones WE make, as long as we play them with skill, with thanks, and with shouts of joy!