Thank you for the music……

And so we continue….

Diving straight back into list after list of descendants in the tribes of Israel. And the familiar theme of ‘Trust and obey, for there’s no other way’ pops up –

They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. They seized the livestock of the Hagrites—fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive, and many others fell slain, because the battle was God’s. And they occupied the land until the exile. 1 Chronicles 5:20-22

When the battle is God’s and we trust Him and follow His way, then the victory is assured.

But so often, of course, the people get distracted and get led astray….

But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.  1 Chronicles 5:25

And then we come across the temple musicians –

These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the Lord after the ark came to rest there. They ministered with music before the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. They performed their duties according to the regulations laid down for them. 1 Chronicles 6:31-32

So let’s rest here a while and have a think about the power of music in our faith. I have had the privilege of playing my violin in the band at church on occasions. I am overwhelmed with gratitude each time I am asked, because it is a uniquely special way for me to be able to offer my praise and worship to God. Because what we sing is no just about the words – it’s the beauty of the music that reaches into our souls and draws from us a transcendent spiritual response that is beyond words.

David knew about the power of music. He had temple musicians. He wrote songs. He sang and danced in the streets (with much abandon).

Moving on to the early church and Paul encourages the gatherings of believers to use ‘psalms, hymns and spiritual songs’. Because singing lifts your eyes towards God and joins you all together in a common purpose – of creating a beautiful offering that rises up to our God.

Throughout the early period of church history, the use of instruments in church music seems to be frowned upon. Singing was unaccompanied and often the psalms were sung antiphonally – in response to a leader, a cantor.

The Roman Catholic Mass became a set form of liturgy set to music – and then many of the great composers took the words of the various masses and set them to music to create works of rare beauty – Mozart’s Requiem Mass is my favourite.

And then there is hymns described fantastically way, way back by Thomas Aquinas –

“A hymn is the praise of God with song; a song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice.”

Martin Luther opened the floodgates to a whole new tide of hymns and congregational singing during the Reformation. And now contemporary worship music includes a range of styles drawn from popular music.

And we sing.

A lot.

Singing is special. As is not singing and letting your soul respond to the music. Responding to God in song and music is the most natural thing in the world because it takes a form that affects us on the deepest level to express the things of the heart and soul that respond to God on the deepest level.

So we should thank God for our worship leaders and musicians and song writers. We should allow the music to reach into our souls and we should mean the words that we choose to sing.

I thank God that the Watoto choir came to Gateshead in June. I thank God for their influence on our lives. I thank God for their CD ‘O What Love!’ that is played in our car every single day. I thank God that the blend of African rhythms and Western influences have created a sound that my children respond to. I thank God that they sing these words of truth freely and joyfully. Have a listen to this track – ‘Be exalted’ – on the Watoto website if you get a chance and need an extra injection of joy this morning.

Music is powerful.

So we say thank you for the music……