Can any instrument be used in Corporate Worship?

Better hope she doesn't start inquiring about lessons, or you'll end up like this:

Youtube—Church Lady Drum Solo

 

If only... Remember, it is the attitude of the heart and the lyrics, not the instrument. :laugh:

 

Timbrels, flutes, and harps are some of the oldest instruments known to man; and their use is documented in scripture.

These instruments were easy to carry with those who have nomadic tendencies--such as the Israelites during the time of Genesis and Exodus.

Each has evolved into larger, less portable versions: Harps became guitars and pianos; flutes became larger wind instruments, such as trumpets and trombones; timbrels became drums.

Pianos didn't come into existence until the 1500's; the timbrel (now mostly referred to as a tambourine) hasn't really changed since the time of Moses. Yet the piano is more "scriptural" than a tambourine. Go figure.

 

I am 99% sure you were being facetious, and if so, you and I are agreed that a piano cannot be more "scriptural", in the sense that no one played the piano in bible times, because it wasn't even invented until - not the 1500s - but the very late 1600s.

I would say that a keyboard instrument like a piano or organ is more suitable for accompanying hymns of our culture, simply because our tunes are mostly written in 4-part harmony - you can't play even a melody, let alone harmony, on an unpitched percussion istrument such as a timbrel.

One matter that we must bear in mind when we see names of musical instruments in the bible is that those names seldom refer to the same instruments that have those names in more recent times. "Sackbut" in the bible refers to a triangle-shaped stringed instrument, not the forerunner of the trombone, which is what we mean by the word. We use the word "dulcimer" to mean a stringed instrument, but in thew bible, at least in the AV/KJV, it refers to a wind instrument, possibly like a set of panpipes, or like bagpipes.

 

I really like good Christian music. It does something for me. I believe the saying, "music calms the savage beast" must have been gotten from the Biblical account of David playing for King Saul and I must be something like King Saul in that I find Christian music soothing (and, no I don't find King Saul admirable in that situation, but maybe somewhat typical of fleshly charistics of humans.) I do believe music can appeal to the flesh as well as be edifying to the soul. David danced before the Lord and he played skillfully on instruments and I admire him for that, and think it was of the Lord, although I generally don't favor dancing in church.

I don't like rock music or music that is not harmonious or melodious. I think the same instruments can be used to create great music as well as lousy music. I tend to favor old hymns with good words, but there are many more modern hymns with good words that are excellent as well. I've been to many churches and I don't ever complain about their music if I don't like it, but I have complimented many in churches for music I really like. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.

 

Here you go!

http://www.sojournmusic.com/2009/02/over-the-grave-the-hymns-of-isaac-watts-volume-one/

Review of the same:

http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/review-sojourn-over-the-grave-the-isaac-watts-project-volume-one/

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2009/06/16/new-cd-from-sojourn-music-over-grave/

 

Thanks. I can't buy anything right now but I appreciate the link.

 

Listen for free...

 

You don't know that. The Organ is seen as antiquated and the younger generations do not care for it. The perception is it is boring.

 

What about a pitch pipe or tuning fork? In the early Welsh Methodist and Baptist Churches, people sat in the pews according to their voice. There were no instruments in the church other than the pitch pipe.

Cheers,

Jim

 

What did that means when you had to sit in the back. :laugh:

 

Yes, I was mostly being facetious; I had a particular group in mind as I wrote the comments, but didn't identify that group.

BTW: Agreed, you don't use an un-pitched instrument towards melody in any way; you use it to accompany melody, which can be the voice.

It would be more correct to say the piano didn't come along until the 1600's; but I tend to lump harpsichords in the same group as pianos, and thus, my comment about the 1500's (although there is much evidence that indicates the harpsichord was around in the 1300's)...I haven't taken into account the organ, which preceeded both the harpsichord and the piano....

Anyway, my point being, as you correctly surmised, the exclusion of certain instruments in the church.

 

Yes, any can.

 

The organ was, at one time, the trendy musical instrument of the day and the tunes to which hymns were written were often drinking songs of the day as well. So, the contention that modern praise and worship music mirroring current societal music automatically disqualifies it from use in a corporate setting is hypocritical at best, and just downright silly (in my opinion). Some of you see it a different way, and that's fine. It's a non-salvitical issue, and because of that, one which I believe we should all take the "to each their own" approach to it. We as Christians spend way too much time arguing and bickering over issues that don't amount to a hill of beans when in context of whether a human being spends an eternity in hell or not.

 

Well said...

Everything was new once, and when it was new it had just as many problems as our "new" music of today played with instruments in vogue now.

Why one particular culture and period in time is more sacred than another is beyond me, but that is often the way many in the church see it. So much so that many early missionaries to Africa packed European and American clothing and pump organs into the jungles where they all rotted away and made no significant difference for the gospel. But because those things were SO equated with the gospel, culture became THE expression of the gospel. Wonder what God thinks?

 

"we need to escape from these horrid ruts, and wretched conventionalisms, which are rather hindrances than helps. Some very stereotyped brethren judge it to be a crime for an evangelist to sing the gospel; and as to that American organ,—dreadful! One of these days another set of conservative souls will hardly endure a service without such things" —Charles Spurgeon, "Beware of Unbelief"