To Encourage You

1 Samuel 16:23 “And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.”

Daniel 3:4-5 “And the herald proclaimed aloud, ‘You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.’”

The Bible makes clear that music is spiritual in its nature.  Throughout the Scriptures we are encouraged to worship God through music.  The longest book in the Bible, the Psalms, is essentially a hymnbook for ancient Israel.  Throughout it, believers are encouraged to make God-honoring music an important part of their lives. We are told such things as, “Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation” (Psalm 95:1), “Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts” (Psalm 105:2), and “Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.  Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals” (Psalm 150:1-5).  In the New Testament, likewise, believers are encouraged to be people who are “speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). 

In the verse above from 1 Samuel 16, the spiritual nature of music is further reinforced.  Here we learn that David would play the lyre for King Saul, and whenever he did this the evil spirit that would periodically torment Saul would leave.  But just as with every other gift of God, Satan has developed his own spiritual counterfeits. We see an example in the other passage above from Daniel 3. Here, music was used in Babylon to encourage the people to engage in the wicked practice of idolatry.  In these passages there is a lesson for us that the music we listen to and the songs we might play or sing can be influences for spiritual blessing or they can be just the opposite. 

The Bible makes clear that when one becomes a believer, he or she becomes a saint. That word simply means to be set apart to God.  Life is no longer to be focused on the self or the things of this world. Rather, our lives are to be set apart from evil and to God.  Everything we are and everything we do can be set apart for the glory of God – or not.  But there are great blessings of God poured out on those who heed His exhortation that “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Something to think about in our attitudes and actions related to music. Are we using music in the way God intended?  Do we obey God’s call to “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Colossians 3:16), or is the music we listen to and sing glorifying the sin that Christ gave His life on the cross to destroy? May God help us to be intentional in such choices, if the purpose of our life is truly to glorify God.