The Church In The Psalms

Just a bit of reflection: the more familiar I become with the Psalms through reading and dwelling on them, the more oriented I become to the realities of being the church in the world. This, as opposed to a merely individualistic reading of the Psalms.

What I mean is, that the Psalms, while absolutely meant to supply words for the cries to God of his individual members, are also meant for the prayers and praises and supplications of the church who is in Christ, the Christ of the Psalms.

He went through these travails of the flesh for us (for each individual member, absolutely; but he came to redeem a people, a royal priesthood, a nation, a bride). Those travails are given expression uniquely in the Psalms.

This morning, I read Psalm 120, the first of the Songs of Ascent:

In my trouble I cried to the LORD, and he answered me. Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. What more shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? Sharp arrows of the warrior, with the burning coals of the broom tree. Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech, for I dwell among the tents of Kedar! Too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.

This brought me right up against the truth that these are the words of the sojourning, suffering church in the world. As an individual member of Christ's body, I am in union with the church universal through our union with Christ; there is a for real solidarity with the sufferings she experiences, and I am, right now, groaning in those sufferings, even if I feel relatively at ease for the moment: "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). What this Psalm and others like it teach through their expressions of joy and sorrow and difficulty (and of imprecation, verse 4) is that the ultimate realities are those expressed in all the Psalms.

I'm realizing that it is happiest to have my thinking transformed through God's word to think as he does about his church and about our experience in the world as a "lively stone" of it.  The Psalms are uniquely given for this purpose, giving us words that transform our thinking to see his church as God sees it in this world.

Passages Showing How The Old Testament Musical Instruments Helped

The musical instruments used by the prophets in the Old Testament had a prescribed, prophetic use for that dispensation: you especially see it in some texts, such as in 1 Chronicles 15:16:

"And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding (shama`) by lifting up the voice (qowl) with joy."

The word qowl, often translated "voice" in the KJV and other translations, does not necessarily mean the human voice, though here it does. Strong's concordance shows it to also be translated as "noise,' "sound," "thunderings,' and "proclamation."

The Levitical priesthood appointed to song were, by use of their human voices and with instruments of music, to lift up a voice that produced this "sounding," this shama`. You can see how the idea of proclamation could apply here.

In 2 Chronicles 5:13:

"It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound (qowl) to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice (qowl) with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD..."

The human voices together with voices of the trumpets, cymbals, and instruments of music "were as one;" lifted up together, they made one voice "to be heard."

And in 2 Chronicles 7:6:

"And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood."

The musical instruments made by David were unique in that dispensation, for they had a specific use; David praised God by their ministry; these musical instruments were commanded by God through David, Gad the seer, and Nathan the prophet (2 Chronicles 29:25) to serve a purpose for that time. David wasn't free to dispense with them, to change them, or to add to them. He wasn't free to innovate with them or with the words sung in any way. All must be done exactly as prescribed through the Old Testament prophetic office.

They are no longer commanded but have been done away with, since Christ has ascended and sent his Spirit to give something better—enabled the church to raise her voice and make melody in, or with, the heart (Ephesians 5:19) to the Lord (see this article regarding this phrase). The "sound," the "voice" of the carnal means prescribed by God in the Old dispensation has been replaced by the spiritual worship that Jesus promised, without the need for shadows and types (John 4:21-26).

How Some Translations Add The Word "Music"

I wrote here about the connotations (to our modern ears) of the phrase "musical instruments" in the Bible, and how knowing more about that phrase can help the reader understand better what was going on in Levitical worship with its use of trumpets, cymbals, and lyres.

I have also noticed that in places in some more modern translations—I've seen it in the ESV and it may happen in other translations too— the word "music" is used in some Old Testament texts when not at all called for. Several times the  ESV uses "music" to translate Hebrew words that mean something different.

While it may not seem like a big deal (musical instruments do, after all, make music), in these places where that happens it's not an accurate translation, and that's never desirable. I think the use of the word in these places masks what's really the emphasis in the passage, for one thing. It can also nudge the modern reader to feel a false familiarity with the purpose and place of the Old Testament musical instruments.

Following are several places where I've seen "music" used this way in the ESV. I've included the actual Hebrew word after each instance, along with the Strong's Exhaustive Dictionary definition of the word. I included the KJV text to illustrate how translators from an earlier era translated the word.


1 Chronicles 15:22

ESV: "...Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music (massa': burden, song, prophecy) should direct the music (massa') for he understood it."

KJV: "And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song (massa'): he instructed about the song (massa'), because he was skilful."

Masa' seems to have to do with song and prophecy, though some commentators think Chenaniah's assignment and skill was in bearing the ark. But the idea of this text being about music (as we think of it) is definitely not in view.


1 Chronicles 15:27, 28

ESV: "David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music (massa', see above) of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod. So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music (shama: to hear, hearken, sound aloud, publish, declare) on harps and lyres."

KJV: "And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song (massa')) with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen. Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise (shama) with psalteries and harps."

We already looked at masa'; and now here is a new Hebrew word, shama, which the ESV translates "music." The phrase in verse 28, "all Israel... made loud music," is misleading! The idea of shama is a loud sound that is itself the message, the publication and declaration of something (the praise of God) that was to be heard, hearkened to, and obeyed. The horns, trumpets and cymbals were actually themselves part of the prophetic ministry of the Levites; only they played upon the musical instruments; their loud sound was a prescribed element and a means in the worship and praise of God.

1 Chronicles 25:6

ESV: "They were all under the direction of their father in the music (shiyr: song, to sing, a singer) in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the order of the king."

KJV: "All these were under the hands of their father for song (shiyr) in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king's order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman.

Song, not mere instrumental music, is the goal of the Levites in their service of the house of God. Notice here, incidentally, how the KJV clarifies that all was done "according to" the king's order to (the prophets) Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman. No aspect of the service of the house was left to any human devising.


Psalm 49:4

ESV: "I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre (kinnowr: lyre, harp)."

KJV: "I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp (kinnowr)."

Again, the word "music" is not in the original Hebrew text. Removing it and seeing what is in the text makes it easier to see that the harp itself is a keliy, a tool; and in this case, a prophetic tool for the Old Testament psalmists/prophets (in this case, for the sons of Korah).


Psalm 92:1-3

ESV: "It is good to give thanks to the Lord,to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music (higgayown, meaning "meditation, solemn sound") of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre."

KJV: "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: to shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound (higgayown)..."

This is another instance where the use of the word "music," which again is not in the original Hebrew text, potentially leads away from the emphasis of the text. In addition, the ESV inserts the word "melody" in verse 3; no corresponding word is in the Hebrew text.


Psalm 101:1

ESV:  "I will sing (shiyr, to sing) of steadfast love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will make music (zamar)."

KJV: "I will sing (shiyr) of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing (zamar)."

 Zamar is a Hebrew word that conveys the sense of striking or plucking an instrument with the fingers. Its Greek equivalent, psallos, is used in Ephesians 5:19 to mean a metaphorical plucking of the strings of the heart ("making melody to the Lord with your heart"). Here in Psalm 101:1, Hebrew parallelism requires that the second half of the verse be a restating of the first half; therefore the KJV translates zamar as "sing," while the ESV again chooses the phrase, "make music."


These are a few of the places where the ESV (and again, not to pick on the ESV; other translations have also done so) has chosen translations and even inserted words into the text that have helped muddy the doctrinal waters (at least it did for me, for years). It's hard to shake off our modern notions of the place musical instruments have in the worship of God, but it's worth thinking deeply about. This is a helpful quote:

...in Old Testament worship "the noise was the worship: an audio-symbolic evocation of the majesty and glory of God … which passed away with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, when worship 'in Jerusalem' passed over into worship 'in spirit and truth.' "

The Book of Psalms for Worship

                                 



This is a video on the reasoning behind singing the Psalms, and was occasioned by the creation of a new Psalms translation, the Book of Psalms for Worship.

A cool thing is that this Psalter is available as an app for iPhone, Android, and Windows. I have it on both Windows and iPhone and am learning to make use of it. It includes the words to all 150 Psalms and a selection of tunes fitted for each one. It's also available in print from Crown and Covenant.

Let's sing God's praises from his Book of Praises, the Psalms.

Christ Teaching Us How To Repent In The Psalms

Just as when Christ instructed his disciples on how to pray he mouthed words of repentance for them to say: "Forgive us our trespasses...;" so in the Psalms he gives his people and his church the words of repentance  to say: "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity..." (Psalm 51:2; and so many other places). Christ is in the Psalms in many ways, including, as High Priest, teaching his church the words and ways of repentance and faith in God.

Faithful To The Book

I heard someone express an opinion about what was and was not "faithful to the book" in the Lord of the Ring movies. A listener declared that the differences in the movies from the book were offensive to her. "Oh, so you're a purist?" was the response. "Proudly so," was the reply.

Thinking about this later, I was struck at how, in our worship, we should have some sort of desire to see it conform to the Bible- to see it be "faithful to the Book." We should rightly be offended when the worship of the church deviates widely from what God has said.

As movie purists, we're (and by "we" I mean Christians; these were Christians having this conversation; we Christians do love our Tolkien!) ready to take offense at things in these movies that fell short of the book we so know and love. Yet we will gather for worship to God and sing and say and do all kinds of things that God has not commanded, that fall so far short of the Book we profess to so know and love.

The ethic of the Puritans is missing in the churches, and badly needed.