Singing in the
Assembly
John Telgren
There are those today who do not
use musical instruments in their assemblies when they sing. For those not
acquainted with the reasons, it may seem like a strange thing. Why would
Christians make the decision to exclude instrumentation in the singing for
their assemblies?
In light of history, the question should be reversed. For nearly 1900
years, Christians resolutely refrained from using instruments in their
assemblies. Even though there were a couple of attempts to introduce
instruments in the assembly, Christians rejected them as being
inappropriate for Christian assemblies. Of course, this raises the
question about the use of instruments in Old Testament worship and their
non-use in New Testament worship.
God gave very explicit instructions concerning how his people were to
approach him in formal worship. Whether it was the building of altars, the
size and building materials of the sanctuary, the days and activities of
the various festivals, the priesthood, and the activities of the
priesthood, God made it very clear how he wanted the people to approach
him.
It wasn't until the time of David that instruments were used for worship
in the Old Testament (1 Chr 23-25). But David did not introduce the
instruments due to his own taste. The text says that the command
concerning the instruments, among other things, was "from the Lord" (2 Chr
29:25). In other words, even the instruments of the Old Testament were not
added as matter of taste, but by the instruction of the Lord for use by
priestly musicians. The musicians were to be Levites and no one else,
which means that the Levitical orchestra was part of the temple system of
worship in the Old Testament. The music was not congregational and the
focus was strictly on magnifying the name of God.
When the temple was destroyed and the people exiled to Babylon in 586
A.D., the Israelites worked to maintain their religious heritage and
identity by creating the synagogue. It was a house of teaching, meeting,
edification, and worship. There, Jews gathered on the Sabbath, taught
their children during the week, and had leadership meetings as needed. It
is interesting to note that in synagogue worship there were no
instruments. The reason? The synagogue was not a replacement for the
temple and did not employ "professional" Levitical musicians. Instead the
music was strictly congregational singing. This was appropriate, because
the focus at the synagogue was not merely worship, but mutual edification.
The music of mutual edification is congregational a cappella singing.
After the return from captivity, temple music was restored. However, the
music of the synagogue continued. As a result, there were two systems of
music among the Jews. One was temple music with instruments and
professional priests focused on magnification. The other was synagogue
music, which was congregational a cappella singing focused on mutual
edification.
Jesus could not have participated in worship at the temple because he was
not a Levite. However, Jesus did participate in synagogue worship, which
involved a cappella singing.
Under the new covenant, the temple with its Levitical priesthood that
included the sacrificial and musical system has been done away with (Eph
2:15; Heb 8:6; 9:15). By God's design, the Christian assembly is a place
of edification like the synagogue, not like the temple (1 Cor 14:26). The
primary purpose of the Christian assembly is to edify and encourage one
another (Heb 10:24-25). This is why we are instructed to be filled with
the Spirit by "speaking to another" in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
(Eph 5:19). The entire congregation participates to edify one another. The
focus is not just vertical, but horizontal as well. By God's design,
congregational a cappella singing is meets this purpose and is what is
appropriate. This is why musical instruments were not given in the New
Testament and why the church refrained from using them in their assemblies
for over 1800 years.
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