The Ohio Independent Baptist, March 1966

acre usic? Why is some mu ic called sacred? Is it because some words have been placed with the music that speak of the things of God? Or is it becau e of a pious title to a compo ition? Or is it because of a publishers label aying it is sacred music? Quoting Gunnar Urang from hi l>ook ''Cht1rch Music for the Glory of God'. this problem becomes local– ized to that of the function of church music. "For church music the tan– dard mu t be primarily a practical one rather than an arti tic historical or popular one. In other word good music for the church is that which does most effectively what it is sup– posed to do. . .' ' Rephrasing our problem from "What is Sacred Music?" to ' 'What i Sacred Mu ic Supposed To Do?' let us examine the Biblical use and admonitions regarding the use of music in Christian services. The u e of music, at a time when God ush– ered in His glory into the house of od. is de cribed in II Chronicles 5: 13, 14: "And it came to pass, as the trumpeters and the singers were as one. to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the J..Jord; and when they lifted up their , 1 oice with the trumpets and cymbals and instrument5' of mu 1c, and prai ed ihe Lord saying, For he i good; for his n1ercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord: o that tl1e prie t could not stand to mini tcr hy reason of the cloud: £or the gt , y of the I..iord had filled the h ot1sc of 1od.,, Music in Old Testament Ne find tl1( t l)oth ir1 tru111ental and • • v al 111u ic vlerc u ed 111 c 1111ect1011 \\ itl1 on1e o tl1e Id Test 111 nt acri– f1ce . And all tl1 co11grega t i r1 V.' r- 11iJlJ3 d , a 11 · 1h ingcr ang, , n.d the tr u n1 p t er tr nd cl : and a11 th I nti11u d until tl1c: lJur 11t lf ri11g \\ a fi1111 11 d ." Jl 11r 111cl 2lJ; 8 . ] n I }1 r n i c I 2 : 1-7 \\ l ~ a i n tl1at 1n t ru111 nt l an J • I JllU IC \\a rtant in 111 i f tha nd prai t t] ,, t 288 r t a 1> rt t l OHIO I DEP NDE BAPTIS Let the word of Chri t dwell in yon richly in a ll wi dom; teaching and admoni bing one anoO,er in p aim a nd hymn and spirihlal ong , singing with grace in your heart to the Lorct. Col. 3:16. for the musical mini try "for the serv– ice of the hou e of God." A we move into the New Testa– ment we recall that our Lord Je u the night he was betrayed and just following the breaking of bread with hi discipJes sang a hymn. (Matt. 26: 26 and Mark 14:26). Paul and Silas H ang prai es unto God" in connec– tion with a prayer meeting they held at midnight in a Pbilippian jail and God aw fit to ave the jailor. ( Acts 16:25-33). Loui F. Ben on ha described Paul teaching in Ephe ian 5: 18- 20 and Colos ians 3: J 6, 17 a "our charter of Chri tian ong." In Ephe - ian we find we are to be filled spir– itually, singing from our hearts to God, and to do o with thanksgiving. Colo ian add to thi the teaching and admoni bing ministry of church • mu 1c. Function of Music In ummary, we learn that the Biblical function of church mu ic i to help win the lost to the Saviour, to help the saints grow in the knowl– edge of the Lord, and to help the aved prai e God. Thi information, however, i not enough to olve all our problen1 in cht1rch music. There i stil l the matter of exercising judgn1ent in both the 5e]ection and u e of appropriate 111u 1c. Our problen1 no\\ h1ft to Warr n L. We b r By Wa rren L. Webbe r '"What Mu ic i Appropriate for our Church Services?" There are ome kind of mu ic that nobody ought to like for the purpo e of wor hip. But there i no u e in saying that, unle one is pre– pared to point out what make mu ic wor hipful or even mu ical. All music doe not ound alike, although all mu ic contain in ome manner or other the element of melody, harmony, and rhythm. A we li ten to mu ic we are affected phy ically. emotionally, and p ycho– logically almo t whether we want to be or not. With martial mu ic our re piration and heart-beat will in– crea e. With low, melodiou mu ic our p ychological reaction will bring about a relaxation of our phy ical being. Mu ic that expre e ten ion and unre t through chords that con– tinually cla h or rhythm that are er ratic will up et our feeling of well– being. There i a mu ic that i capable of expre ing the unre t, ten ion , or the ungodly en uou ne of the world. Prai e God, there i al o mu ic that will condition a re pon e within a aved per on that i in agreement with that which i GodJy. Good mu ical writing take place when a nun1ber con i t f in1ple 111cl0Jic phra e each having it O\ n clin1ax, u e appropriate rhythm, and ha a harn1ony that nh nee the 111elod) rather than detracting fr n1 it. Good Musi ca I Literature • \\'e n cd to be able t rec gn1ze good 111u ic"1l literature H \\ er, there 1'i r11t1ch g d n1u'i1 al literature that 1, not \tt 1tablc tor ht1 rch erv ice~ l1cc,1t1~c 1t t\ not 1p111 priate lhi ~ tloc~ 11t1t 111edn that ,\ t: h t1ld li11111 otir cht1rch 111Lt')H.. ll) h\ 1 11111\ ,1nd h •111n arra11gc111t:11t • 111 f"tLl st)filt h,•11111 arrang "\111c11ts ,11 c 11ut g ti 111tt\tl J cithc.;r dt e ,vt: 1t1l111g )tlt 111t1 ic th .. lt is si11111I ' an 1 tlir tl ' c lllf sc.;d . Qttit ) t I\ t}l lf Illtt:-;i tll tt t1<1 tt1c 111 s t i11t grit, \\ ill se 111 1 bl: t}l Ill l t sin1r,J,, \\ rill fl ll i \\ ill be t l1c ,l ic::st t tin 1 r t tnd. r r . Fra11k l ·. ,ab 1 i11 }1 Ill , I • • J1l ( I flllll " Ill filll I , I e, II z i ng t 11 t 111 t1 i i 1 I ll I, 1 I (Continu d on pag 8) ARCH 1966 PAGE 5