worship arts

A Biblical Philosophy of Music As a Worship Art

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Music plays an integral part in biblical worship. As one of the arts most accessible to the ordinary worshiper, it became important in the expression of the faith of the corporate community.

The Importance of Music in Worship

Although the Mosaic directives for sacrifice and offering do not mention music, it became important in the worship of the Jerusalem sanctuary. Musicians accompanied the ark of the covenant when it was brought up to Zion (1 Chron. 15:16–24), and David established professional guilds of singers and instrumentalists to continue the celebrative worship of Yahweh there (1 Chron. 16:4–7; 25:1–7). Thus, music eventually also came to attend the sacrificial rites when they were transferred to Zion with the dedication of the temple (2 Chron. 5:11–14; Ps. 30). The Psalms reflect this dual role of music in worship; while it accompanied the offerings, it was itself considered by its performers to be the payment of a vow or a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving (Pss. 22:25; 27:6; 50:14, 23; 65:1), sometimes to the denigration of the animal sacrifices (Pss. 40:6; 50:8–13; 51:15–17).

Music was closely associated with prophecy; the Israelite prophets were musicians (1 Sam. 10:5; Ezek. 33:32) who created songs, laments, and other poetic compositions (2 Chron. 35:25; Isa. 5:1–7; 26:1–6). Music in the sanctuary was also considered prophecy (1 Chron. 25:2), and the Psalms often serve as the vehicle for the prophetic word (Pss. 2; 50–81; 82; 91; 95; 110). The people of Israel and Judah were noted for their “songs of Zion,” even in exile (Ps. 137:3–4).

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul views the musical expression of thanksgiving as the outflow of being filled with the Holy Spirit and the word (Eph. 5:18–20; Col. 3:16). Luke includes several early Christian hymns in his narrative of the birth and infancy of Jesus (Luke 1–2). The importance of music for the new covenant celebration of God’s victory in Christ is evident from its place in the worship of the Revelation to John: the chorus frames the dramatic unfolding of divine judgments with majestic hymns and doxologies that, more powerfully than prosaic spoken words, convey the grandeur of the Creator and the Son.

Exactly how biblical music sounded and how it was performed are matters still subject to musicological research. Music in Scripture is viewed as a functional activity, each type of music has its particular use in the life of the people of the Lord. As a utilitarian enterprise, music was not an art intended to highlight the skill of the virtuoso performer or call attention to the creative composer. Musical modalities were traditional forms, each appropriate for particular occasions. Musical skill was admired, as was the craftsmanship of the artisan, but all were subordinate to the purpose of the event the music accompanied. People did not attend “concerts” just for the purpose of hearing music.

Music As a Corporate Expression

Music was also a corporate expression of worship; even when led and performed by professionals, it belonged to the whole celebrating community. It appears that some of the Psalms were sung responsively, not only by the Levitical priests but also by the lay Israelite worshipers present at the festivals, and even perhaps by Gentile worshipers of the Lord, of whom there were many in the ranks of David’s soldiers. Thus, Psalm 124 begins with a line sung by the leader, followed by the invitation for “all Israel” to join in the psalm. In Psalm 115:9–11, three groups of worshipers are identified: Israel, the priests or “house of Aaron,” and “you who fear the Lord” (NASB), perhaps the Gentile worshipers; all three are called to trust in the Lord and to give the response, “He is their help and shield.” The same three groups are invited to respond, “His [covenant] love endures forever” in Psalm 118:1–4 and to praise the Lord in Psalm 135:19–20.

Antiphonal music expressed this involvement of the congregation by surrounding it with song. In Psalm 24 the liturgy at the entrance to the sanctuary is sung by two groups, those entering and those guarding the doors, who answer one another. The hymn of the seraphs in Isaiah’s vision (Isa. 6:3) is sung antiphonally, as “they were calling to one another”; this probably reflects the practice of the sanctuary choirs. At the dedication of the rebuilt wall of Jerusalem, Nehemiah appointed two choirs with trumpeters, which processed in opposite directions around the city, encircling it with praise, until they met in the sanctuary (Neh. 12:27–43). This use of the double choir was perpetuated in the great basilicas and cathedrals of the Christian church, providing an early version of stereophonic sound. The opening worship of the Revelation uses antiphonal choirs to portray an ever-widening circle of praise; the hymn of the four living creatures is joined by the twenty-four elders, then by thousands of angels, then by every living creature (Rev. 4:8–5:14). From all this, we see that the musical arts, as used in biblical worship, are not esoteric skills but vehicles through which all worshipers may express their adoration and praise to the God of the covenant.

A Biblical Philosophy of Worship Arts and the Covenant

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As the framework of God’s relationship with his people, the biblical covenant finds expression in the worship arts. Worship celebrates the distinctive themes of the covenant: the kingship of the Lord; his leadership and protection in warfare; his covenant promises and the story of his great deeds of deliverance; his laws and precepts, in the observance of which the worshiper maintains his place in the covenant; and his judgments against violation of the relationship, as expressed in prophetic psalm or song uttered during the assemblies of the people.

The covenant is corporate; it is a relationship between the Lord and the entire worshiping community. In revealing his covenant name to Moses, Yahweh related it to his involvement in the history of a people, the ancestors of Israel: “The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (Exod. 3:14–15). Although the covenant is promised, mediated, and renewed through individual leaders—patriarchs, prophets, kings—it is made with all the people, a people consecrated to the Lord: “The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession” (Deut. 7:6). In the prayer and hymnody of covenant worship, the speaker represents the entire community, not himself as an individual.

This accounts for the prominent place given to the king, as the nation’s representative, in the prayer and praise of the Psalms and in the erection and dedication of the temple. It accounts for the role of the prophet as an intercessor for the people in the face of impending judgment (Amos 7:1–6). It also accounts for the fact that so much of the biblical literature is really anonymous, though often included in books associated with the names of prominent figures. Although more than half of the Psalms are related in their superscriptions to David, Asaph, or other musicians, many psalms have no superscription.

Of the prophetic books, one that eloquently proclaims the Lord’s purification of covenant worship is anonymous: “Malachi” simply means “my messenger” in Hebrew. Only later, in the Hellenistic period, did Hebrew thought come to see the arts and literature in terms of individual authorship. In the well-known passage beginning, “Let us now praise famous men” (Sir. 44:1), Jesus ben Sirach celebrates the achievement of “those who composed musical tunes and set forth verses in writing” (Sir. 44:5). But the visual art of the early Christian movement, and most of its hymnody, are anonymous. From the biblical standpoint, individual creativity is not important, especially in the worship arts. Here the Christian artist is not making a statement of personal religious experience or calling attention to himself but is seeking to sum up the corporate experience of the church. When he or she expresses a personal faith, it is faith as practiced within the context of the community of faith.

The Worship Arts in Biblical Perspective

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The biblical doctrine of Creation has important implications for the use of the fine arts in worship, as does the doctrine of the Incarnation. The scriptural view of humankind as created in God’s image, the concept of inspiration and the biblical understanding of the covenant also contribute their perspective on the fine arts. The arts are uniquely capable of expressing the non-rational element in the worship experience.

Renewal of Interest in the Arts

Art, as a human activity, is a reflection of the activity of the Creator. Worship is a response to the Creator’s revelation of himself. It is understandable that throughout history, and in all cultures and religious traditions, worship and the arts have been allied. The closeness of this alliance, however, has varied from era to era and community to community. In the centuries following the demise of the Roman Empire, it was Christendom that supplied the framework holding European civilization together; during the Middle Ages, the arts were placed almost completely at the disposal of the church. The Renaissance was marked by a recovery of the principles and preoccupations of classic, pre-Christian art, and in the following centuries, much of the church (the Protestant wing in particular) reacted to the secularization of the fine arts by virtually turning its back on them, concentrating on the spoken word and the life of piety. As a result, art became separated from faith, and worship often became a barren and colorless affair.

More recently, Christian churches have begun to move back toward the appropriation of the arts in the service of God, especially in worship. But unless renewed appreciation for the fine arts is grounded in a clear understanding of their foundation and function within the biblical perspective, the church faces two dangers. The first is that this recovery of the arts is likely to be a passing phenomenon, soon abandoned for the next stimulating trend. The second is that artistic activity within the Christian community will become art for its own sake, inadequately anchored in the principles of the gospel, as has often been the case in the past. The biblical perspective offers an approach to the philosophy of the fine arts as vehicles for the worship of God.