Music and Worship

1. Music and Worship • References • Technical Development A. Musicology B. Beauty C. Physiology of Music • Biblical Development A. Directive/Descriptive/Principle B. Textual Exposition • Sacred Music—Standards and Hymnody • Lingering Questions • Summary/Conclusion

2. Music and Worship • References • Technical Development A. Musicology B. Beauty C. Physiology of Music • Biblical Development A. Directive/Descriptive/Principle B. Textual Exposition • Sacred Music—Standards and Hymnody

3. Standards • Content • Arrangement • Instrumentation

4. Content • God-ward (vs. man-ward) • Didactic (vs. sentimental and shallow) • Doctrinally accurate (vs. inaccurate) • Clear (vs. nebulous)

5. Content • God-ward (vs. man-ward) • Didactic (vs. sentimental and shallow) • Doctrinally accurate (vs. inaccurate) • Clear (vs. nebulous)

6. John MacArthurChristian Research Journal,Vol 23 /# 2 issue, 2001 “It’s clear that modern church music, as a rule, is vastly inferior to the classic hymns that were being written 200 years ago. This is not, for the most part, a complaint about the style in which the music is written. Rather, the lyrics are what most graphically reveal how low our standards have slipped. “Hymns used to be wonderful didactic tools, filled with Scripture and sound doctrine, a medium for teaching and admonishing one another, as we are commanded to do in Colossians 3:16. More than a hundred years ago, church music took a different direction, and its focus became more subjective. Songs emphasized personal experience and the feelings of the worshiper. “Modern musicians have pushed this trend even further and often see music as little more than a device to stimulate intense emotion. The biblically mandated didactic role of music is all but forgotten. “The effect is predictable. What we have sown for several generations we are now reaping in frightening abundance. The modern church, fed on insipid lyrics, has little appetite for Scripture and sound doctrine. “We are also in danger of losing a rich heritage of hymnody as some of the best hymns of our faith fall into neglect, being replaced with banal lyrics set to catchy tunes. It is a crisis, and the church is suffering spiritually. Both pastors and church musicians need to see the severity of the crisis and work diligently to reform...”

7. John MacArthurChristian Research Journal,Vol 23 /# 2 issue, 2001 “...hymns were composed with a deliberate didactic purpose. They were written to teach and reinforce biblical and doctrinal concepts in the context of worship directed to God. Those hymns aimed to praise God by proclaiming His truth in a way that enhanced the worshiper’s comprehension of the truth. They set a standard of worship that was as cerebral as it was emotional; and that was perfectly biblical... “These days worship is often characterized as something that happens quite outside the realm of the intellect. This destructive notion has given rise to several dangerous movements in the contemporary church.... This modern notion of worship as a mindless exercise has taken a heavy toll in churches, leading to a decreasing emphasis on preaching and teaching and an increasing emphasis on entertaining the congregation and making people feel good. All of this leaves the Christian in the pew untrained and unable to discern, and often blithely ignorant of the dangers all around him or her... “If music’s proper function includes “teaching and admonishing,” then music in the church ought to be much more than an emotional stimulant. In fact, this means music and preaching should have the same aim. Both properly pertain to the proclamation of God’s Word. The songwriter ought therefore to be as skilled in Scripture and as concerned for theological precision as the preacher; even more so, because the songs he or she writes are likely to be sung again and again (unlike a sermon that is preached only once)...”

8. Standards • Content • Arrangement • Instrumentation

9. Arrangement • Melodious • Complementary of Content • Edifying (vs. Entertaining) • Emotions-sanctifying • (vs. Emotions-indulging/inciting/inflaming)

10. Arrangement • Melodious • Complementary of Content • Edifying (vs. Entertaining) • Emotions-sanctifying • (vs. Emotions-indulging/inciting/inflaming)

12. “For those whose conception of music is still centered on words, harmless sound, entertainment, and meaningless communications, the question of how notes and rhythms could possibly become sensual might still be a burning issue. Human communication includes words, pictures, and sounds. Allow me to ask some very practical questions. Can vowels and consonants become either blessing or blasphemy? Certainly they can. Can an artist, with the raw material of pen and paper, create beauty? Yes. Can those same materials be used to create pornography? Obviously. Just as vowels and consonants can become blasphemy and pen and paper in the hand of an artist can become pornography, so notes and rhythm, in the hands of a composer or artist, can become sensual. Is the picture coming into better focus? Most can grasp the first two examples because they are more overt. Music is more subtle and much more powerful than either of the previously mentioned examples. Remember, it reaches the heart and soul.” p 100

13. Arrangement • Melodious • Complementary of Content • Edifying (vs. Entertaining) • Emotions-sanctifying • (vs. Emotions-indulging/inciting/inflaming)

14. John MacArthurChristian Research Journal,Vol 23 /# 2 issue, 2001 “Modern songwriters clearly need to take their task more seriously. Churches should also do everything they can to cultivate musicians who are trained in handling the Scriptures and able to discern sound doctrine. Most important, pastors and elders need to exercise closer and more careful oversight of the church music ministry, consciously setting a high standard for the biblical and doctrinal content of what we sing. If those things are done, we’ll begin to see a dramatic qualitative difference in the music that is being written for the church. “Meanwhile, let’s not throw out the classic hymns. Better yet, let’s revive some of the great hymns that have fallen into disuse and add them once again to our repertoire.”

15. Arrangement • Melodious • Complementary of Content • Edifying (vs. Entertaining) • Emotions-sanctifying • (vs. Emotions-indulging/inciting/inflaming)

16. “...music is able to bring our feelings to 'the level of awareness' by which we may '[know] through experiencing what ordinary language cannot express.'...[M]usic's ability to express emotion through use of symbols allows man to know experientially what is normally frustratingly elusive and to make value judgments about his feelings based on something external to himself. Thus man's emotions can be educated or, in religious terms, sanctified.” p 126 “By exposing himself regularly to the most beautiful forms of music, a Christian can actually sanctify his emotions to appreciate true beauty. This enables him to more rightly glorify God...The manner in which music may help to sanctify the emotions, and thus improve man's ability to rightly apprehend God's beauty, is by expressing only good, right, and wholesome emotions.” pp 127-128

17. “...only well-crafted music, because it is demonstrably beautiful, can educate the emotions and ennoble character. It can do so exactly because good creations of beauty are a reflection of divine beauty and help to cleanse sinful affections and make one more able to appreciate what he should....In studying the beauty of creation and attempting to mimic its qualities in art such as music, a Christian may educate his tastes and prepare himself to be able to apprehend the beauty of God.” p. 131

18. Arrangement • Melodious • Complementary of Content • Edifying (vs. Entertaining) • Emotions-sanctifying • (vs. Emotions-indulging/inciting/inflaming)

19. Standards • Content • Arrangement • Instrumentation