text: The Power of Music to Alter the Heart, Part 3: God's Beautiful Design for Music | Goodness Of God Ministries
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  The Power of Music to Alter the Heart, Part 3: God's Beautiful Design for Music
  Posted on June 6, 2016 by goodnessofgod2010
  Music originated from God, and it has a beautiful purpose: to minister healing, peace, and inspiration to His children. The human heart needs music to function in its optimal healthy condition. We are designed to crave music that inspires us to praise and worship God with an attitude of thankfulness. We were created to have a song in our hearts for God. Psalm 144:9 says, "I will sing a new song unto thee, O God." Spurgeon said, "When the heart is in its right state, it must praise God, it cannot be restrained; its utterances leap forth as waters forcing their way from a living spring."[i]
  Praise the Lord with the harp. Make music to him on the lyre that has ten strings. Sing a new song to him. Play with skill, and shout with joy.What the Lord says is right and true. He is faithful in everything he does.The Lord loves what is right and fair. The earth is full of his faithful love. The heavens were made when the Lord commanded it to happen. All of the stars were created by the breath of his mouth.He gathers the waters of the sea together. He puts the oceans in their places. Let the whole earth have respect for the Lord. Let all of the people in the world honor him. (Psalm 33:2-8, NIRV)
  From the early chapters of Genesis through the pages of the entire Bible, music has played an integral role in the history of the Hebrew people. Not only defining and solidifying their own culture, religious beliefs, and practices; the music of the Hebrew people and the Bible have shaped the music of our day in the works that have been passed on from generation to generation since the time they were written.[ii]
  Expression of the full range of human emotions vocally or instrumentally through music was as much a part of the lives of biblical people as it is in modern times … Indeed all of life could be touched by song. The celebrations of a community, ritual practices of worship, even the act of warfare gave rise to song.[iii]
  Moses and the people eventually arrive at the Sea of Reeds (Red Sea) in advance of the pursuing army and are miraculously provided an escape route through the waters. Safely reaching the far side, they witness the destruction of Pharaoh and his troops in the water. It is now we get our first glimpse of Moses, the songwriter. Now most people do not generally associate Moses with the field of music, but he was evidently well-versed in this art. We know from the biblical texts that Moses, raised apart from the general population of Israel in the house of Pharaoh during his youth, had learned to not only read and write, but as demonstrated in his later years, to read and write music.[iv]
  To a non-musician, the above interpretation of these verses might seem strange and you are probably asking yourself, "How can you play someone's name?" If you are trained classically in music, you may however be familiar with the Italian phrase soggettocavato … In a musical sense, the phrase soggettocavato refers to a type of compositional device in which the letters of a word or name are mapped to specific tones of a musical alphabet or scale … For example, during the Renaissance it was common for composers to honor their patrons and rules with compositions using names as the source for the themes and melodies … King David, who was directly associated with four of the five instances in which this technique is alluded to in the Scriptures, was apparently familiar with this type of compositional device … This compositional device literally enabled the Levite musicians and singers to not only sing the Name of God, but also to play the Name of God as the Scriptures state … The Names YAH and YHWH were directly integrated in the music that was written and the instruments that were played.[v]
  Luther was well aware of the power of music and insisted that its proper use was "to the glorification of God and the edification of man." He said, "We want the beautiful art of music to be properly used to serve her dear Creator and his Christians. He is thereby praised and honored and we are made better and stronger in faith when His holy Word is impressed on our hearts by sweet music." Luther said of music, "Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise."[vi]
  He longed for a "God-conscious soul"—a heart that is aflame for God. … He often used these hymnals as means for meditation and devotional reading. Often, he would counsel people to get a hymnbook—"but don't get one less than a hundred years old." In one the articles for the Alliance Weekly he wrote, "After the Bible, the next most valuable book for the Christian is a good hymnal."[vii]
  What I believe grieves God most is we have robbed Him of our hearts. It is as if He would say to us, "You have robbed Me of the full heart of surrender that I was looking for that would have allowed Me to fill you from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet. If only you would have turned to Me! I would have caused you to live such a profound life that you would have stood out as a light shining in a darkened world."[viii]
  [i] Charles Spurgeon, Treasury of David: Volume 4, Study of the Psalms, (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1976), Psalm 144, Kindle Edition, 87898.
  [ii] Dennis McCorkle, The David Cipher: Unlocking the Hidden Music of the Psalms (Denver: Outskirts Press, 2010), Kindle Edition, 294.
  [iii] Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1159.
  [iv] Dennis McCorkle, The David Cipher: Unlocking the Hidden Music of the Psalms (Denver: Outskirts Press, 2010), Kindle Edition, 329, 330.
  [v]Ibid., Kindle Edition 662.
  [vi] Don Cusic, A Sound of Light: The History of Gospel Music (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2002), 15, 16, 18, 19.
  [vii] A.W. Tozer, Fellowship of the Burning Heart: A Collection of Sermons by A.W. Tozer (Alachua: Bridge-Logos Publishers, 2006), 10.
  [viii] Carter Conlan, The 180 Degree Christian; Serving Jesus in a Culture of Excess (Ventura: Regal Books, 2012), 68.
  This is an excerpt from my new book "The heart: The Key to Everything in the Christian Life" You can order from my books on this website or from Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble.
  This entry was posted in Bible Teachings, Inspirational Messages and tagged David musician, design, God sings, heal, heart, hymnal, Jesus sings, Martin luther songwriter, Moses musician, music, music in church, power of music, refreshin from Lord, tozer, Yahweh. Bookmark the permalink.