Christian Singing

Christian Singing: Romans 15: Isaiah and Psalm 22 prophesy that Jesus will SING TO THE GENTILES. In all applications of this prophecy, the act is teaching and the Christian singing is in the heart and directed to God.

See Romans 5 as a contrast between Christ who shed blood FOR the Gentiles and David who shed the blood OF the Gentiles with instrumental music which was always a device of the Israelite military. Paul refers to the statement by David who was the secular warrior and not the spiritual king and priest:

Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name. 2 Sam 22:50

This was a poem and therefore poetic: it was later sung and mentions an instrument:

Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name. Psa 18:49

The literalist view of Psalm 18 as authority for Instrumental music in a Praise ritual like David The Warrior musician the type:

(For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,) "I love Thee, O Lord, my strength." Psalm 18:1NAS

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and) Psalm 18:1KJV

David then spake the song which began:

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Psalm 18:2

Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord,
........... among the heathen,
........... and sing praises unto thy name. Psa 18:49

The word SPAKE is:

Amar (h559) aw-mar'; a prim. root; to say (used with great latitude): - answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, / (at the, give) command (-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, * desire, determine, * expressly, * indeed, * intend, name, * plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), * still, * suppose, talk, tell, term, * that is, * think, use [speech], utter, * verily, * yet.

David also keeps the "singing" in context with "teaching:

O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name:
........... make known his deeds among the people. Psalm 105:1
........... Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him:
........... talk ye of all his wondrous works. Psalm 105:2

David was not the spiritual example because he spoke:

I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet. Psalm 18:38

Or: And I have consumed them, and wounded (smashed) them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet. 2 Sam 22:39

Consumed is:

Kalah (h3615) kaw-law'; ... consume): - accomplish, cease, consume (away), determine, destroy utterly... take away, waste.

A close word is variously translated as sword, weapon or musical instrument.

Keliy (h3627) kel-ee'; from 3615;... vessel or weapon): - armour ([-bearee]), artillery, bag, carriage, instrument, jewel, psaltery, sack, stuff, thing, tool, vessel, ware, weapon, / whatsoever.

For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. Psalm 18:39

Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. Psalm 18: 40 (2 Sam 22:41)

They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not. Psalm 18: 41

Then did I beat them small as the dust (the background to literal melody in Greek) before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets. Psalm 18: 42 (2 Sam 22:43)

<>Shachaq (h7833) shaw-khak'; a prim. root; to comminate (by trituration or attrition): - beat, wear.
Sachaq (h7832) saw-khak'; a prim. root; to laugh (in pleasure or detraction); by impl. to play: - deride, have in derision, laugh, make merry, mock (-er), play, rejoice, (laugh to) scorn, be in (make) sport.
This is the rising up to play in musical idolatry at Mount Sinal.

While a similar statement is made in Psalm 108 it is not the same story. David awakened his LYRE so that he could awaken the DAWN. Hab 2:19-20 warns against trying to arouse idols or instruments which were believed to speak.

While David often praises God for His goodness, he also prays to awaken God (Psa. 3:7; 7:6; 9:19; 35: 23; 35:23; 44:23; 59:4-5; 68:1; 80:2; 132:8) from what he perceives as God's slumber when he does not respond promptly to David's demands. If you remember, Elijah chided the musical prophets of Baal and Asherah under Jezebel whom we KNOW from history were MUSICAL by asking them if their god was asleep or on a trip or "going aside" meaning to relieve himself.

The Monarchy was IDOLATROUS because that was their request from God. Many of the Jews adopted some of the psalms to pagan practices:

"We even have a mention at a later date of a similar custom in connection with the cult in Jerusalem, where certain Levites, called me'oreim, 'arousers,' sang every morning this verse from Ps 44: 'Awake, Lord, awake! Do not abandon us for ever.' The Talmud tells us that Johh Hyrcanus suppressed the practice because it recalled too readily a pagan custom.

"A similar practice is attested in connection with the cult of Herakles-Melkart. According to Menander, as he is quoted by Josephus, the king Hiram, who was a contemporary of Solomon, rebuilt the temples of Tyre and, 'he was the first to celebrate the awakening of Heracles in the month of Peritius.'" (de Vaux, p. 247)

"In an inscription from Cyprus, in one from Rhodes and in several from around the district of Carthage, there are references to important personages who bear the title Mqm'lm which we can translate as 'arouser of the god.'" (de Vaux, p. 247).

While David as king of a secular kingdom and secular musicians "under the king and commanders of the army" his great joy was to shed the blood OF the Gentiles.

On the contrary, Jesus as king of a purely spiritual kingdom came to shed HIS blood FOR the Gentiles.

Grasp the difference between a warrior religion and a peacable kingdom?

So far, in the book of Romans, we have looked at worship which takes place in the mind or in the spirit where we connect with Christ through His Word and prayer. Now, we need to see how this worship in spirit expresses itself in outward forms.

In Romans 14 Paul shows that it is acceptable to have "meal fellowship" or even assembly with people who hold different opinions.

However, this association does not give wine drinkers or those who keep times and seasons the right to bring "doubtful disputations" into the relationship which would destroy fellowship.

The unspoken divisive issue, however, was the use of music as worship. Therefore, in chapter 15 the prescription for unity centers totally on the church as synagogue or School of the Bible and the only action to be taken is to "give glory to God with one voice" and the only resurce was "that which is written."

This agrees with the solution to teaching and resolving conflict in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 the so-called "Christian singing" passages.

While this is most often used to try to prove that Paul endorsed accepting instrumental music into our worship, chapter 15 proves that Paul was teaching just the opposite.

The pagan rituals involving meats offered to idols or eating only vegetables.

Vegetarianism: Josephus knew certain priests who "supported themselves with figs and nuts." They had been sent to Rome to be tried before Caesar and they rejected all meat because it might have been offered to idols. However, vegetarianism was not always just to guard against idol meat.

"Vegetarianism was a customary religious practice in the first century. It was a characteristic of the Orphic and Phythagorean sects among the Greeks and of the Essenes among the Jews." (Batey, Romans, Sweet, p. 166).

Orphic worship associated with vegetarianism was always associated with lots of instrumental music. Click to see Orphic Music which Paul guarded against in Romans as he implicated Dionysus in Ephesus and Corinth. It was the Dionysus choral dance and song which the Jewish clergy tried to impose on Jesus while they "piped." This would have polluted and prostituted him so that He would be disqualified as the messiah. Saturn and Rhea or Eve or Zoe is a Roman version of the feminist godesses who forced the male gods into musical and theatrical performance. This was implicated in the rise of A Cappella which was to bring sexually stimulating male choirs into the Vatican where instrumental music was forbidden. The singers were castrated in order to enhance the high male voices.

In Romans 15, as well as in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3, Paul uses the word "sing" as fulfillment of prophecy that Christ, even as He groaned in Spirit, would (1) "sing to the Gentiles" or the whole world (2) as He revealed the secrets of His Mind through His words.

However, when Paul used the word "sing" he did not have anything like modern choral Christian singing of secular "churchy" songs but of reciting the inspired Biblical resource which is the ONLY resource a Christian has available.

The outward service is always seen as sending His Words outward and they would not return empty or void. It is hard to follow Jesus where He did not lead. Therefore, we need to see what Scripture means by "singing." The first question to ask is:

How Did Jesus Sing to the Gentiles as Worship in Spirit?

To learn about singing, Scripture gave both a prophecy of what Jesus would do and what He actually did. The story begins in Isaiah where the Spirit of Christ (1 Pe 1:11) said:

Because truth totally failed (Isaiah 59:15

And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm (seed or strength) brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. Isaiah 59:16

The WORD dwelling in the man, Jesus, was sent as SON in the New Testament in contrast to angels, rocks, water, pillars or manna in the Old.

When Jesus died, He said that the flesh counts for nothing but His Spirit or Mind was left in the WORDS which He spoke as both Spirit and Life. He then sat down in the PLACE of the right arm at the RIGHT of the glory and majesty He laid aside.

The Redeemer would come to Zion as God's "Arm" stretched out from the Spiritual into the physical world to "sing" to us:

As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord;

My spirit that is upon thee,
and my words which I have put in thy mouth,

shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever. Isaiah 59:21. Later, he said:

And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Isaiah 60:3

Remember that God as pure or holy Spirit lives in a Spirit world which we cannot reach. We cannot identify with a Spirit any more than we can see air. However, God "laid aside" His full glory like a robe in order to live in the "tabernacle" of a human:

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: Hebrews 10:5

If I cannot live in water and need to extract an expensive watch, what do I do? Why, I reach my arm into the water because it can live there and it can do my work for me. My arm is not another "person." My arm is me. In the same way, it would do no good to our limited minds for pure or Holy (without parts) Spirit to speak to my physical ears. For all of God's speaking through especially qualified prophets in the Old Testament, it turned out that there was no man who could mediate and redeem mankind.

When God sent His own "right Arm" He was both God and man. In this form, He became the "door" or the "gate into the spiritual world." That is, He bridged the gap between humanity and Himself. In the following illustration note that we cannot cross over to the Spirit world or force God into our presence. In this bridge from the Spirit dimension to the Physical dimension, God is both Father and Son:

Spiritual World

God
Great Fixed Gulf
Physical world

Man

Father
As Arm stretched out to mankind
Son

God in man, Christ in man, man in Christ, Citizenship in Heaven

Because mankind was separated from God as full Deity, there was no "agent" who could bridge the gap between the Spirit world and the physical world. To think that He could send a junior member of the "God family" is to minimize the ability of God Who, in His Nature is neither Father nor Son. By "reaching through" the great gulf between the Spirit dimension and physical dimension, God was Father (to relate to the Spirit) and Son (to relate to humanity). He was both "sender" and "sendee." He was the "beginning" of the beam of light and that which was reflected in the face of Jesus and He was the beam.

In the beginning was the beam. The beam was with the light and the beam was the light.

He was the One True Deity and the "vision" or "image" of that Deity. As our mind or spirit is the father of our thoughts and words, God's Mind was the Father of the Words delivered through His breath or Spirit (1 Corinthians 2). These are all symbolic (figurative or spiritual) and cannot be grasped by the carnal mind.

God (full Deity) living in a human body could not cease to be fullly God. By analogy, if I am the king and take off my kingly robes and put on the rags of the beggar, I do not cease to be the king "enfolded" within the beggar's garments. The apostles were dealing with the King of the universe or Father but because He was manifest as a Son or creature, Philip didn't recognize Him:

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? John 14:9

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. John 14:10

The "king" was in the beggar and the beggar was in the king because the king and the beggar were one and the same being. Paul said,

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Col 2:9

Iesous (g2424) ee-ay-sooce'; of Heb. or. [3091]; Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Isr.: - Jesus.

yehowshuwa (h3091) from 3068 and 3467; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (i. e. Joshua), the Jewish leader: - Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Comp. 1954, 3442

This word is made up of Jehovah and:

Yasha (h3467) yaw-shah'; a prim. root; prop. to be open, wide or free, i. e. (by impl.) to be safe; causat. to free or succor: - * at all, avenging, defend, deliver (-er), help, preserve, rescue, be safe, bring (having) salvation, save (-iour), get victory.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Zec.9:9

In this image, God comes as both the King who has Salvation with Him. This is why Jesus is Jehovah-Saved. Isaiah understood this:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

In a sense the "Father" had to allow Himself as "Son" to bear the burdens of the sins of the world because only the Son could die.

Jesus never "chickened out" or tried to pray Himself out of doing what He came to do. Therefore, He would "die in the flesh but be alive in the Spirit" to be His own Redeemer, right Arm or right Hand. Jesus quoted the first verse of Psalm 22 as a common way of pointing us to the whole Psalm to show that He would achieve victory and be able to "sing to the Gentiles." His final song was a pathetic cry of:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22:1

O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. Psalm 22:2

Those who could not help the people despised and reproached him. Their laughing was "imitating a foreigner, to speak unintelligibly." The "strong bulls" danced around him in a circle and beset Him which was to crown Him. They pierced His hands and Feet and even stretched him until his bones were out of joint. For all of that, God in human flesh would win the victory and proclaim it to the Gentiles:

I will declare (inscribe with a penknife, tell) thy name unto my brethren:
........... in the midst of the congregation will I praise (by singing to the Gentiles) thee. Psalm 22:22

For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
........... neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. Psalm 22:24

All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord:
........... and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. Psa 22:27

For the kingdom is the Lords: and he is the governor among the nations. Psalm 22:28
........... Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren,
........... in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. Heb 2:12

Declare in Greek is:

Apagello (g518) ap-ang-el'-lo; from 575 and the base of 32; to announce: - bring word (again), declare, report, shew (again), tell.

Aggelos (g32) ang'-el-os; from aggello, [prob. der. from 71; comp. 34] (to bring tidings); a messenger; esp. an "angel"; by impl. a pastor: - angel, messenger

This does not mean to entertain but to do the work of an evangelist

Euaggelizo (g2097) yoo-ang-ghel-id'-zo; from 2095 and 32; to announce good news ("evangelize") espec. the gospel: - declare, bring (declare, show) glad (good) tidings, preach (the gospel).

Sing is:

Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. Heb 2:12

<>Apalgeo (g524) ap-alg-eh'-o; from 575 (to smart); to grieve out, i.e. become apathetic: - be past feeling
Anah (h578) aw-naw'; a prim. root; to groan: - lament, mourn.

As God sent His own "Right Arm" or seed as Jesus to be His own Intercessor, He sat down again at the Right Hand of the Glory He gave up to become both Father and Son. John said that the Word was with God and was God. In the same way, my right hand is with me and is me. What we know about Him has been revealed by Him. Using the same figurative language, He has returned to be clothed into the "folds of the garments" of God:

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. John 1:18

It is important that we use the words which God demanded not depart from our mouth forever:

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: Isa 55:10

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

This is why Jesus warned so severely against the teachings which come out of the mind or heart of men -- any man. This would include songs composed by men:

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. Matthew 15:8
........... But in vain (return the words void) they do worship me,
........... teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Matthew 15:9

This is what Jesus was speaking of in the Ezekiel parallel:

Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. Ezek 33:30

And they come unto thee as the people cometh,

and they sit before thee as my people,

and they hear thy words,

but they will not do them:

for with their mouth they shew much love,

but their heart goeth after their covetousness. Ezek 33:31

And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of
one that hath a pleasant voice,

and can play well on an instrument:

for they hear thy words,

but they do them not. Ezek 33:32

Paul had been guided into all truth by Christ the Spirit. Therefore, he absolutely demanded on the authority of Christ that we:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Col 3:16

An Italian writer notes about worship in spirit that:

"Sometimes religion produces suggestive rituals shared by a community to create an atmosphere useful for uplifting one's thoughts and coming to one's senses. There are those who cannot do without such forms of worship. Where, however, the form takes the place of meditation, or conditions it; where human words prevail over the Spirit.. then we are no longer in the presence of true religion.

"The one who uses colours and sounds and forms and movements and other gifts of God under the illusion of creating a stairway to heaven out of his own resources can, even involuntarily and in good faith, be raising an invisible barrier between humanity and God himself. (Davide Melodia, The Lord of Silence)

However, when "worship in spirit" is successful, the natural result will be service to God by serving the poor, weak and untaught. For instance, Paul showed how internal worship spills over into the external:

For God, whom I serve (worship) in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you." Romans 1:9

Paul used a word for worship which applies to both external and internal worship:

Latreuo (g3000) lat-ryoo'-o; from latris, (a hired menial); to minister (to God), i.e. render religious homage: - serve, do the service, worship (-per)

God has always defined worship at some level. Therefore, how we worship is not optional. Nor is it tested by how many people it attracts. Paul used another word, latreåia, and said:

THEN verily the first covenant had also ordinances (rules) of divine service (worship), and a worldly sanctuary (holy, dedicated physical place). Hebrews 9:1

Furthermore, Jesus implied a useful form of worship by defining vain or empty worship with acts.

Isaiah said that God's words are not void or vain only if they return to Him as He delivered them. If we had the words to "bridge" the gap and perform God's work upon mankind then we would not need Him, would we? That is what Jesus said.

"Christian Singing" in Romans Chapter Fifteen

Remember that Luther Burbank said that only 15% of us think anything new, and that thinking is a great torture. However, we cannot understand the Mind of an Infinite God without using the mind He designed for that purpose. Not thinking is vanity.

Melodia notes that forms can actually "raise a barrier" between the ever-present Lord and the thinking worshipper. Indeed, Jesus condemned the Jewish clergy because they deliberately took away the key to knowledge in order to silence thinking.

If we think about it, we will hear Paul using the word "singing" as a way to minister the gospel or all of the good news words of God's "right Arm." Now, here comes the thinking test: read down Paul's first cycle which defines "singing" and compare each verse with the one in the second column.

Cycle One	Cycle Two
WE then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Romans 15:1	And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. Romans 15:10
Romans 15:2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. Romans 15:3	And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. Romans 15:11
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning (teaching), that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4	And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. Romans 15:12
Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: Romans 15:5	Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:13
That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify (tell of His works) God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:6 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. Rom 15:7	And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14
Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister (deacon) of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: Romans 15:8	Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God. Romans 15:15
And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will	(2) that the offering (bloodless sacrifice) up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:16
(1) confess to thee among the Gentiles, and	(1) That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God,
(2) sing unto thy name. Romans 15:9	ministering the gospel of God,

EPHESIANS 5:17-20KJV	COLOSSIANS 3:16-17
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Eph 5:17 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Eph 5:18	Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; (John 6:63 Words = Spirit)
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,	teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;	singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.	And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name (authority) of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.