“’But get me a musician.’ And then, while the musician was playing, the power of the LORD came on Elisha. And he said, ‘Thus says the LORD…’”
2 Kings 3:15-16
Do you have a favorite hymn or praise song? Do you ever sense music drawing you closer to God, encouraging and strengthening you? Perhaps the music was composed by a Beethoven or a Michael Card, but through its harmony you felt lifted up to God.
From the time that King Saul sent for David to play his harp to the heavenly choirs singing in the Book of Revelation, we see music in the Bible as essential to human life. Music is a transcendent language of the heart reaching up to God. Yesterday, as I sang Martin Luther’s hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” to the accompaniment of a new pipe organ, I thought of Luther saying, “Music is the art of the prophets, the only art that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent presents God has given us.”
Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, a renowned cognitive neuroscientist, says in his book, This Is Your Brain on Music, “The brain is a tapestry of interconnected regions that light up with activity when we engage music…Music has the power to evoke a sense of wonder and awe, to transport us to a realm beyond the physical.” We might not be surprised that Albert Einstein said “I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”
Yesterday, as I was touched by the Holy Spirit in congregational singing, I thought of the prophet Elisha crying out in today’s scripture, “But get me a musician.” And while the musician was playing, the power of God came upon Elisha giving him a word from God, “Thus says the LORD…”
The Hebrew word translated “musician” comes from a root word meaning “to play a stringed instrument.” Thus, some Bible translations choose the term “harpist”, though a specific instrument is not mentioned. We see Samuel, Old Testament prophet and judge, leading a “school of prophets” in which playing the “harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre” was part of a prophet’s training to minister in the Spirit (1 Samuel 10:5, 10; 19:20; 2 Kings 2:3-7).
When we come to time of the New Testament in which the Holy Spirit permanently indwells the Christian, music becomes an expression of the Holy Spirit moving and working in our lives. Thus, the apostle Paul exhorts Christians, “Be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts” (Ephesians 5:18-19). Music is more than an aesthetic addition to our worship, but a vital expression of our life in the Spirit.
C. S. Lewis touched on the absence of music in hell but the prevalence of noise in hell. In his book, The Screwtape Letters, the senior demon Screwtape reveals to his nephew, Wormwood, the nature of hell. Screwtape contrasts the harmonious beauty of music with the chaotic noise of hell, wanting to drown out the “melodies and silences of heaven,” with infernal, demonic noise. Notably, during the Taliban rule in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001 music was prohibited. Tyrants knew that that if you want to break the spirit of people, take away their music.
I often write about spiritual disciplines and various spiritual practices, but for today, I’m with the man of God, Elisha, “Get me a musician.” My spirit needs some music! My heart cries out for it! I want to worship!
How about you? How might you nurture your life with music today?
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 150:3-6
A fellow traveler,
Tim
