Leithart
INTRODUCTION
Music, including choral music, has been an important element in worship since the time of David. But what is music for? And what is the choir for? The book of Chronicles gives us answers to these questions.
THE TEXT
?So they brought the ark of God and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then they offered burnt offers and peace offerings before God . . . . And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel . . . .?E(1 Chronicles 16:1-6, 37-43).
PURPOSES OF WORSHIP MUSIC
As I mentioned in a related sermon a number of months ago, worship music has several purposes:
Music glorifies: In 2 Chronicles 5, the glory appears in response to the Levitical song and music (2 Chronicles 5:11-14; contrast 1 Kings 8:10-11). Elsewhere, song is a response to Yahweh?s glory (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). More generally, music glorifies speech by enhancing the rhythmic and melodic elements inherent in speech.
Music edifies: 2 Chronicles 29:30b reads, ?So they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.?EBut it is likely that the phrase ?with joy?Emeans ?until there was rejoicing.?EThus, according to one commentator, ?the Psalms of David and Asaph are said to have been performed during the presentation of the burnt offering to produce rejoicing.?ESong is one of the Spirit?s means for producing His fruits, and the Spirit comes near in glory to fill those who seek Him with gladness.
Music also edifies by teaching us about time. As Jeremy Begbie has pointed out, music is patterned by tension and resolution; music tells a story of exile and return, of leaving home and coming back. Music can combat sentimentality by teaching delayed gratification rather than emotional self-indulgence. Tension leaves the listener with a desire for resolution, but the listener has to wait for resolution. Music also can teach us about the multi-layered character of time. Time is not just the ticking of the clock, the linear movement of seconds and minutes. Time is also the larger rhythms of the seasons, the church calendar, holidays and feasts, our ?time of life.?E
Music is sacrifice: A number of terms used for sacrificial worship in the Pentateuch are applied to song in Chronicles. David?s reorganization of worship involved adding a ?sacrifice of praise?Eto the ?animal sacrifices?Erequired by the law.
CHOIR AND CONGREGATION
What is the choir? Is there any biblical basis for having a choir? Chronicles shows that the answer is Yes.
The congregation is the choir: In the temple worship, the Levites and priests were the main singers and musicians (1 Chronicles 16:4-6, 37-43; 25:6; 2 Chronicles 29:30; Nehemiah 12:27-47). But the new covenant dissolves the gradations of holiness and priestly status that existed under the law. Israel was a whole was a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6), but there were impenetrable boundaries between priests and non-priests. In the new covenant, the church is a congregation of priests in a strong sense, and Peter connects this reality directly with our duty to offer God spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving (1 Peter 2:5-9). The church as a whole thus has become the Levitical-priestly choir. Practically, this means that the music ministry of the church should devote a lot of energy, time, and effort to teaching the congregation to sing.
The congregation is a body with a variety of gifts, so there is a role for a specialized group of singers. Though the church as a whole is a priesthood, a single body, it is also a diverse body. Each member of the church has particular gifts that are to be used for the edification of the body, and musical gifts, like other artistic gifts, are among the gifts of the Spirit. Within the common choir of the church, it?s appropriate to have a choir of more highly trained musicians and singers.
The music minister is a minister. Song leaders in Scripture are qualified and trained for their work (2 Chronicles 30:21-22). The important phrase here is the description of the Levites as men ?who showed good understanding of Yahweh.?E Both the verb and the noun in this clause are from the same word group, so that a more literal rendition would be ?Levites who understood good understanding of Yahweh.?E
Song is a means for passing on wisdom. By singing, we grow in our ?good understanding of Yahweh?E(cf. Psalm 49:3-4; 78:1-2). These passages do not simply say that singing is a means for transferring theological information; rather, singing inculcates wisdom and unlocks the mysteries of God?s works. This means that those who select and lead music must be men with ?good understanding of Yahweh.?E If music is intended to give pleasure to Yahweh, then it is essential that those who lead music understand what gives Yahweh pleasure. They must know His musical ?tastes.?E
WHAT SHOULD A CHOIR DO?
In some churches, the choir?s role is limited to a call to worship or an anthem in the middle of the service. These uses of a choir are fine, but the choir can also take a much more active leadership role in worship (cf. Revelation 4:8-11; 5:8-14). The choir can lead congregational singing in several ways. A strong choir can help the congregation to pick out parts and sing harmonies that are difficult for some to pick out from a piano or organ. An individual song leader can only sing a single part; the choir has the potential to lead in a more thorough way. The choir might also be used to initiate service music. A choir could, for instance, sing the opening lines of the Lord?s Prayer or Creed.
To perform this leadership role, the choir should be positioned at the front of the congregation, and positioned in such a way that the remainder of the congregation can hear them. This runs the risk, of course, of turning choir performances into ?entertainment.?E But that can be avoided by teaching on the role of the choir as well as by the way the choral work is performed.
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