Winston Salem church of Christ

Historically, religious movements often include an emphasis or reemphasis on music.   After crossing the
Red Sea, the Israelites burst into song (Exodus 15).  When entering a new phase of the Israelite religious history, the “instruments of David” played a major role in the formation of the temple (2 Chronicles 7:6). And again in the religious revival under Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:26), and in the return under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 12:26) music played on center stage.

And if you allow me to progress metaphorically, even nature began as and continues to be a religious movement:

Psalms 19:1-4 – (1) The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.  (2)  Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.  (3)  There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.  (4)  Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, 

J. Sidlow Baxter observes:“Yes, ‘their line is gone out….’  That word, ‘line’, first meant a measuring rod, but it came to mean also a tightly stretched cord giving a musical sound.  That is why the New Testament quotation of it reads, ‘Their sound went into all the earth (Romans 10:18).  Perhaps the ancients were nearer the truth than we have suspected when they philosophized about the ‘music of the spheres’ – that the heavenly bodies make music as they move around in vast circuit; a gigantic orchestra in everlasting concert, producing mighty symphony and sublime harmonies in the ears of creation’s King!  (J. Sidlow Baxter, The Strategic Grasp of the Bible, pp.20-21)  He calls this created music, “Nature’s album of ‘Songs Without Words.’” (ibid., p.21) When Nature’s Creator became enwombed in Mary, she said what is commonly referred to as the Song of Mary or the Magnificat.  Whether she sang or just spoke is unknown.  But singing in the Bible is referred to as “speaking” (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). 

And again, when the angels celebrated up above the shepherds, scripture says,  Luke 2:13-14 – And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, (14) “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” 

Whether this praise was just them shouting or singing is unknown, although we traditionally think of it as “Hark the herald angels singing.”  Considering the history of music and “new beginnings,” we should not be surprised if such speaking and shouting was indeed musical.  Ralph Martin observes, “There is yet one further section of the New Testament literature where the influence of the Old Testament lyrical writing is in evidence: this is the Nativity and Infancy preface to Luke’s Gospel.  Four canticles in these two chapters (Luke i, ii) have a distinct poetic from and may be arranged in strophes as a species of early Christian hymnody which takes us back to the Jewish-Christians Church.” (Ralph P. Martin, Worship in the Early Church, p.43). The four canticles are: Luke 1:46-55; 1:68-79; 2:24; 2:29-32. 

In the N.T. “The Christian Church was born in song.” (Ralph P. Martin, Worship in the Early Church, p.39).  A.B. Macdonald says, “A priori, we should expect that a movement which released so much emotion, and loyalty, and enthusiasm, would find expression in Song….So it would have been strange indeed if the Church had remained songless in that first glorious dawn when the light from Christ came breaking across the horizons, making all things new.’” (i.e.,. Martin, p.40).   We see this musical influence throughout the New Testament when the Psalms – which are songs – are quoted (how many times?). Possibly, Paul incorporated some of these uninspired hymns within his inspired writings:·         Romans 11:33-36·         Ephesians 5:14·         Philippians 2:6-11·         Colossians 1:15-20·         1 Timothy 1:17·         1 Timothy 3:16·         Hebrews 1:3 

If you want to study why scholars believe these to be first century hymns, please see the arguments found in Ralph P. Martin, Worship in the Early Church in the chapter “Hymns and Spiritual Songs.”   Of course, the book of Revelation is filled with singing too (i.e., 4,5,14,15).  It is even possible that singing commonly accompanied the individual “religious movement” begun in baptism.  As already cited, Ephesians 5:14 might be a familiar first century hymn.  Paul writes, For this reason it says.  What is the “it?”  It is not the Old Testament.   According to Ralph P. Martin,“As a whole the verse contains an invocational appeal addressed to the Christian and summoning him to action.  At the same time if offers him the promise of Divine favour and aid.  The first two lines are a rousing summons to moral activity; and the third line is the accompanying promise of God.“In view of these contents, couched in the language of exhortation and using a combination of metaphors (sleep, death, light) applied to the spiritual life of the Christian at his conversion and entry into the Church’s fellowship, the most natural event with which the verse is to be associated is Christian baptism.  The lines would then be the accompanying chant to the actions of the baptismal service when the believer was buried in the water with Christ and raised again to newness of life (Romans 6:4ff; Colossians 2:14); and this leads one commentator on the text to submit that such a verse as Ephesians 5:14 would be fixed indelibly upon the heart and mind of the covert as he emerged from the baptismal water.” (ibid., Martin, p.48) 

How often do we today start singing after witnessing a baptism?  In fact, right after Paul’s reference to awake and arise, he speaks of walking wisely (i.e., moral action), and singing. Very briefly (more information will be in the next chapter), there have been several religious movements where this emphasis on music can be seen:

• Rise of Catholicism introduced instrumental Music around 600 B.C.
• The Reformation Movement brought a move back to “a cappella” music.  Most of the Reformation leaders thought instrumental music to be an unscriptural addition by the Roman Catholic Church.  Men such as Calvin, Erasmus, Hus, Knox, Wycliffe, and Zwingli all believed instrumental music in worship to God to be unauthorized and therefore unscriptural.  This continued for a couple of hundred of years within the Reformation.  The consensus greatest Baptist preacher of all time, the “prince of preachers,” C.H. Spurgeon, had his church singing only “a cappella” music in worship to God.  Spurgeon lived in the 1800’s – (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892).  Music was so important to the Reformation that “a Jesuit priest complained that Martin Luther’s hymns had “damned more souls than all Luther’s sermons put together.” (http://songsandhymns.org/music-worship/article/the-early-church:-singing-saints-iii)
• The Great Awakening (1730’s-1750’s) introduced “hymns of human composure” by people such as Isaac Watts.  Music was used to stir the emotions of people to respond.  Instruments again began to become prevalent within Protestant denominations.
• The Restoration Movement, which arose out of the Second Great Awakening, again emphasized a return to “a cappella” singing.  When instruments once again intruded into gospel music within the Reformation churches, the Restoration leaders emphasized once more the pure spiritual worship of “a cappella” music.  Leaders such as Barton W. Stone, Alexander Campbell, Benjamin Franklin, David Lipscomb, J.W. McGarvey, and more, all agreed that instrumental music in worship to God to be less than scriptural. 
• The Mega-Church Movement moved churches from single instruments or a few instruments, into a whole new attitude where music became a draw to the “unchurched.”  In this sense, the Mega-Church movement is similar to the use of instruments within the First Great Awakening – although the target audience was different.  Both were intended to emotionally and spiritually awake the audience, whether “unchurched” (The Mega-Church) or the “churched” (The First Great Awakening).

As we can see, music plays (no pun intended) a great role within religious movements and revivals.  This is true not only with how songs were sung, whether accompanied or not, but also what types of songs were sung.  Music has always been active within spiritual revivals, whether the musical choice was scriptural or not.  The reason part of the reason is the unique place within the human psyche that music has.