MUSIC

Inspiring Music

What is it that makes music inspire us? Quite honestly I don’t know the answer. All I know is that one version of a piece of music or a song sets the hair on my neck standing on end while another version leaves me cold. All I know is that one version can make me weep while another has a zero effect on me.

Me and music go back a long way. As a family, we used to sing harmony together. My Dad was a fine bass singer – even offered an audition at the Royal Opera House in London. My sister and me formed the rest. Mum would have played piano if we’d had one and my brother, although a jazz aficionado, just hummed along. We made pretty good music too. Sis once sang with one of the top 60’s UK pop groups as backing while I had to be satisfied with being part of a harmony quartet singing old favourites at church and old folks concerts. My real problem was that, hearing wise, I had perfect pitch – probably still have. To me, Sinatra couldn’t sing a note hardly while Ella was the tops. Sinatra’s phrasing was near perfect but he was off key as much as he was on key. They and their contemporaries music was my childhood and some, as now, turned me on while others simply left me cold.

I have decided that it’s the anointing that matters – NOT the music. Especially classical and religious music from Blue Grass to cathedral choirs (and the Cathedrals too). I believe there can be an anointing on all music. The Bible says to worship Him with music, singing, and dancing and I don’t think that is limited to “religious” music. Great virtuoso performances in Christian P&W, or classical music, or even jazz have all made the hair on my neck stand up and it is an anointing on that performance. After all, the Bible also says to “do everything we do as unto the Lord” and perhaps, when musicians in any genre play outstandingly, and even if they don’t realise it, they are playing ‘as unto the Lord’.

Dancing before the Lord is another area of praise and worship expressions of faith and love for the Lord. When the ark was returned to the temple, King David danced ‘furiously’ before the Lord as the ark advanced on its journey into the temple. 2 Sam 6:14-16. Whatever Michal thought of his dancing, the Lord obviously approved of David’s dance offering. He must have done so because, whenever the Lord considered any offence against the Ark of the Covenant, someone paid dearly – like Uzzah in 2 Sam 6:6

Instruments in the Bible are many and varied. They are mentioned all over the place – harp, lyre, trumpet, drum, tambourine and so on. We are exhorted to praise God with all of these and with clapping, dancing, and our voices also. So both playing instruments, and singing and dancing, are quite biblical and quite holy things for us to do.

I believe that, as God gave us ‘all things’, so he gave us music, and singing, and dancing for us to offer praise and worship to Him. I believe He gave us these things to inspire us and to draw us nearer to Himself. I can hardly wait to listen to the music in heaven – can you? I have been privileged to hear angels singing and that has really whetted my appetite for the full revelation of heavenly music.

Roll over Beethoven – the heavenly choirs are coming. Hallelujah.