Instrumental Music and Church History

by Dennis Tucker

Many denominations today use instrumental of music in their worship to God. A few years past a "church" in Tulsa built a new building complete with a state of the art sound system. This is a far cry from passages such as Ephesians 5:19 "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord," or, Colossians 3:16 "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."

It may surprise our friends that instrumental music is a late addition to worship. In the first century, the saints sang songs of praise to God. I know of no Greek scholar nor historian who argues otherwise. Paul and Silas while in jail at Philippi were singing at midnight when the earth shook. (Acts 16:25-26)

Christians in the first century were not divided over the meaning of the word sing or Psallo. Such arguments did not occur until much later. Christians in the first century understood the book of Revelation to be written in symbolic language and therefore did not authorize instrumental music, Rev. 1:1.

What may be surprising are the historical words of men who opposed all forms of instrumental music in worship. We want to give a partial list of well known men and quotes from their own mouths and / or pens.

"Leave the pipe to the shepherd, the flute to the men who are in fear of gods and are intent on their idol-worshipping. Such musical instruments must be excluded from our wineless feasts, for they are more suited for beasts and for the class of men that is least capable of reason than for men... In general, we must completely eliminate every such base sight or sound - in a word, everything immodest that strikes the senses (for this is an abuse of the senses) - if we would avoid pleasures that merely fascinate the eye or ear, and emasculate." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, The Fathers of the Church, Catholic University of America Press: Washington, 1954, pg. 130) (190 AD)

"David formerly sang songs, also today we sing hymns. He had a lyre with lifeless strings, the church has a lyre with living strings. Our tongues are the strings of the lyre with a different tone indeed but much more in accordance with piety. Here there is no need for the cithara, or for stretched strings, or for the plectrum, or for art, or for any instrument; but, if you like, you may yourself become a cithara, mortifying the members of the flesh and making a full harmony of mind and body. For when the flesh no longer lusts against the Spirit, but has submitted to its orders and has been led at length into the best and most admirable path, then will you create a spiritual melody." (John Crysostom, Exposition of Psalms 41, (381-398 A.D.) Source Readings in Music History, ed. O. Strunk, W. W. Norton and Co.: New York, 1950, pg. 70)

Eusebius of Caesarea was a church historian at the beginning of the fourth century. In his commentary on Psalms 91:2-3, he wrote the following concerning instrumental music: "Of old at the time those of the circumcision were worshipping with symbols and types it was not inappropriate to send up hymns to God with the psalterion and cithara and to do this on Sabbath days... We render our hymn with a living psalterion and a living cithara with spiritual songs. The unison voices of Christians would be more acceptable to God than any musical instrument. Accordingly in all the churches of God, united in soul and attitude, with one mind and in agreement of faith and piety we send up a unison melody in the words of the Psalms."

Niceta, a bishop of Remesian (Yugoslavia) also wrote the following concerning instrumental music: "It is time to turn to the New Testament to confirm what is said in the Old, and, particularly, to point out that the office of psalmody is not to be considered abolished merely because many other observances of the Old Law have fallen into disuse. Only the corporal institutions have been rejected, like circumcision, the Sabbath, sacrifices, discrimination of foods. So, too, the trumpets, harps, cymbals, and timbrels. For the sound of these we now have a better substitute in the music from the mouths of men. The daily ablutions, the new-moon observances, the careful inspection of leprosy are completely past and gone, along with whatever else was necessary only for a time - as it were, for children."

Theodoret, a bishop of Cyrhus in Syria, wrote a work called "Questions and Answers for the Orthodox." Instrumental music was one of the many subjects covered in this work: "107. Question: If songs were invented by unbelievers to seduce men, but were allowed to those under the law on account of their childish state, why do those who have received the perfect teaching of grace in their churches still use songs, just like the children under the law? Answer: It is not simple singing that belongs to the childish state, but singing with lifeless instruments, with dancing, and with clappers. Hence the use of such instruments and the others that belong to the childish state is excluded from the singing in the churches, and simple singing is left."

"Pope Vitalian introduced an organ in the church in the seventh century to aid the singing but it was opposed and was removed." (James Hasting, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics)

"The first organ certainly known to exist and be used in a church was put in the cathedral at Aix-la-Chapel by the German Emperor Charlemagne, who came to the throne in 768. It met with great opposition among the Romanists, especially among the monks, and it made its way but slowly into common use. So great was the opposition even as late as the sixteenth century that it probably would have been abolished by the council of Trent but for the influence of the emperor Ferdinand... In the Greek church the organ never came into use... The Reform church discarded it; and though the church of Basel very early introduced it, it was in other places admitted only sparingly and after long hesitation." (Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia, Vol. II, pg. 1702)

(to be continued)