He Still Sings, Even When We Pluck Strings
By Isaac Moore
Have you ever studied poetry? If so, how often are you hearing it? In our culture, you probably hear it every day at least once. You may possibly already know that music is another form of poetry, but have you ever searched it for meaning or encouragement? I know it is easy to ignore the words in a song when you listen to it while you work, but why not take some time to listen and judge our hearts. “Am I worshipping God with my life like he’s talking about?” God speaks to us often through brothers and sisters in “songs, hymns, and spiritual songs.”
Jesus said in Matthew 7:8, “Everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” When we ask God for a word of encouragement or wisdom, He gives it to us. When we look for that word, we will find it, and if we want to know the meaning of the words, we should ask Him. Then He will tell us the mystery.
Okay, do you know of a lyricist who was a prophet? How about David? We know about him, but check this out.
1Ch 25:1 Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:
1Ch 25:2 Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king.
1Ch 25:3 Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD.
1Ch 25:4 Of Heman: the sons of Heman; Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamtiezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth:
1Ch 25:5 All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn. And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
1Ch 25:6 All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king's order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman.
1Ch 25:7 So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the LORD, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight.
This and other passages lead me to believe that many anointed songs are truly prophetic messages in disguise. Of course, like prophecy, we must still judge them by The Word no matter how true they sound.
God says that His mercies are new every morning. I believe that His encouragement through brethren is also new. Musicians, when they want to encourage, will often use music to get the message across. Though they are always fresh, certain words of knowledge or encouragement may stick with us the rest of our lives.
But we must remember this, the most important use of music is to worship and glorify God, just as the most important use of everything else in our lives is to worship and glorify God. The last six lines of a song I wrote, The Psalmists’ Cry, is meant to sum up this subject.
The psamists’ cry goes out across the land,
O and the psalmists cry goes out again.
This, the psalmists’ cry, will speak His words,
Following His will, glorifying Him.
Glorifying him, following His will,
Will speak His words, the psalmists’ cry.
*By the way, the Hebrew word for prophesy in this verse actually means prophecy. =)
Naba
Naw-baw’
A primitive root: to prophesy, that is, speak (or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse) – prophecy (-ing) make self a prophet
-from Strong’s Concordance of the Bible (KJV), phrases in parentheses mine
