Sing Praises to the Lord with Song and Music

Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous!
        Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre;
        make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song;
        play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
 (Psalm 33:1-3 ESV)

I used to be the lead guitarist in The Citadel back at Coram Deo. I once wondered what, if anything, was my real role. A worship song is supposed to be about praising God, and that usually means singing, using words. That may involve chords on a guitar or a piano, and maybe even drums. But a lead guitar is meant to add extra musical melody to the song, which is what I did (besides sing backup vocals). I often asked myself, “What the heck am I adding to this worship?” And I think here, in these three verses, I find, at least, the beginning of an answer. I sing too, and I think these verses are about singing too, but it’s clear how that is used in worship.

The part that stuck out to me was in verse 3: “Play skillfully.” The reason this stood out to me was because it reminds me of something in Exodus 35-38. I noticed how God said in Exodus 36:1, “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded.” God is the one who put the skill and knowledge in them to construct the temple! They were incredibly skilled architects because God gave them that gift. They used it for His glory. Not only that, but they followed God’s instructions perfectly to every measurement and little detail. And musicians, such as lead guitarists, are called to do the same thing. Everyone is.

Of course, there’s a difference between playing skillfully and playing for God. I think that that is a matter of the heart, not the fingers or the instrument. There are millions of extremely skilled musicians today (I personally think of Rush) who have God-given talents, but use them for much different reasons. These reasons range from money, to fame, to sex, to even the music itself, when they make music into a deity. But these are not God, the god of Israel, the Savior of the world and thus are improperly used gifts.

The Christian musician therefore needs his heart to be focused on God if he desires to “play skillfully on the strings” in a worshipful manner. What does this mean? I personally think it means playing not for one’s own glory or because one wants to be famous or well regarded. If one is truly focused on God while playing the music, if a guitar player truly desires to point to God with his music, if he or she is saying to the people “Worship God, not me”, then I believe they really are playing for the Lord with the right heart.

Beyond that, it’s up to the people to see that this gift, this music, exists only because God made it so. Verse 1 says “Shout for joy IN the Lord.” It doesn’t say “to the Lord”, although that is also a good thing and it probably also means that. It says “in.” I think it’s saying to worship in the power of the Holy Spirit, to long for and desire to be connected to God the Father and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And music and art are wonderful ways for one to see the beauty and greatness of God.