Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. (1 Chronicles 16:23-24 NIV)
I would like to ask you to think about music. I would like to ask you to do this because most people, including musical people, are inclined to overlook the contribution which music can make to man’s understanding of himself, the world, and the Creator.

Most of us, surrounded as we are by music of some kind or other, have successfully pushed it into the background of our consciousness. This is often a matter of self defense. Inferior music beats at our ears in a dreary whine in the home, in stores, and on the streets. Who would wish to listen attentively to this, much less think deeply about it?  How then does music help us to understand ourselves and our Creator?

The Christian believes that man is a creature made in the image of God. He does not know all that this means, but he realizes there is no other explanation which so fully covers the observable facts. Man is the only creature that possesses self-consciousness, reason, and a sense of right and wrong. He is also the only creature that can express creativity.

God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” Genesis 1:26. I would ask you to think about the “likeness” of God on day six of the creation week. The Creator was a creative being, who now creates a “creative” being like Himself. Man’s artistic abilities come as a result of him being created in the image and likeness of the Creator. When man shows that creativeness, be it in graphic arts, sculpture, architecture, et  cetera, he shows his true humanness.

Man was created to be a creative being. And a very significant part of his creativity is the ability to make music. What a wonderful ability it is that the mind of man can take sounds, along with time, and use it to communicate to others. Music is one of man’s ways of exploring and subjecting to his purposes two great creations of God — sound and time — in order to reveal the awesome wonders of both.

Sound and time are organized and manipulated into what we call music. Both are needed to create music. But the sounds must be organized in time, and this requires the mind of a creative being — man. So, when man creates music he demonstrates true humanness and reflects the fact that he is the product of the Creator.

Think about music as a marvelous, intriguing form of artistic communication. A communication that begins with the composer and ends with the listener. Picture in your mind a group of 100 orchestra musicians, each playing their instrument in correct pitch in perfect time.  Maybe they are performing music that was composed 150 years ago.

The composer had something he wanted to communicate. As a creative artist he painted his picture in sound, sound he created in his mind which he then notated on paper for others to read. Now, 200 years later, a conductor must study that score and try to hear in his mind how the composer wanted the orchestra to sound. His task is to understand the emotions and feelings of the composer and determine the message he was trying to communicate through his art.

Imagine all that is involved in translating the notes of that musical score into the beautiful sound that will fall on the listener’s ear. It took years of education and practice on the part of each instrumentalist. There was intensive study of the musical score by the conductor of the orchestra, along with many hours of rehearsal with those 100 players . And now we can watch them playing together as a well-trained team. What a sight to behold…40 Violin bows all going up and down in unison. 14 ’Cello players all fingering and bowing as one. The precision is amazing and the music is superb.

As we listen to the orchestra we seldom realize what actually happens as we experience the music. The art of music is very different than any of the visual arts like painting, sculpture, photography, etc.

When we hear a composition, it does not come into being in an instant, but it is formed tone by tone as a succession of sounds. It is not at rest, or stationary, like a painting or sculpture. It is, rather, a living event, a continuous birth and death of tones.  

Does our brain program the succession of sounds and harmonies as we experience them? Herein lies a mystery…we cannot hear the entire work at one time. When the work begins, everything which follows has not yet occurred, and when  the final chord sounds, the beginning harmonies have long since passed away.

A sculpture, in all its parts, always exists at one time. But a musical work, in its entirety, never exists outside us at one time but has physical reality only in that portion which is sounding at the moment. And the tones that have sounded leave no trace by which the entire work might be observed, like a painting. So, where then does the music take on the form which we perceive? The answer is, within us, thanks to our ability which gives form to memory images and retains them. It is a God-given power and ability of our mind, which preserves the past and keeps it for us as something “present.” Music is truly a gift of the Creator. But an even greater gift is our ability to experience music, whether  performing it, or listening to others perform it.

 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.     (Psalm 95:1-2 NIV)

 Does this sound like a command? Over two hundred specific references in Scripture direct us to make music unto the Lord. An intimate relationship with God is rooted in music making. We may conclude that music education is not an option for God’s children. “Sing to the Lord” is a command. Have you ever seen the command in Scripture to “play baseball unto the Lord,” “enter gymnastics unto the Lord,” or “join the Girl Scouts unto the Lord”? Christians are certainly called to be involved in secular activities as an outreach and ministry to the community, but music making is more than just another “activity.”

Scripture clearly teaches that an intimate relationship with God is rooted in music making. It is a sign of spiritual health. If we deprive children of learning to make music, we are depriving them of a key tool in maintaining a solid relationship with God. Would we expect children to develop a relationship with God throughout a lifetime without giving them a Bible? Maybe it is just as serious to deny them the gift and skill of music making. Music is the one gift that God gives to us that we can return to Him and is the essence of a relationship in action.

There is a difference between making music unto the Lord and most other activities that we may encourage our children to pursue. The non-musical activity is for the child, and may be of great benefit, but music making is for God, for His glory.

 Martin Luther said: “I have no pleasure in any man who despises music. It is no invention of ours. It is a gift of God.” Another quote: “Music is the art of the prophets, the only art that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.”