BETTER BY SUNDAY
[ QUARRELING OVER GOD’S MUSIC | Paul Herman ]
To God, we probably sound like children on completely unlike anything we’ve ever heard the playground as we quarrel over worship down here. And that experience will hopefully styles and preferences. Hymns vs worship wipe away the memory of flawed arguments Not many of us listen to the typical children’s
songs. Pipe organs vs guitars. Drums or not. over flawed styles in a flawed world. choir for musical reasons. The songs are
music anyway. Flaws and all.
Choirs or not. 85 dB vs 100 dB (or louder). usually simplistic and the voices are usually
1-4-5 vs b9ths, b13ths and all manners off-key (even to our ears). But the joy and
of 7ths.
Honestly, it all must sound pretty juvenile
once it reaches the ears of heaven. The
fact is, none of us has any idea what God’s
music sounds like—yet.
FALLEN MAN, FALLEN MUSIC
As we analyze the sound waves that produce
musical pitches and as we research the
development of music throughout history,
we find that our present 12-tone scale
is built on compromise. In other words,
all hymns, worship songs, and all other
Western/European musical works based on
the 12-tone scale are (in pure terms) out-
of-tune and flawed from their foundation.
One of my college music professors, an
exceptional church organist and piano tuner,
put it simply, “You can tune one interval so
that it sounds heavenly, but it throws the rest
of the scale completely off.” So we accept
the compromise, and gradually, our ears
have adjusted.
...once we get exuberance beaming from little faces can
to heaven, father. That’s what God wants from us.
and the laws devoted heart, He is apparently willing to
of Physics endure even the most excruciating of His
To hear His children sing from a pure and
set aside the perfect music of heaven and
children’s concerts.
no longer
In his book Christian Reflections, C.S. Lewis
apply, we will ends his chapter “On Church Music” by
undoubtedly music or martyrdom, are like the intrinsically
flaming tongues above…”
saying, “For all our offerings, whether of
worthless present of a child which a father
hear a music
values indeed, but values only for the
intention.” In his book, Jubilate, Don Hustad
so pure, so
paraphrases Lewis by writing, “It is more
beautiful, and
so completely
unlike anything
realistic to see Him [God] as a loving Father
whose toddler brings him a page of childish
scribblings. ‘Look, Daddy, isn’t it pretty?’
‘Yes darling, it’s lovely. We’ll fasten it on the
refrigerator so everyone can enjoy it.’ ”
So if the scores to Handel’s Messiah or
we’ve ever
Beethoven’s Fifth only qualify as God’s
“refrigerator art,” we reach new levels of
heard down
“Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by
bring a smile to the face and heart of any
audacity by thinking that we can determine
what does and does not qualify as His music.
here.
In due time, He will show us what real music
-From the hymn “Come Thou
is. For now, He wants His children to stop
Fount,” by Robert Robinson and John Wyeth
quarreling. And just sing.
WHAT ABOUT NOW?
But once we get to heaven, and the laws of Right now, we need to acknowledge that
Physics no longer apply, we will undoubtedly God’s music is undoubtedly higher than
hear a music so pure, so beautiful, and so ours, yet He calls us to worship Him with our
February 2018
Paul Herman
Songwriter, Worship Leader,
Creator. Vancouver, WA
WorshipMusician.com
CCLI’s
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