PLAYING SKILLFULLY--A WORK OF BALANCE

In the first few verses of Psalm 33, we’re encouraged to sing and play musical instruments loudly unto the Lord as an act of praise that He is worthy of hearing.  The suggestion is that it’s expected from those that have a relationship with Him.

For many years I had the privilege of playing piano in a praise band under the direction of some fabulous leadership that worked diligently to help achieve that end.  Please don’t ever underestimate the level of work carried out by the praise and worship leader(s) that turn(s) a group of ordinary, instrument-tinkering lay persons into a cohesive musical unit capable of blessing the universe’s Creator.

Even before I was under the most esteemed of musical leadership, I also sat under a well-meaning lay person with a flair for directing others in musical knowledge.  He had a lot going for himself, yet some wanted himself to get going!

The pastor was from “the old school”, wanting to hear hymns all the time, while this volunteer wanted to do more of the “modern” tunes.  The minister wanted to get things done in a set time, that they might be kept flowing in an orderly fashion—so congregants would not be annoyed with a certain time schedule not being kept, and that the preacher might have more time to share God’s Word.

The lay leader, on the other hand, was more focused on allowing for the “freedom of the Spirit” in directing how long songs were sung and played.  I remember one evening practice in particular that was becoming extremely heated—nearly to fisticuffs.  I decided to go off to the bathroom—either to pray or call 911. 

Suddenly, while standing at the urinal, I had a vision.  It was one of those diamond-shaped kites soaring higher and higher midst the unseen wind.  I was able to see both sides of the kite at the same time.  I asked the Lord what this was about and these thoughts immediately came to mind:

“The kite is Jesus, for you sing, “Lord, you are, more beautiful than diamonds…”.  He is lifted up by the wind of My Spirit, for that same Lord says, “If I, the Son of Man be lifted up I will draw all men unto myself”.  And, as you can see, the structure, the support of the diamond is the cross—for without it, you just have diamond-shaped material; beautiful--but useless in function.  What you need in your praise and worship time is a balance of structure that allows for the freedom of My Spirit.”

After flushing, I rushed back into the sanctuary to tell the group what the Lord revealed, and thankfully all listened.  From that point on, we regularly enjoyed incredibly sweet fellowship, both with the Lord and each other.

Verses 4 through 12 of the Psalm refer to the world—and the things of it—that He is in command of—and the interrelationship He has with His people.  The remainder of the Psalm points out that it is the wisdom of God—and not man—that delivers.

Man’s wisdom says that when you are playing a musical instrument in a worship service, and you’re unsure if you will play a given note correctly, you play it quietly, hoping that if it’s wrong,  it will be drowned out by another.  The Psalm itself directs early on that when you play unto the Lord with confidence, play skillfully unto Him, asking for His help in making your noise joyful—and when you do, you and your listeners will begin to experience the peace that invariably comes from blessing the God of the universe—and there is of course, no greater peace than that.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 33

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Sovereignty of the LORD in Creation and History

 ¹ Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
         For praise from the upright is beautiful.
 ² Praise the LORD with the harp;
         Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
 ³ Sing to Him a new song;
         Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
      
 ⁴ For the word of the LORD is right,
         And all His work is done in truth.
 ⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
         The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
      
 ⁶ By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
         And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
 ⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;^[a]
         He lays up the deep in storehouses.
      
 ⁸ Let all the earth fear the LORD;
         Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
 ⁹ For He spoke, and it was done;
         He commanded, and it stood fast.
      
 ¹⁰ The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
         He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
 ¹¹ The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
         The plans of His heart to all generations.
 ¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
         The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.
      
 ¹³ The LORD looks from heaven;
         He sees all the sons of men.
 ¹⁴ From the place of His dwelling He looks
         On all the inhabitants of the earth;
 ¹⁵ He fashions their hearts individually;
         He considers all their works.
      
 ¹⁶ No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
         A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
 ¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for safety;
         Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
      
 ¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
         On those who hope in His mercy,
 ¹⁹ To deliver their soul from death,
         And to keep them alive in famine.
      
 ²⁰ Our soul waits for the LORD;
         He is our help and our shield.
 ²¹ For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
         Because we have trusted in His holy name.
 ²² Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us,
         Just as we hope in You.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 33:7 Septuagint, Targum, and Vulgate read in a vessel.

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

In Psalm 16, David intimates that we can have peace both in this life and the next.  Of course, you can have turmoil in or about either one as well.  The decision is always ours to make.

We can determine to enjoy the fellowship of others or we can be loners of solitude.  They both have their place in the grand scheme of things to one degree or another, but what sort of effect do they have?  Aloneness builds up self exclusively, while group interaction builds up both the individual and those he/she interacts with.  Proverbs 27:17 tells us that iron sharpens iron, and Psalm 133 compares brothers dwelling together in unity to the sweetness of fellowship with the Lord that was reserved for the High Priests.  We are further instructed in Hebrews 10:24-25 that the stirring up of love and good works is the byproduct of not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together—all the more as we see the Lord’s Day approach. 

If you have no brothers or other living relatives you are not going to be part of anybody’s will.  If you do have family that yet lives, you may yet be in theirs.  And what is a will?  A document that declares that you, as an heir, are entitled to one or more gifts that another is passing on to you.  Proverbs 13:22 tells us that good men have accumulated enough to share with their grandchildren.  Romans 8:16-17 informs that the Spirit speaks to us as being God’s children and consequently God’s heirs along with Jesus, and thus part of God’s will.  Remember that James tells us (James 1:17) that every good and perfect gift is from God above, though when we read the Romans passage in context, we see that in this case—a unique case indeed—as heirs we suffer along with Christ—and our inheritance is realized after we die!  All in all, it’s better to be remembered this way than the way brother-in-law Louie was remembered in that 60s comedy album, “You Don’t Have to be Jewish” (“And to Louie, who always wanted to be remembered in my will, ‘Hello Louie”).

We often go to a lawyer’s office for the reading of the will.  One term for lawyer is ‘counsellor’.  The psalmist (in verse 7) thanks the Lord as counsellor for instructing his mind, and perhaps there could be no greater instruction for our minds (nor greater peace concerning this life and the next) than when He instructs that while the godly in Christ shall suffer (II Tim. 3:12), we live in the here and now, not the here and then.  If we don’t have a grasp on the reward that awaits us, we have more stress in this life than we need to have.

b(Les)sings