"Praise the Lord with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.”
Psalm 33:2-3
Music is a beautiful gift from God. It is a way that we can express our love for Him when words fail. The melodies and harmonies played are more than just pretty sounds; they can be a direct extension of our inward worshipfulness. We can adore the Lord and praise His holiness through song and instrument.
There is no denying that music is powerful, as different arrangements will make you feel certain ways. In general, if a song has many major chords, it will feel happy. In the same way, if a song has a lot of minor chords, it will feel more melancholy and sad. Music can change your mood, bring back memories, and help you express yourself and find your voice. Notice that this applies to all music, not just worship. Music carries an inherent God-ordained power, and influences our culture more than we will ever truly understand.
Music is powerful because God made it. He created music so that we could worship Him in a raw and vulnerable way. The reason that melodies are catchy and the music gets stuck in our heads is because that is what He designed it to do.
The wonder of music is that we are still discovering new things about it. It is unlimited in expressions and creates a palette of unending praise to pull from. We must understand that God made music so that we can create worship and pour out our hearts to Him. Music not only glorifies God, but it changes atmospheres.
We see a powerful example of this in 1 Samuel 16:14-23. In this account, Saul was tormented by a distressing spirit, and the spirit left when David played music over him. “David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.” (1 Samuel 16:23)
Music has the power to release the presence of God and bring His kingdom to earth. Psalm 22:3 (NLT) reads, “Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” As we praise Him, He chooses to enthrone Himself right there! In that case, we should always want to be listening to or playing music to the Lord. We get to glorify Him with what’s in our hearts and it brings heaven to earth, and when He shows up anything is possible.
