Who Needs a Choir Anyway? Part Two

Choirs in the Bible

Before I turn to some of the historical development of choirs in the history of the Church I want to turn to the Scriptures and ask about the place of choirs in the ordered worship of God’s covenant people. I am doing this with a particular presupposition in mind: New Covenant Christian Faith embraces and transforms into greater glory Old Covenant community and worship. Let me illustrate that with a non-musical point of reference: elders. Did the Church invent the office of Elder or inherit the office from Israel in the Old Covenant? The idea of ‘elders’ is part of the inheritance. The same is true for the early Church’s worship. The Church inherits the synagogue and Temple and sees these transformed by the New Covenant, and her worship shaped by the presence of the future as seen in the worship in heaven itself recorded for us by John in Revelation. Both past and future inheritance give birth to the worship practiced by the ancient Church.

Historians agree that the worship of the ancient Church was shaped by the synagogue model – Scripture readings, prayers, Psalms, exhortations, and so on, with one profoundly remarkable addition: the Eucharist. In the Supper the ancient Church ‘remembered’ the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and celebrated a new Passover in Him. In doing so they employed the language of sacrifice in their worship, whether referring to the ‘offering’ of the bread and wine for the supper, or other material gifts and monies given to provide for mission and mercy. In adding sacrificial language to synagogue structures the early Christians self-identified not only as the New Covenant Synagogue, but also as the New Creation’s ‘Temple of the Holy Spirit.’ Only the Temple could serve as a place for sacrifice. Thus early Christian worship is a combination of Synagogue worship and Temple worship, gloriously transformed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is why the worship described in the Temple – which is itself a pattern of the worship taking place in heaven even now! – cannot be ignored when it comes to our own public worship, and indeed must rather be viewed as a central source for our liturgical life. Let us turn to the Scriptures then to consider the liturgical life of Israel, especially in reference to the ‘musical revolution’ that took place under King David.

Moses and David

It is fair to conclude that Moses and David are viewed as the two pioneers of Israel’s worship. Moses is primary, but in many ways David appears in Chronicles as a new Moses, receiving new revelation from God that will result in the construction of the Temple during Solomon’s reign, and the addition of choral and instrumental music to the Levtical and sacrificial service offered to Yahweh at Moses’ Tabernacle and the newly constructed Temple. There are no songs at Moses’ Tabernacle, but Solomon’s Temple, with worship and order prescribed by David, there is an explosion of music that becomes the standard for Israel’s faithful worship.

Perhaps one way to consider this would be to ‘fast forward’ a few centuries from David and note how the Bible describes a revival or recovery of Israel’s covenant fidelity and proper worship after a season of decline and unfaithfulness.

Renewal under Jehoida: 2 Chronicles 23:18 – “And Jehoida posted watchmen for the house of the Lord under the direction of the Levitical priests and the Levites whom David had appointed to be in chare of the house of the Lord…with rejoicing and with singing, according to the order of David.”

Renewal under Hezekiah: 2 Chronicles 29: 25-29 – “And he stationed Levites in the house of the Lord…according to the command of David and of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets…when the burnt offering began, the song to the Lord began also…the whole assembly worshipped, and the singers sand and the trumpeters sounded…and Hezekiah the king commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David…and they sang praises with gladness and bowed low in worship.”

Renewal under Josiah: 2 Chronicles 35:15 – “the singers the sons of Asaph…were at each gate. They did not depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites had prepared them.”

Restoration under Nehemiah and Ezra: Ezra 3:10 – “And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, to praise the Lord according to the directions of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord…” Nehemiah 12:31-42 – “Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south…the other choir went to the north…so both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of the Lord… and the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice that day with great joy…and the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.”

The point to which I want to draw your attention in these passages is that whenever Israel returned to the Lord in repentance after years of rebellion their renewed worship was marked by the regulations and structures prescribed by King David, and this most emphatically included choral music. Moreover, these prescriptions were given to David by direct revelation from God for ‘the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets.’ This standard of renewal points back to the authority of the changes made by David in Israel’s public worship. What he prescribed was by revelation and was a perpetual part of Israel’s faithful Temple worship.

What David did was not a contradiction of what Moses prescribed, but it was an expansion – or ‘glorification’ – of that ancient sacrificial worship. From Chronicles we see this glorification take place under David as he leads Israel into resurrection after her death under Saul, during whose reign ‘Israel did not seek the Lord.’ David’s desire is to bring the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem and he eventually accomplishes this objective with the Levites carrying the ark on their shoulders in joyous procession into Zion. (see 1 Chronicles 13-15). David however expands the role of the Levites. Clearly Moses had commanded them in their various orders to care for the ark and the Tabernacle. This mandate continues under David, but music is added to their responsibilities, largely due to the more permanent placement of God’s holy presence among his people in his city.

Solomon’s Temple

When Solomon replaces David as King, building and dedicating the Temple David designed he sets in place a worship order created by David, the Prophet-King (see Acts 2:30). The Chronicler relates this as follows: “According to the ritual statute of David his father, he appointed the divisions of the priest for their service and the Levites in their watches to offer praise…according to the commandment of David the man of God” (2 Chronicles 8:14). This means that the choral rite of Israel was divinely ordained. Its neglect demonstrated declension in worship, while its renewal characterized restoration and recovery. Music was not for entertainment but rather an accompaniment to, and indeed a glorification of, the sacrificial rituals performed in the Temple. Music, especially choral music, became an ordained part of Israel’s worship.

Chronicles describes David’s expansion of the Levitical duties in Book One, chapter 23. In addition to their ‘duty to assist the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, having the care of the courts and the chambers…to assist with the showbread…and all measures”, they were also ‘to stand every morning, thanking and praising the Lord, and likewise at evening.’ 1 Chronicles 25 describes the appointment of the musicians and singers, the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun. Their ministry was to ‘prophesy’ with their instrumental and choral ministries. Thus the musical ministry of the Temple was rooted in the proclamation of God’s word. Choirs and orchestras do not offer music in Church for cultural and aesthetic pleasure or for entertainment, but for the securing of the word of God in the hearts and minds and lives of God’s covenant people. Verse seven informs us that these appointments totaled 288 singers who were ‘skillful’ and ‘trained in singing’. Temple worship was sacrificial ritual accompanied by music of the highest order to give praise to and exalt the Lord so that God’s people were reconciled with God and instructed in his ways. At the risk of stating the obvious, this means that the vocal and instrumental musicians practiced! They were prepared and presented pieces of music properly and with sensitivity (one need only note the inspired inscriptions on several of the Psalms indicating the kind of instrumentation appropriate to the offering of the Psalm in Israel’s worship).

Is ‘skill’ and ‘training’ really essential? We can distinguish between the essential and the glorious. We can worship with no instruments, poor singing, and outside in the rain. All we need is a Bible, a minister, bread, wine, and a congregation. These are essential. But is it all glorious? Can it be more so? This is the place of skill and instruction. In his book ‘The Lord’s Song’, John Kleinig writes, “by the skillful rendition of their anthems they communicated their insight to the people and so taught them, affectively as well as cognitively, about the Lord and his goodness through their musical performance of praise.”

Because music is prophetic it is valid to compare skill in this area with skill is preaching. While the most ham-handed sermon, poorly delivered, can nevertheless be used of God to seek out his people, this is no reason to dismiss theological and rhetorical instruction. Well trained theologians gifted and practiced in effective speech are wise servants who make words of knowledge easier to hear and grasp. Speech and Song are twin sons of revelation in the Scriptures. The God who speaks also sings (Zephaniah 3:14-17; Isaiah 5; Hebrews 2:10-12). One supposes that Yahweh’s voice is sweet to the ears of those who are his Bride. When we hear the choir in worship, it is God’s voice we long to hear, just as it is God’s voice we desire to hear in the word preached. Does this make choral music the equal of preaching? No, for preaching is essential while music is part of the glorious; God has ordained to save souls not by singing but through the mystery and foolishness of preaching. The point is simply that we listen for the Lord in every part of worship, and the prophetic dimension of music inspires us to pray, repent, trust, obey, and listen to the word of the Lord. It does however mean that we should normally anticipate Church musicians – whether instrumental or vocal – to be trained, theologically and Biblically literate, and skilled.

This is why the Scriptures show the musical dimension of worship so clearly. Turning once again to Chronicles, we find another ark procession, this time with the Temple in view. As the ark of God’s presence approached the Temple ‘The Priests came out of the Holy Place…and all the Levtical singers…arrayed in fine linen…with 120 Priests blowing trumpets. It was the duty of the singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord…when the song was raised…the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud…for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.”

We have every reason to continue to expect the Davidic ministry of instrumental and choral music to be the continuing inheritance of the Church, the ‘restored tabernacle of David’ (Amos 9; Acts 15). We are the synagogue of the Savior and the Temple of the Lord. As we gather is assembly to offer our reasonable service of worship (logikos leitourgia), we do so knowing that the Lord is among us and his glory will be seen.