by Kevin Cauley

Perhaps one of the most controversial words in the discussion of music in the church today is the Greek word "psallo." In the 1923 Boswell-Hardeman debate on instrumental music, Boswell, who represented the Christian church, set forth the argument that instrumental music was permissible in Christian worship today because it was included in the Greek word "psallo." Brother Hardeman argued that the word did not inherently include the instrument, but required the context to specify the instrument and that the instrument specified in Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19 was the "heart." While we cannot cover the gamut of ancient literature in this short study, I would like to briefly look at the word "psallo" and its meaning.

The "Greek-English Lexicon" by Liddell and Scott is considered by most Greek students to be the authority for English word translation. Regarding the word "PSALLW," the first (I) definition they write, which indicates the basic and most primary use of the word, is: "pluck, pull, twitch ... pluck the hair ... esp. of the bow-string ... twang them ... send a shaft twanging from the bow ... a carpenter's red line, which is twitched and then suddenly let go, so as to leave a mark." The second (II) definition that Liddell and Scott give is as follows: "mostly of the strings of musical instruments, play a stringed instrument with the fingers, and not with the plectron ...." They also write, "2. later, sing to a harp" and they cite Psalms 7:18 and 9:12 in the Septuagint without qualification. But interestingly enough, they also point to Ephesians 5:19 and 1 Corinthians 14:15 but not without qualification. They qualify the word with the object of the "psalloing," namely, "THi KARDIAi" (the heart) and "TWi PNEUMATI" (the spirit). They recognize that the word in the New Testament is used with fundamentally different objects than in the Septuagint. It is not merely the "psalloing" of the strings of a mechanical instrument, but the "psalloing" of the heart (Ephesians 5:19) and of the spirit (1 Corinthians 14:15). The instrument upon which we "psallo" is specified. It is the "heart" or the "spirit" upon which we play that is to accompany our singing to God.

This all points to the fact that "psallo" does not inherently involve the use of the mechanical instrument of music. The instrument had to be specified by the context in which the word was used. Certainly, the word may be used to refer to the mechanical instrument of music, and often was used that way in many contexts. However, when it came to the worship of the early church, the "psalloing" that they did was upon the heart and the spirit. The context particularly excluded the use of the mechanical instrument by focusing upon the heart and spirit as the instrument. It is for this reason that early Christian writers held to the necessity of singing, not as accompanied by a mechanical instrument, but in making one's own body the instrument upon which to sing praises to God. Clement of Alexandria writes:

The Spirit, distinguishing from such revelry the divine service, sings, "Praise Him with the sound of trumpet;" for with sound of trumpet He shall raise the dead. "Praise Him on the psaltery;" for the tongue is the psaltery of the Lord. "And praise Him on the lyre." By the lyre is meant the mouth struck by the Spirit, as it were by a plectrum. "Praise with the timbrel and the dance," refers to the Church meditating on the resurrection of the dead in the resounding skin. "Praise Him on the chords and organ." Our body He calls an organ, and its nerves are the strings, by which it has received harmonious tension, and when struck by the Spirit, it gives forth human voices. "Praise Him on the clashing cymbals." He calls the tongue the cymbal of the mouth, which resounds with the pulsation of the lips." (Emph. Added)

Chrysostom stated:

"David formerly sang songs, also today we sing hymns. He had a lyre with lifeless strings, the church has a lyre with living strings. Our tongues are the strings of the lyre with a different tone indeed but much more in accordance with piety. Here there is no need for the cithara, or for stretched strings, or for the plectrum, or for art, or for any instrument; but, if you like, you may yourself become a cithara, mortifying the members of the flesh and making a full harmony of mind and body. For when the flesh no longer lusts against the Spirit, but has submitted to its orders and has been led at length into the best and most admirable path, then will you create a spiritual melody." (Emph. Added)

Dozens more quotations could be set forth to show that this was the consensus for musical worship in the early church, namely, that it was the individual Christian who became the instrument upon which to praise God. The Greek word "psallo" does indeed include the idea of "playing," but that which is played must be specified by the context in which the word is found. In Ephesians 5:19 and 1 Corinthians 14:15, the object is specified, namely, the heart and the spirit. This is why the word is universally translated in these passages "sing" instead of "play."

by Tim Hall

One of the most common tendencies among people is to put great value on things. Things can be essential; our daily existence depends on having enough food, clothing, shelter, money, etc. But when we allow things to become more important than people, we've made a serious mistake.

Early in Israel's history, God attempted to teach this lesson to his people. Consider this passage from Deuteronomy 24:10-13: "When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you. And if the man is poor, you shall not keep his pledge overnight. You shall in any case return the pledge to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and bless you; and it shall be righteousness to you before the Lord your God" (NKJV).

Those who are forced to borrow from others are at their mercy. Lenders stereotypically show little, if any, mercy. God, however, required his people to show mercy and consideration to those who were poor. In the passage above, God warned the lender against entering the home of the borrower for the purpose of taking a pledge (collateral). That would send the message that the lender was now in control of the other's life, and God forbade such an attitude. Also, the lender was not to keep the borrower's garment overnight. Sometimes the collateral given on a loan was the cloak in which the poor man slept. Without it, he would be cold and sleepless through the night. It was another way of stressing that people are more important than things.

We sometimes forget this lesson. We allow things to eclipse long-time friendships and relationships. Families feud over estates following the death of a loved one -- things have become more important than people. Friends envy one another's success and prosperity, and gossip breaks the friendship -- things have become more important than people. In so many ways, we forget what God has tried to teach us.

You've heard Paul's words of warning; hear them again: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:10). The love of money, the love of things -- Satan has found a vulnerable spot in many hearts.

One other observation from our text in Deuteronomy 24: Why is it so necessary that we learn this lesson about people vs. things? ". . . and it shall be righteousness to you before the Lord your God." Do we want to be righteous? "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). Righteousness comes first; God will see to it that needed things will follow.

by Mike Benson

QUESTION: "Where did the angels come from? Are they eternal like God, or were they made some time during the creation week?"

ANSWER: The Bible has a great deal to say about angels. Please study the following passages:

1. Angels existed before the earth was formed. God asked Job, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?...When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:4,7). Note that the sons of God shouted for joy WHEN God laid the foundations of the earth. Note also that Adam was not made until the sixth day of creation (cf. Genesis 1:26-31). Who, then were these sons of God? Without a doubt, they were angels./1

2. Angels did not exist from eternity; they were created by God. "You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things on it...the host of heaven worships you" (Nehemiah 9:6). Angels have not always been in existence; God made them along with all the host of heaven. "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts!...Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created" (Psalm 148:1,2,5). Study also Colossians 1:16,17; John 1:1-3.

3. We don't know exactly when the angels were created. "The answer to that is a deduction from studying scripture. Since angels were created, and since they were there to shout for joy when God laid the foundations of the earth, it seems a reasonable conclusion to say that angels were created sometime by God before He began the creation of the world. To go further than that is to speak where we have no authority to speak."/2

1/Rex A. Turner, Sr., "Angelology," Systematic Theology, p. 67. 2/Edward P. Myers, "The Origin and Form of Angels," A Study of Angels, p. 11.

by Stan Mitchell

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19,20).

Neil Anderson recently wrote, "you win a person to what you win him with" (Gospel Advocate, September 2003). When churches "bend over backwards to cater to their children," he explains, "the young are more often alienated than won by such tactics."

If people are brought to a church through a certain music or activity, for instance, then they will leave the church on the same basis; their departure will coincide pretty much exactly with the arrival of a bigger show across town, a more dramatic version of that program in a rival church, or a ratcheted up version of what brought them to church in the first place. The pressure will always be to outdo last year's production, or lose the "loyal" customer!

Instead of bribing them to church, maybe we should bring them to Christ. Of course, Paul declares that we have been "bought at a price," not "bought for a price!" We don't (or shouldn't) make demands on churches and on Jesus; he makes demands on us! We don't negotiate our terms of entrance into the church; he dictates them! The Lord doesn't have responsibilities to us. Everything he did -- everything -- was a gift he was not obliged to give! We have responsibilities to him!

by Richard Mansel

Life is often a hurricane of trouble. Pain, stress, worries, fears bombard us daily. How do we face them with courage? What can non-Christians gain from God's plan? How can we all keep from being consumed by the stresses of this life?

Jesus said of his apostles, "they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (John 17:16, NKJV). The world is all that is at enmity with God. He explains, "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of this world, just as I am not of this world" (John 17:14). In John 17:17, Jesus tells them they will be set apart by the truth of Scripture.

God's will condemns the pursuit of fleshly pleasure and pride that directs our steps. God is therefore hated. When Christians take a stand with him for absolute truth, they will find the same anger.

Christians have been chosen out of the world. While Christians live in the world, they despair over the same problems and challenges everyone else faces. Jesus said, "Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34). While God will not take away these problems, he will provide a way to overcome them.

We are to become visitors in this world. If I travel to Seattle, I will settle into my hotel room and relax. I will enjoy the room and try to maintain its neatness, but it won't be mine. I will have no interest in it, other than the service it provides. In the morning I will pick up a local paper and read the sports and national news. I will discard the local news as it has no bearing on me. It won't matter if a planned road project and its threat of a tax increase passes or fails. Since I am not a citizen of Seattle, I will be unconcerned.

When we understand we are "in, but not of the world" we develop a completely new perspective. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). We are foreigners and strangers in a foreign land. In a way, we have a different culture and speech than those in the world. This is illustrated by the term "church" which means "the called out."

This is God's antidote to the problems of our lives. We will have a way to let them go.

We will develop "spiritual glasses." When we see a problem, we will put on our spiritual glasses and our new perspective will change our entire mindset. While the problems will still be there, we will see that they have no effect on our soul and relationship to God. In other words, they are not as important as we once thought they were.

When temptations come we can put on our spiritual glasses and ask, "is this worth my soul?" We will develop a spiritually mature perspective with an eye to eternity.

These spiritual glasses will alter our perspective on people. We see a drunk stumbling out of a bar and falling over everything. Without our spiritual vision, we laugh and dismiss him as worthless. Donning our spiritual glasses, we suddenly see him as a soul badly in need of salvation and love.

When we are angry at loved ones, we will ask if this argument is worth our relationship and our place with God.

Our spiritual lives will change as we look out at the world with different lenses. When we see the world as God would have us to, the entire world will be brighter, more hopeful.