Music for the Lord

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Francis Gonsalves [1]

Music is God’s greatest gift to humankind,” is the mantra of one of my revered gurus. I agree. Music has been my greatest delight since the age of seven when daddy bought me a violin for `90 and paid `10 monthly for violin tuitions. “You must make your own music,” he’d say. More than I making music, music has made me.
The Bible overflows with music. The refrains of the first chapter of Genesis suggest a musical dimension to creation, which sings: “The hills burst into song” (Isaiah 55:12). The psalms exhort not only people “to break forth into joyous song and sing praises”, (Ps 98:4) but also “the valleys to sing together for joy” (Ps 65:13). Listen to the buzzing of bees and warble of winds and waves! The cosmic symphony will enthrall you.
A hundred times the believer is advised: “Sing to the Lord!” Consequently, the refusal of music is a poignant way to express people’s devastation at their exile in Babylon: “On the willows there we hung up our harps. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Ps 137:2,4).
Music nourishes the mind and suffuses the soul. When King Saul is tormented by evil spirits, David so skilfully plays the harp for him that his melancholy disappears (1 Sam 14-23). Harps, tambourines, cymbals, trumpets and drums are played to celebrate peak events of life: exodus from Egypt, dedication of the temple, coronation of kings, return from exile and major festivals. Indeed, music is a natural response to God’s goodness.
Christian communities hold singing in high esteem. “With gratitude in your hearts, sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God,” writes Paul (Colossians 3:16). Saint Augustine says: “One who sings prays twice!” Isn’t it enchanting and elevating to hear the azan of muezzins, bhajans from temples, sabad kirtan from gurdwaras and choirs of churches? India’s polyphonic religious music nourishes India’s soul and rises skyward to praise God, called by many names.
God is the ultimate inspirer of all music. David confesses that God “put a new song in my mouth” (Ps 40:3). God tells Moses, “Now, write this song, and teach it to the people; put it in their mouths” (Deuteronomy 31:19). Furthermore, God is also singer who will “exult over us with loud singing as on a day of festival” (Zephaniah 3:17).
Singing or playing musical instruments is the finest way to express one’s innermost moods and emotions. Making music is energising. Music can inject peace as well as passion into everything one pursues. May music inundate your life. In heaven, “We’ll sing a new song before God’s throne” (Revelation 14:3). I hope to be singing there. Or, perhaps, playing the violin.

Francis Gonsalves is the principal of the Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi. He can be contacted at fragons@gmail.com