lordsupomusic

THE LORD'S SUPPER AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

What is the reason for hymns to be sung at the Lord's Supper without instrumental accompaniment? Is it biblical or is it just tradition or "taste" of older brothers?

Of course the person asking this question found, among the churches he knows, that musical accompaniment is not used at the Lord's Supper and wants to know the reason for this.

The answer should be obtained from the brethren responsible for these churches, who should have special reasons for this. Unlike the tabernacle and later on the temple of the nation of Israel, where the rituals, garments and objects must scrupulously follow the detailed instructions given by the LORD through Moses, we do not have a commandment setting down how church meetings should be conducted, with all details.

We have little more than instructions about the attitude of the participants and their relationship and conduct to each other. There is not even one instruction on the use of musical instruments in church meetings, either in favour or against it in the New Testament.

However in the Old Testament we have many exhortations to praise the LORD with various musical instruments. We also read about the use of musical instruments in heaven, by the twenty-four elders (representing the church) - Revelation 5:8 - and they are mentioned in another context in 1 Corinthians 14:7.

The meeting for the Lord's Supper is, or should be, the major meeting of church members. The reason is that its purpose is to remember and to announce to those present the death of our Saviour for the forgiveness of our sins, without which we could not have communion with God. In it we eat bread and drink of the cup that symbolize His physical body and His blood.

During this meeting we must allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to worship, whether silent or audible through the prayers of the brethren, or sung by some or all brothers and sisters present.

Many brethrens opt for absolute simplicity in that meeting, doing nothing that is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible as being practiced by the early church. The New Testament is silent about the use of musical instruments in the early church and this is taken as indication that we should not use them.

Other main reasons given for not using any musical instrument are as follows:

The use of musical instruments disturbs meditation on the message of the hymn.
The player will have his attention diverted to the instrument rather than participating with others in the worship in spirit.
It is the words of the hymn that are important. The music is just a means to unite all the voices, either in unison or harmony. The musical instrument is unnecessary and has nothing spiritual.

On the other hand, I remember a church I attended with my wife in Quilmes, near Buenos Aires, Argentina, years ago, where the organist accompanied the hymns on the Lord's Supper. One of their elders told us: "In the beginning we did not use the organ, but had difficulties because we not always got the right note to start with and some brothers were out of tune; then we put the organist on the organ and the quality of the sung praise improved a lot, so she therefore is still playing and we are all happy."

This is not the only one: there are many other churches that also use musical instruments, usually a small organ or harmonium. If we were to ask, we would probably be given similar reasons.

Others believe that the whole Word of God is the revelation of His will, including praise and worship, sung and instrumental. Recently one of our brothers in Portugal put it this way: "I wish that the LORD would be praised in all assemblies even if with only HALF of the worship He received in the Temple at Jerusalem. Worship which is solemn, deep, majestic, lavish, worthy of God Almighty! With order, perfection, harmony, refinement, zeal in contrast with what we see so often today, disrupted, out of tune, incompetent, indifferent, boring, and cold. Our God is exalted, magnificent, "enthroned in the praises of Israel." What about the church? What bride is this, who allows others to exalt the infinite qualities of her Beloved? What a cold bride! Is it possible? "

All the reasons given in favour and against musical instruments, are weighty. However, we can rest assured that we will not be displeasing God if we improve our praise and worship with the use of musical instruments. If this were so, He would have said so clearly, as He instructed us in so many other things, some of which may even seem far less relevant today to us.

It is ultimately for the overseers of each local church to carefully examine all these aspects and then decide what it is now more appropriate for their herd. Let us avoid obedience to simple traditions or impose our personal taste, because we have responsibility before the Lord to see that "everything be done for edification, decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:26,40). But let this is not be a point of contention among members of the church: if it causes offence to a brother, it is often preferable to refrain from a "new thing" until agreement is reached on the subject.

R David Jones