Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Col 3:16
There is an emphasis in this verse on a topic that perhaps most of us give very little thought to–namely music. I didn’t say most of us live separated from music; on the contrary, we listen to music quite a bit. The popularity of devices like the iPod is a testimony to that fact. But, how many of us give much thougth to music, especially the potential spiritual benefit of it?
Ps 150 reveals the primary purpose of music. It is no different than the primary purpose of everything. It is to praise God! Just listen to a portion of the psalm:
3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
I was speaking to a friend the other day about a song her husband had pulled up online. They wanted me to hear the vocal ability of the singer. I agreed that it was impressive, but I also commented that it was hard for me to listen to because of the message. My friend’s response was, “It’s just music,” but then she paused and continued, “but, I see what you mean.” Our text above shows that music has more of an effect on us than perhaps we realize.
Music is primarily to praise God, but in so doing, the secondary effect is that it encourages God’s people. I think we overlook the gift we have in it. Sure, spiritual songs are incorporated into our worship services, but clearly from our Colossians text, the intention is not for these songs to only find a place in our lives when we gather with one another. This music is useful to teach us and admonish (or warn) us in our walk with the Lord. Music has a funny way of sticking with us. We’ll catch ourselves singing under our breath at times without even realizing others can hear us. We refer to some songs as “ear worms” because once we hear them, it’s hard to get them out of our heads. Sadly, many songs today shouldn’t have any place in the mind of the believer, but it’s never a bad thing if the songs described by our text are continually rolling around in our hearts and minds.
Our text begins with the statement, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” God puts His word in us when He saves us because we now live in the day of the new covenant prophesied about by Jeremiah (Jer 31:33) and reiterated in Heb 10:16: “I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” God puts it in there, but we have a responsibility to keep it there. According to the Lord, a musical diet rich in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is a great way to do just that!
Jamie