In the world of Christian music, there’s a lot of debate about whether or not playing instruments is acceptable. Some say that instruments are not allowed in church—but what does the Bible say?
In fact, instruments have been used in worship since ancient times. In the Old Testament, David played the harp and the pipe to praise God (1 Chron. 15:16). The Psalms also mention stringed instruments being played during worship (Psalm 33:2; 150:4). And Paul even told Timothy to play a flute! (1 Tim. 5:23).
Right here on Churchgists, you are privy to a litany of relevant information on music in the New Testament KJV, musical instruments used in church, and so much more. Take the time to visit our catalog for more information on similar topics.
So why do some churches forbid musical instruments? It’s actually because of two passages: 1 Corinthians 14:7-9 and 1 Timothy 2:11–12. In these verses, Paul says that women should be silent in church and that men should not wear long hair, gold or pearls. He also says that women should wear veils when they pray or prophesy—and that they should be covered when they prophesy so that no one can see their heads. So many Christians have interpreted these verses as meaning that women shouldn’t sing or play musical instruments because it would be too distracting for men to look at them while they’re doing so.
Music In The New Testament KJV
Introduction
When it comes to the Bible, a lot of people tend to focus on words rather than music. But music was an important part of both Jewish and Christian life at that time in history. In fact, there’s a lot going on musically in the Bible. The Old Testament and the Gospels refer to several musical instruments. Other references come from Greek and Roman traditions of music and theater, as well as liturgical music. The New Testament often uses military images to describe the life of faith.
For example, Psalms 33:3 says “sing new songs” (NIV), while Ephesians 5:19 says “speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” Harps are used to praise God in the Old Testament (Psalms 33:2). Many other instruments existed besides the few mentioned in the Bible, including flutes, pipes, trumpets, drums, cymbals and more! According to Revelation 14:2–3 (NIV), when people gather around God’s throne in heaven, they will play harps made of gold!
The Old Testament and the Gospels refer to several musical instruments.
In the Old Testament, the book of Psalms mentions several musical instruments. Psalm 33:2 mentions “the harp and lyre,” while Zephaniah 3:17 refers to “whooping and hollering” with “flutes, pipes, trumpets and cymbals.”
In the New Testament, Jesus is recorded as having played a few instruments during his time on Earth. In Matthew 11:17–19, he is said to have played an instrument called a kinnor (which could have been any variety of stringed instrument), and in Matthew 26:55–56, he was found playing another stringed instrument called a sambuca or sambuke (also known as a sambukos). These passages are significant because they show that Jesus was not only interested in teaching people but also involved in bringing them together through music
The Greek and Roman traditions of music and theater, as well as liturgical music, added new instruments.
The Greek and Roman traditions of music and theater, as well as liturgical music, added new instruments.
The organ was an instrument common in the ancient world. About 180 BC, Greeks may have created the first organ in Alexandria. It was called a hydraulis because it used water to create sound. The hydraulis was played with a keyboard instead of hand pneumatics. This made playing easier but also meant that only one person could play at a time.[1]
As Christianity spread throughout Europe, many churches were built where hymns were sung during worship services. Chanting became a popular way for monks to sing these hymns during their workday activities.[2] Later on other instruments were introduced into church music, including flutes and tambourines (hand drums).[3]
The New Testament often uses military images to describe the life of faith.
The New Testament often uses military images to describe the life of faith. The apostle Paul compares the Christian life to a battle (2 Timothy 2:3–4) and says that we are engaged in a spiritual conflict against “wicked spirits” (Ephesians 6:12). He also uses military terms when describing our inward struggle against sin (Romans 7:23) and our outward struggle against Satan himself (1 Peter 5:8; 1 John 2:13–14).
Paul was not alone in using this type of imagery; other authors also used warfare metaphors to describe their relationship with God and their struggle for salvation. According to James (1:27), the world is like a raging flood that can sweep us away if we are not careful, so we must prevent ourselves from becoming “polluted by it.” Peter warns his readers that they should be prepared for persecution so they can stand strong during times of trial, which he calls “a time of testing” or simply “testing” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
Harps are used to praise God in the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament, harps are mentioned as symbols of the joy of worship and praise. Psalm 33:3-4 says, “Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. For the word of the Lord is right; all His work is done in truth. The foundations of the earth were laid by God’s hands; so that it should not be moved forever.”
There are several things we can learn from this passage about harps:
- They are used to sing praises to God
- They are played skillfully
- They produce loud sounds
- The sound they make is pleasing to God
Many other instruments existed besides the few mentioned in the Bible.
In addition to these, other instruments existed besides the few mentioned in the Bible. Some are mentioned in scripture, such as trumpets (1 Corinthians 14:8), cymbals (1 Corinthians 13:1), flutes (Psalm 5:3), and harps (Luke 15:25). Other instruments not specifically named in the Bible have been identified by scholars based on context and what is known about ancient musical practices. These include lyres, drums and tambourines.
Some instruments mentioned in the Bible are not musical instruments at all but have a symbolic meaning related to music or singing. One example is bells or jingles attached to animals’ harnesses (Revelation 18:12).
According to Revelation, the Lord’s people play harps made of gold.
The harp is a symbol of praise. In Revelation 5:8, the Lord’s people play harps made of gold. Gold is a symbol of God’s glory and majesty.
Thus, music in heaven involves the worship of God through song. The book of Revelation has been called “the last book” because it describes what happens at the end time—at least for those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and trusted in Him for eternal life (Revelation 1:7).
Music was an important part of both Jewish and Christian life at that time in history.
Music was an important part of both Jewish and Christian life at that time in history. The Hebrew scriptures are full of references to music, including the Psalms and the book of Chronicles. The New Testament also contains many instances in which Jesus praised music. In fact, some of his most famous parables (like the Prodigal Son) include musical elements. Even if you are not a musician yourself, there is no denying that music has had a significant impact on Western culture as we know it today!
Considering that so much of our modern-day entertainment is rooted in this tradition, it’s worth considering whether or not we should be concerned about the effects it has had on our lives as Christians throughout history—and whether these concerns still hold true today.
Worship God With Musical Instruments Bible Verse
Psalm 150:1-6 ESV / 249 helpful votes
Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! …
Psalm 150:3-5 ESV / 153 helpful votes
Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Ephesians 5:19 ESV / 152 helpful votes
Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
James 5:13 ESV / 106 helpful votes
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.
Psalm 33:3 ESV / 90 helpful votes
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
Colossians 3:16 ESV / 87 helpful votes
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Psalm 98:4-6 ESV / 84 helpful votes
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!
Genesis 4:21 ESV / 67 helpful votes
His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.
1 Corinthians 14:15 ESV / 65 helpful votes
What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.
1 Chronicles 23:5 ESV / 65 helpful votes
4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments that I have made for praise.”
Ephesians 5:15-25 ESV / 60 helpful votes
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, …
Acts 16:25 ESV / 60 helpful votes
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
Revelation 14:2-3 ESV / 57 helpful votes
And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
Romans 15:9 ESV / 54 helpful votes
And in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
Psalm 150:3-4 ESV / 54 helpful votes
Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
Revelation 5:8-14 ESV / 51 helpful votes
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” …
Hebrews 2:12 ESV / 49 helpful votes
Saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
Amos 6:5 ESV / 48 helpful votes
Who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
Luke 15:21-25 ESV / 43 helpful votes
And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
Psalm 81:1-2 ESV / 43 helpful votes
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
Matthew 26:30 ESV / 41 helpful votes
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
2 Chronicles 29:25 ESV / 41 helpful votes
And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the commandment of David and of Gad the king’s seer and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets.
Psalm 47:1 ESV / 39 helpful votes
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
1 Corinthians 14:7 ESV / 37 helpful votes
If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played?
2 Samuel 6:5 ESV / 37 helpful votes
And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.
Revelation 18:22 ESV / 35 helpful votes
And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more,
Joel 2:1 ESV / 31 helpful votes
Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
Nehemiah 12:27 ESV / 29 helpful votes
And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.
Amos 6:1-14 ESV / 28 helpful votes
“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes! Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory, O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence? “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music, …
Psalm 18:49 ESV / 27 helpful votes
For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name.
1 Chronicles 15:16 ESV / 26 helpful votes
David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.
1 Chronicles 16:5-6 ESV / 25 helpful votes
Asaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.
Matthew 9:23 ESV / 24 helpful votes
And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,
Romans 15:4 ESV / 23 helpful votes
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Luke 15:25 ESV / 23 helpful votes
“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
Psalm 149:3 ESV / 23 helpful votes
Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
Psalm 18:1 ESV / 23 helpful votes
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love you, O Lord, my strength.
Revelation 15:2-4 ESV / 22 helpful votes
And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
John 4:24 ESV / 22 helpful votes
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Mark 14:26 ESV / 22 helpful votes
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Romans 12:1 ESV / 21 helpful votes
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Matthew 7:24 ESV / 21 helpful votes
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Psalm 68:25 ESV / 21 helpful votes
The singers in front, the musicians last, between them virgins playing tambourines:
Psalm 33:2 ESV / 21 helpful votes
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Psalm 150:4 ESV / 20 helpful votes
Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
Job 21:12 ESV / 20 helpful votes
They sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
2 Chronicles 7:6 ESV / 20 helpful votes
The priests stood at their posts; the Levites also, with the instruments for music to the Lord that King David had made for giving thanks to the Lord—for his steadfast love endures forever—whenever David offered praises by their ministry; opposite them the priests sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood.
Judges 11:34 ESV / 20 helpful votes
Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
Hebrews 13:15 ESV / 19 helpful votes
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Psalm 144:9 ESV / 19 helpful votes
I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
Revelation 5:8 ESV / 18 helpful votes
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Colossians 3:17 ESV / 18 helpful votes
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV / 18 helpful votes
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
1 Samuel 18:6 ESV / 18 helpful votes
As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.
Revelation 14:2 ESV / 17 helpful votes
And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps,
John 4:23-24 ESV / 17 helpful votes
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Ephesians 5:18-19 ESV / 15 helpful votes
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
Psalm 150:3 ESV / 15 helpful votes
Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
Psalm 105:2 ESV / 15 helpful votes
Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
1 Chronicles 13:8 ESV / 15 helpful votes
And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.
1 Samuel 16:23 ESV / 15 helpful votes
And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.
Revelation 5:8-9 ESV / 14 helpful votes
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
Psalm 150:5 ESV / 14 helpful votes
Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Psalm 71:22 ESV / 14 helpful votes
I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
Psalm 43:4 ESV / 14 helpful votes
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
1 Chronicles 16:42 ESV / 14 helpful votes
Heman and Jeduthun had trumpets and cymbals for the music and instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were appointed to the gate.
Exodus 15:20-21 ESV / 14 helpful votes
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
Genesis 31:27 ESV / 14 helpful votes
Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre?
Revelation 15:2-3 ESV / 13 helpful votes
And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!
Psalm 101:1 ESV / 13 helpful votes
A Psalm of David. I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music.
Psalm 98:5 ESV / 13 helpful votes
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!
Psalm 95:1 ESV / 13 helpful votes
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Psalm 92:3 ESV / 13 helpful votes
To the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
Psalm 68:4 ESV / 13 helpful votes
Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him!
Psalm 49:4 ESV / 13 helpful votes
I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.
Job 30:31 ESV / 13 helpful votes
My lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe to the voice of those who weep.
Isaiah 38:20 ESV / 12 helpful votes
The Lord will save me, and we will play my music on stringed instruments all the days of our lives, at the house of the Lord.
Psalm 98:6 ESV / 12 helpful votes
With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!
Psalm 87:7 ESV / 12 helpful votes
Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”
Exodus 15:1 ESV / 12 helpful votes
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
Acts 2:38 ESV / 11 helpful votes
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 5:12 ESV / 11 helpful votes
They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands.
Psalm 135:3 ESV / 11 helpful votes
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant!
Psalm 66:4 ESV / 11 helpful votes
All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah
Psalm 33:1-22 ESV / 11 helpful votes
Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. …
Revelation 22:18-19 ESV / 10 helpful votes
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
Psalm 98:4 ESV / 10 helpful votes
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Psalm 81:2 ESV / 10 helpful votes
Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
Psalm 71:23 ESV / 10 helpful votes
My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.
Psalm 40:3 ESV / 10 helpful votes
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
2 Chronicles 29:30 ESV / 10 helpful votes
And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.
2 John 1:9 ESV / 9 helpful votes
Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
1 Peter 2:9 ESV / 9 helpful votes
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Romans 7:1-7 ESV / 9 helpful votes
Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. …
John 17:17 ESV / 9 helpful votes
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
John 6:63 ESV / 9 helpful votes
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Psalm 68:32 ESV / 9 helpful votes
O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah
2 Chronicles 15:14 ESV / 9 helpful votes
They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns.
1 Kings 4:32 ESV / 9 helpful votes
He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.
1 Peter 4:11 ESV / 8 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful
Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Conclusion
This kind of artistic style and insight into the musical practices of the early church is unique to Revelation. Since it is also one of the most important books in the Bible, we can take this as a sign that music was an essential part of worship for Christians at that time. In fact, there are many references throughout Scripture that indicate that singing praises to God has always been an important way for believers to worship Him!