Amos 6:1-8 indicts God’s people for their great wickedness at that time in history:

1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

² Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

³ Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

⁴ That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

⁵ That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

⁶ That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

⁷ Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

⁸ The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

C. F. Keil comments on verse 5,

They lie stretched, as it were poured out . . . upon beds inlaid with ivory, to feast and fill their belly with the flesh of the best lambs and fattened calves, to the playing of harps and singing, in which they take such pleasure, that they invent new kinds of playing and singing. . . . Consequently the meaning of ver. 5 is the following: As David invented stringed instruments in honour of his God in heaven, so do these princes invent playing and singing for their god, the belly. (The Minor Prophets in KD, 10:299-300)

D. R. Sunukjian remarks on 6:4-8,

6:4-6. Rather than heed the prophet’s warning of judgment, the leaders of Samaria instead gave themselves to a decadent hedonism. They reclined on expensive beds whose wood was inlaid with ivory (cf. 3:15). At their opulent feasts, they “lounged” on their couches. The Hebrew word for lounge . . . conveys a sprawled stupor of satiation and drunkenness, with arms and legs hanging over the side. They ate gourmet food—choice lambs and fatted calves—the tastiest and tenderest meat they could get. In their drunken revelry they imagined themselves strumming like David as they attempted to improvise music at their parties. Yet they were vastly different from David! Not content to drink wine from goblets, they consumed it by the bowlful. Only the finest lotions would do for their skin.

Their sole concern was for their own luxurious lifestyle. They did not grieve over the coming ruin of Joseph, the Northern Kingdom (cf. 5:6, 15). They had no concern for their nation’s impending doom.

6:7. Therefore they, the first men of the first nation (v. 1), would be among the first to go to exile. Their festivities and drunken stupors would end. The sound of revelry would fade into bitter silence as they headed into captivity. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, 1443; bold in original)

J. Randolph Jaeggli helpfully explains the great sinfulness of these people:

                They Abandon Themselves to Sensual Enjoyment (vv. 4-7).

                The Israelites who heard Amos’s words of warning were convinced that they were safe from God’s judgment, so they were indulging themselves in every kind of sensual enjoyment available. They were indolent leaders, lounging around while others apparently worked to support their grand lifestyle. They ate only the choicest meat from the best lambs and fattened calves. Verse five says that they “chant to the sound of the viol.” The verb “chant” is parat, to improvise (see Holladay, p. 297). The “viol” (nebel) was some sort of stringed instrument. Music that is undisciplined in its composition and performance appeals to the sensual person of any age. Modern jazz is a good example of improvised music that fits the mood and loose living of those who love this musical genre. The men of Amos’s time were prolific song writers like David, but they certainly lacked his devotion to the Lord. People compose music that is a reflection of their lifestyle. Lyrics either warm the believer’s heart with thoughts of God’s grace or inflame the passions of the unsaved with unseemly accounts of debauched emotions and actions. Feinberg noted that “music which is degrading is a sure sign of an incipient national decline” . . . Not content to consume wine in smaller vessels, Amos’s contemporaries were drinking from bowls (v. 6). The same word for bowl (mizraq) occurs in Exodus 27:3 to describe the basin used to catch the blood of the sacrificial animal at the altar in the tabernacle. If these drunkards were consuming their intoxicating beverages from an item used in the sacrificial system, they were guilty of sacrilege as well as intoxication. Being careful not to miss out on any enjoyment, these gourmet revelers were treating their skin to the finest ointments available. They did not miss anything that would make them feel good.

If there is anything characteristic of our modern age, it is the same quest for sensual pleasure. People today will try anything to fill the void created by the empty pursuit of material prosperity. Money, possessions, and “good times” do not satisfy modern man any more than the people who heard Amos preach. The world system persuades men that they can find happiness in fleshly gratification apart from God. The empty promise leads only to the enslavement of the human heart, as men become addicted to the fulfillment of their own passions. (Biblical Viewpoint: Focus on Amos, 25-26; bold italic heading is bold italic in the original; other text in bold is in italics in the original).

These commentators (as well as others) understand that God’s pronouncements of woe on His people at this time stemmed from their wickedness that included their playing stringed instruments in a way and for purposes that were not pleasing to Him. On this reading, Amos 6:5 speaks strongly to the music debates of our day by being Scriptural teaching that there are ways of playing a stringed instrument and of singing that are a matter of concern to God and that He condemns.

Stanza two of the song, “O Church, Arise,” begins by saying, “Our call to war, to love the captive soul, But to rage against the captor.” Are these words that churches should sing?

Peter warns about speaking evil against “dignities”: “Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord” (2 Pet. 2:10-11). Jude seconds Peter by declaring,

Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves (Jude 8-10).

This inspired teaching does not support the Church’s singing that its call is “to rage against the captor.”

Even if these words might have been intended to be a poetic way of saying that Christians should abhor all that is evil and do all that they can do righteously to oppose evil and the work of Satan in the world, these words are still problematic because many will likely understand them to be taken at face value in the sense of angry outbursts against Satan.

Churches, therefore, should not sing Stanza 2 of O Church, Arise as it is originally worded. Those who desire to sing the otherwise generally rich lyrics of this song should substitute some other scripturally appropriate phrase (e.g., “to stand against the captor”; cf. Eph. 6:11) in place of these seriously problematic words (“to rage against the captor”).

I am teaching a one-hour guitar class for people interested in ministering with the guitar to Spanish people. The class meets on Thursday nights from 7:30-8:30 pm in the sanctuary of Iglesia Bautista Fundamental Tabernaculo here in Greenville, SC (126 East Mountain Creek Road).

The class is for beginning to intermediate students. I would, however, be able to accommodate new students at all levels because I am teaching a new method especially geared for training people to minister with the guitar.

I have been teaching the class since last semester. There is no specified length of the course; the class is open-ended and designed to take students as far they are able and willing to go.

No specific equipment is required other than a guitar. The class costs $10 per class.

There are no baby-sitting options at this time; however, families could possibly come with a student and take care of the kids while the student takes the class.

I do not speak much Spanish at all, but there are current students who could potentially help students who do not speak English. It would be best if a prospective student speaks at least some English.

Space is limited; I could probably take at maximum 6-7 more students. Please contact me if you or someone you know might be interested in learning guitar for Spanish ministry!

This fret staff sheet provides music students with a resource that allows them to practice writing the treble clef notes for each note played on the guitar with an open string or on the first five frets of each string. To write the notes correctly, the student will have to supply one or more ledger lines for those notes that require them.

This is the first part of a series of articles that treat a much overlooked aspect about the believer and his music: Fallen Spirits and Their Influences on Human Music. I hope that it will shed needed light on important truths that should help us as believers address some of the issues that we are facing in the music debate of our day.

Introduction

Scripture reveals the existence of a vast number of fallen spirit beings (cf. Rev. 12:4). Based on various teachings of Scripture, the following points should be considered about fallen spirits and their influences on human music:

I. Fallen Spirits Are Able to Sing and Play Musical Instruments

The Scripture speaks of all heavenly beings singing at creation, when there would have been no unfallen heavenly spirit beings: “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:7). All beings who are now fallen spirits thus had musical abilities at the creation.

Moreover, Revelation speaks of angels in the future who are given trumpets and sound them: “And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded . . .” (8:6-7; cf. 8:8, 10, 12; 9:1, 13; 10:17; 11:15). These verses show unfallen angels sounding a musical instrument.

Furthermore, saints in heaven are seen both singing (Rev. 15:4) and playing instrumental music (15:3), yet they have not received their glorified bodies.

Given both that all unfallen spirit beings sang at creation (Job 38:7) and also that such beings continue to sing (cf. Rev. 5:9) and play instruments (cf. 5:8, “having every one of them harps”) in worshiping God and given that the spirits of saints in heaven likewise engage in musical worship of God that includes both singing (14:1-3; 15:4) and playing musical instruments (14:2; 15:3), we must conclude that Satan and his demons are also musical beings that continue to have the ability to sing and play musical instruments.

I learned a new poetical concept today: slant rhyme. This term refers to the use of words that do not rhyme exactly, but have enough in common to work in hymn texts.

Here are some of the more interesting words used as slant rhymes that I have found in my recent study of a number of hymnals:

God – flood, blood, stood, abroad, abode

Lord – Word

love – prove, rove, remove

Savior – favor

faith – death

grace – praise; praise – always

Christ – price

perfume – tomb

sacrifice – replies; sacrifice – life

come – womb

obey – away

do – go

come – home

Him – sin; sin – clean

more – storm

oppressed – rest

dire – cry

eyes – price

lost – most

eve – live

name – diadem

proclaim – Lamb

cross – distress

men – train

grave – have

confessed – blest

noon – dome

men – again

alone – home

too – refuse

state – grace

sound – town

name – stream

form – torn

Learning of and understanding this practice is going to make my project of setting many of the Psalms to music much easier!