When we think of the music that is being used in churches today, does it reflect the attributes of God? Is it beautiful? balanced with melody and harmony? rhythmical? Or does it sound more like what the world calls music and only graced with "god words" scattered throughout to redeem it for purposes of worship? I hear about entertainers like Shai Linne who are promoted by preachers like Mark Dever. What he does is not honoring to God. He is merely a rapper who has gained a following by twisting the confessions to fit his purpose, musically and ends up with some pretty distorted teachings. And I hear parents saying that they use this stuff in their homeschooling since it would have musical appeal to their children. Why is it that professing Christians do this? Why not pursue musical excellence that does not extol the shallow and perverse culture that we live in? In Acts 19:18,19 "Many also of them that had believed came, confessing, and declaring their deeds. 19 And not a few of them that practised magical arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver." We see that the Ephesians burned the wicked and idolatrous books that were much a part of the past lives they repented of. It seems that the church encourages people to continue in the wicked ways of their past instead of repenting from them.

Again from the preface to the Psalter, Calvin says some wonderful things about the purpose of music and how it ought to be used.

Now among the other things which are proper for recreating man and giving him pleasure, music is either the first, or one of the principal; and it is necessary for us to think that it is a gift of God deputed for that use. Moreover, because of this, we ought to be the more careful not to abuse it, for fear of soiling and contaminating it, converting it our condemnation, where it was dedicated to our profit and use. If there were no other consideration than this alone, it ought indeed to move us to moderate the use of music, to make it serve all honest things; and that it should no give occasion for our giving free rein to dissolution, or making ourselves effeminate in disordered delights, and that it should not become the instrument of lasciviousness nor of any shamelessness.


The Chestnut Mare