All Kinds of Music
- Strength For Life
- May 27
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 9
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
God did not make every occasion identical. Part of maturity, in fact, is learning how to appropriately behave in the many different settings of life. Funeral manners, Sunday morning worship manners, family game night manners, husband-wife date night manners, and business meeting manners are all very different. God designed the world with that variety.
What does this have to do with music? We know by life experience that there are nearly as many different kinds of music as there are Ecclesiastes 3 occasions. The soundtrack of a movie or show will tell you as much. Certain styles of music are meant to accompany different situations. Hearing a sad song during a sad movie scene can draw out emotions that the acting alone could not.
Not only do we know by experience that music accompanies different occasions, we know by Scripture as well. By far the most common occasion for music that we find in the Bible is praising the Lord. There are other kinds of music as well, however. Here are some examples:
Daniel 6:18—Darius was troubled about the fate of Daniel, so he fasted, “neither were instruments of music brought before him; and his sleep went from him.” Entertainment.
1 Samuel 18:6—Israel’s soldiers returned from battle and “all the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing, and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music.” Celebration.
2 Samuel 6:5—To accompany the transport of the Ark of the Covenant, “David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.” A holy parade.
2 Chronicles 35:25—"And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.” Eulogy or memorial ballad.
Luke 15:25—"Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.” Family party.
2 Samuel 19:35—An eighty-year-old man to King David: “I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? Enjoyment.
Daniel 3:4-5—"Then an herald cried aloud, ‘To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up’.” Worship or processional.
1 Samuel 16:23—And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.” Therapeutic music.
2 Kings 3:14-15—Elisha the prophet made the following request before he prophesied to the king. “’But now bring me a minstrel’. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.” I don’t know what music for prophesy would sound like, but here it is recorded.
Numbers 21:17—"And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, ‘Gather the people together, and I will give them water’. Then Israel sang this song, ‘Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it’.” Storytelling.
Psalm 126:1-2—"When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.” Exultation.
From Scripture we have seen two things. 1) There are times for various activities. 2) Music is meant to accompany those various activities. If those two statements are true, we can conclude a third statement: 3) Different music is appropriate at different times. We know by experience this is true as well. There is music appropriate for funerals, Sunday morning worship, family game nights, husband-wife dates, and business meetings. While there may be overlap between certain styles, and the boundary lines aren’t hard and fast, it is obvious when music is inappropriate for the occasion. For example, family game night songs do not fit the gravity of a funeral. For another Scriptural example, consider the content of Psalms 79-82 and remember that the psalms were originally set to music. Each of those psalms would be played or sung in a different style, if not with different instruments.
So far, this is simply information. To apply the information, remember that we believers should be growing both in our discernment of music and in our appreciation of it. To that end, biblically thinking believers should operate by the following principle: since the Lord is most interested in music of praise, thanksgiving, confession, we must grow first and most in that kind of music. If you do not how to rejoice before the Lord in song, or if you don’t like to sing God-honoring music, your heart is not right, and you will inevitably misuse music in other areas. To this end, we should learn and sing more songs of praise, thanksgiving and confession to the Lord. Look for opportunities to praise the Lord in song.
After we do this, we should learn to choose music that befits the different occasions of life. We humans tend to eat the same foods over and over, and we tend to listen to the same songs over and over. It is not wrong to have a favorite restaurant, and it is not wrong to have favorite songs, especially ones that remind you of important biblical truth. However, it is also important to recognize and appreciate the various exciting, sober, slow, busy experiences of life that the Lord sets before us. Breaking outside your normal five songs can help you do that.
Finally, remember that there is music that is inappropriate for any occasion. There is also music that can be used in the wrong situation. Don’t listen to contemplative piano solos while you work out, and don’t listen to a war movie soundtrack on the way to Lord’s Day services. You get the point.
The above article was written by Jonathan Kyser. He is a pastoral assistant at NorthStone Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL. To offer him your feedback, comment below or email us at strengthforlife461@gmail.com.
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