The Solace of Music

Musings on music and faith:

Most folks greatly appreciate music. It is a real blessing to so many, and it is certainly a gift of God. I very much love music as well, and appreciate so many different genres, from blues to classical, rockabilly to early jazz, contemporary Christian to western swing, psychedelic rock to New Orleans jazz. I am so keen about music, and find so much rest and relaxation with it, that I once told friends on the social media that I might start a second website, devoted solely to music.

Some folks said it was a great idea, and I should go for it. Well, I am tempted, but I will likely just stick with the occasional article on music on this website. And this piece looks at music with some thoughts on the spiritual side of things.

For millions of people over the centuries, music has been a tonic, a way of relief or escape, to deal with all the hurts and difficulties of life. Here I want to look at three men who all found solace and help in the form of music. Two of them are contemporary musicians, while the third was an ancient Israelite King. Let me speak to each of them briefly.

As to the recent musicians, both of them were featured in documentaries that I happened to see on television last night. It was interesting to see at least some similarities between the two of them. For example, both found real comfort and consolation in music to deal with so much pain and hardship. Both became very heavily involved in drugs and alcohol.

One was Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses fame. He had an abusive stepfather. Indeed, he only found out who his real father was when he was 17. His family life was tough, and he was often violent and reckless himself, even onstage. But he did find real consolation in music.

The other one was Johnny Cash who passed away in 2003. He had an impoverished upbringing, picking cotton while young, and an abusive father. When he was fairly young his older brother Jack was killed in an accident. One night his drunk dad said to him: ‘It should have been you who was killed, not him’. His brother was going to be a minister, and when he died Johnny told his mother that he would one day sing gospel songs. And that he did, releasing an album of them in 1959.

Cash also found real comfort in his music. And he had a rocky path as a Christian. His first wife Vivian feared his many days on the road with so many young adoring female fans would be a great temptation. So he wrote “I Walk the Line” to say that as a married man, he would stay faithful. It became his first big hit. Ironically, when he sang it at the Grand Ole Opry, he afterward met June Carter backstage for the first time, someone he would eventually leave his wife for.

Lots of drugs and alcohol certainly made havoc of his life, but in his later years he really sought to put that behind him and serve the Lord much more faithfully. Again, music was the way that he did this, and he sometimes performed at Billy Graham evangelistic crusades. He also went to the Holy Land to produce a film about the life of Jesus called Gospel Road: A Story of Jesus which was released in 1973.

As to his song about faithfulness, I often thought one could apply his lyrics to the Christian and his walk with Christ. Here is the first part of the song:

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you’re mine, I walk the line, mmm

The song can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-6fW66IUY4

A biblical example

My third case in point goes way back. Those familiar with the Old Testament narratives know about the rocky relationship between Saul and David. In 1 Samuel 16 we read about how David was anointed king, and then we read about him being in Saul’s service. As we find in 1 Samuel 16:14-23:

Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.” Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 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.

What might immediately grab the attention of most readers today is the mention of “a harmful spirit from the Lord”. Yes, that can be rather puzzling, and I have already penned a whole article on this, seeking to bring some clarity to the matter: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/03/24/difficult-bible-passages-1-samuel-1614/  

Here are just a few paragraphs from that piece:

One can also talk about the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility here. As always, we have some mystery, and some unanswered questions. But somehow God is directly behind all this, while Saul is also fully responsible as well.

 

As Robert Bergen comments, “Saul’s tortured state was not an accident of nature, nor was it essentially a medical condition. It was a supernatural assault by a being sent at the Lord’s command, and it was brought on by Saul’s disobedience.”

 

Or as David Firth states, “It should be borne in mind that the OT is seldom concerned with secondary causation, and since Yahweh is Lord of all, the spirit is seen as coming from him. But the narrative still holds Saul responsible for his actions while afflicted (18:10-11; 19:10), so though this statement is absolute, the wider narrative indicates that a more nuanced understanding is necessary.”

 

Overall, the biblical message is that God is indeed sovereign, but he is not directly the author of evil. This passage is one of many texts that must be examined in this light. And it serves as a strong warning to us all as well. God may well use a person for his purposes, but it is also possible for that person to reject God, forcing God to reject him.

But it is the musical consolation of David that I want to focus on here. As to his musical ability, David Toshio Tsumura says this in his commentary:

In a pagan religion, the lyre would have been used for “exorcism,” but here there is no sign that it was part of any rite. David’s ability to play the lyre well comes from the spirit of the Lord: a “gift” of the spirit. David is attested as a musician in the title “the minstrel of the songs of Israel” in 2 Sam. 23:1. He is referred to as the author of several songs as 2 Sam. 1:7-27; 22:1-51; 1 Chr. 16:7-92, and, according to their titles, of a number of psalms. He was credited with setting up the temple musicians in 1 Chr. 6:31, and the eighth-century B.C. prophet Amos says David was an improviser on musical instruments (i.e., he made up new melodies; see Amos 6:5). See also on 1 Sam. 16:16.

And Dale Ralph Davis offers some thoughts for believers today:

The center of this section is verse 19, Saul’s order or request to Jesse for the services of David. . . . But the primary importance of this centerpoint consists in its irony–the rejected king unknowingly seeks to obtain relief from the newly anointed king! The use of the verb ra’ah (to see, provide) in verses 17 and 18 merely intensifies the irony. For example, just as Yahweh says he has “provided for [him]self” a king among Jesse’s sons (v. 1), so Saul requests his servants to “provide for [him]” an expert on the lyre (v. 17).  Moreover, verses 21 and 22 confirm the wisdom of the one servant’s nomination (v. 18) and of Saul’s royal order (v. 19), for Saul is greatly taken with David, perhaps not least because David’s music brings relief from his terror and derangement. No wonder the writer has placed 16:1-13 and 16:14-23 back to back. He is saying to us: “Look at that!  Doesn’t that beat all? David is not only Yahweh’s choice but Saul’s choice! Doubly chosen. What confirmation, heh? And it’s the chosen king who keeps the rejected king from falling apart.” The chosen king is not a threat but a means of grace to Saul. But the sadness remains: Saul has therapy but not the Spirit of God.

 

We might ponder David’s ministry of consolation to Saul. We know it will not be long before Saul hates David and seeks his life. Yet the picture of 16:14–23 proves instructive for Christ’s disciples. Should our call not follow a similar pattern? As Saul will hate David, and as he is rejected by God yet sustained by David’s service, so the world hates Christ’s people (John 15:18–21) yet, in its doomed state, is only benefited by them. They are the ones who are the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13), that is, who keep society and culture from rotting into complete decay, who keep the world from being worse than it is. They are a divinely-granted restraint upon the earth’s putrefaction; they keep the world from drowning in its own vomit, which, strangely enough, it craves.

 

Not that Christians have all the answers; but woe betide the world if God’s people, for all their faults, are not in it. Spurgeon knew this. One day an agnostic confronted him, challenging his Christian beliefs. Spurgeon pointed out how unbelievers’ organizations failed to provide any definite and ongoing program of help to the thousands of needy around them. By contrast he pointed to the various works that flowed from evangelical faith. Then he closed the conversation by paraphrasing Elijah’s defiant challenge before the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:24), “The God who answereth by Orphanages, LET HIM BE GOD!” End of discussion.

By means of music young David comforted a tormented King. And modern-day troubled souls can also be greatly consoled by music. We know that music can be abused and misused, but it also can be a wonderful blessing from God, and it can be used to do great things. Let us enjoy music and use it for the glory of God.

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