Notes on Philippians 3:12-14

Philippians 3:12

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."

"Not that I have already attained" - In the verses immediately preceding, Paul tells of all of the "qualifications" that, according to the law, would make him acceptable to God, and those were the "qualifications" that many so-called brothers were teaching in the church.  Paul then goes on to say that he counted all those "qualifications" loss in order that he might gain Christ.  Paul's desire was to know Christ fully.  Reading that, it might seem to some that Paul had given up all for Christ, and that he was some sort of super Christian that had fully obtained Christ.  In this verse Paul makes it very clear that he has not fully attained Christ.  The word here for attained (?aµß???) has the connotation of grasping, getting hold of, or even taking hold of.  It gives the idea that Paul had made effort to fully grasp Christ, but he had not achieved that goal.

note: this word (?aµß???) is not the same word which he uses in verse 11 in reference to "attain' to resurrection of the dead.  The word there is (?ata?t??) which has the meaning of "arriving at", not that of grasping for something.  In 11 Paul is indicating that the end result will be resurrection from the dead, not that that is what he is trying to attain.

"or am already perfected" -  Paul had received salvation and the righteousness which was not from the law, but through Christ, yet he doubly emphasized that he had not yet been made "perfect", or as it might be translated, completed.  This is a state that is often bemoaned by Christians, and Paul himself grappled with the issue in Romans chapter 7:21-24:

"I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

Thankfully, as Paul says in verse 25, we do have that deliverance through Jesus Christ our Lord.  However, that struggle still exists.  We have been saved from sin, but as of yet, we have not been completed/perfected.

"but I press on" - Despite the fact that Paul had not yet been made totally complete in Christ, he pressed on.  It would be easy to give up, and say, "I will not be completed until I die, so why try?"  But Paul pressed on, not out of vanity, but, as he explained next, it is because it is why Christ has laid hold of him.  The word here for "I press on" is a term used for a sprinter (d????).  Depending on context, it can also mean pursuing, pressing toward, or even to persecute.  It has the idea of an energetic pursuing of something.  So Paul wasn't just doing it half-heartedly, he was pursuing it with all he had.

"that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me" - this is Paul's goal.  The word here for "lay hold of" is a more intense form of the same word that he used last time (?ata?aµß???).  But what was it that Paul wanted to seize?  I think a clue is in v. 14 where he said, "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  I will talk about this more shortly, but it is clear that Paul's ultimate goal is to receive the prize, which is to be brought into the presence of God.  However, that is only the end result, but what is the goal on his journey to get there?  For that answer, I think we need to back to verse 10.  "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."  Paul had laid down all of his human "qualifications" so that he could fully know Christ.  That was his goal.  His goal was not just to make it to heaven, which makes him stand in stark contrast to many popular evangelists who preach as if the gospel were a get out of hell free card.  No! Paul wanted to fully know the power of Christ resurrection.  He wanted to become a participant in Christ's sufferings.  And he to become the of the character, that he could be considered like Christ, even in Christ's ultimate display of His character, His death on the cross.  He chose to pick up his cross and follow Christ.  That is what Paul wanted to be like, but it was not as if it entirely relied upon him because Christ had already laid hold of him for that very purpose.  Whereas Paul's grasping was not complete, Christ's was.  Paul had not fully attained Christ, but Christ had already fully attained him.  We see this clearly in Christ coming to Paul on the road to Damascus.  Paul was trying to destroy the church, but Christ had chosen him.  Christ's holding onto him had nothing to do with Paul's success after he was saved, but it had to do with what Christ did.  This echoes what Paul says elsewhere:

"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."  (Rom. 8:29, 30)

Paul was so sure that God would complete the process which he started, that he spoke about it in the past tense. And again Paul says, "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."  (Philippians 1:6)

And yet again Paul says, "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."  (Romans 5:10)

We are saved by Christ's life, not through any effort of our own.  That is the comfort that we have in Christ because Christ has laid hold of us, but Christ did not lay hold of us just to save us.  Christ has also laid hold of us so that we might be conformed to His image, and, as in Philippians 1:6, that is the work that He is faithful to complete.  However, that does not mean that we sit idly by and let God work because how can we not change if God is working?  God has called us to pursue Him and to "seize for" being like Him.  As it say in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  So then, we strive to be like Christ, to seize onto Him, knowing all the while that it is He who has "seized" us.

Philippians 3:13
"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,"

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended" - Paul emphasizes that he had not fully laid hold of Christ.  This word is the same word used in verse 12 to say, "lay hold of" (?ata?aµß???).  Paul had tried and failed to fully be like Christ.  He had not fully managed to lay hold of that for which Christ had laid hold of him.

"but one thing I do" - Again right after Paul had stated that he had failed to be like Christ, he stated that he had not given up.  Here Paul gives the key to the ability to keep on pressing on, and this is an important key for our sanctification.

"forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead" - This was Paul's mindset.  He determined that he must take everything that was behind him and forget it, and focus solely on the goal ahead.  The fact that he so many "qualifications" didn't matter.  The fact that he failed over and over again to be like Christ didn't matter.  That fact that he had done so many good things for Christ by suffering persecution and having Christ be the sole purpose for living didn't matter.  What mattered was what was in front of him, that is, the running and grasping to be like Christ.

Philippians 3:14

"I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

"I press toward the goal" - The word for "press toward" is the same word that Paul uses in verse 12 to say, "press on" (d????).  Paul used all of his might and energy to run towards the goal.

"for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" - That is the Christians ultimate prize, the prize of being in the presence of God and eternal life with Him.  The word here for call is (???^s??), which gives the idea of an invitation.  This idea is reminiscent of the Parable of the three servants and the talents.  To the faithful servants the master said, "‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’"  (Matthew 25:21, 23)  And Paul also said in 2 Timothy 4:7, 8:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."

And again he said:

"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. or this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." (1 Cor. 15:50-53)

In that upward calling of God, we will put away with this corrupted flesh, which still holds onto sin, and we will be changed.  We will no longer have to deal with sin because no sin will be allowed to enter that New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:27).  We will live in perfection with the One who is perfect, and we shall be like Him, for we shall know Him as He is.  "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:2, 3)"

That is the prize that Paul looked forward to, that is what Paul grasped for, and that is why Paul laid aside everything that the world considered gain.  He laid it aside to gain Christ.  He purified himself because he had the hope of seeing Christ face to face.

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes (1 Cor. 11:26).”  This amazing verse has been on my mind a lot the last couple of weeks mostly because of the fact that I am graduating.  My future is now very unclear, and even day to day seems cloudy, so it makes it difficult for me to trust God.  But this verse serves as an amazing reminder to me because it speaks to three different aspects of my life – past, present, and future.  It speaks to my past because it reminds me of my Lord’s death.  Jesus willing left His Father’s side and chose to die on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin.  It speaks to my present because it reminds me that I am to proclaim Christ in my life.  In all of the uncertainties that God brings in life, this purpose remains: I am to proclaim Christ.  It speaks to my future because it tells me that Jesus did not stay in the grave, no, He was resurrected from the grave so that we have assurance of resurrection, and that we will be with Him.

So then, as I apply these truths to my life, I must remember that my sin is forgiven, and I should be as Paul “forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14).”  I should also keep in mind the words of Jesus when I worry about my current situation, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Each day has enough of its own trouble (Matt. 6:33-34).”  Lastly, I must remember that Christ is coming again to make all things new.  I must remember that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18).”

Lest anyone think that these are truths just for me, they are not.  They are for anyone who has faith that Christ can do these things for him or her.  We have comfort in Christ’s promises towards us.  And whatever comes into our lives, whether it is something as drastic as graduating, or as simple as everyday life, we must remember Christ and His sacrifice.  He proved Himself trustworthy then, and He will now, and He will in the future, so we have good reason to believe the amazing promise that God gave us in Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Adam

Thursday morning

March 29^th.  Thursday morning.  10:58.  A dear sister went home to be with her Lord, having succumbed to cancer that consumed her lungs.  She touched many people by her living testimony, whether it was by her friendliness to people, her openness about her faith, or her willingness to open up her home and make them feel at home, and it was those qualities that touched me many years ago and still remain with me.  A few years ago, her son and one of his friends graduated, and they wanted to start a college age Bible study.  Maria opened up her home to the college group that summer and fall, and in that Bible study, for the first time in my life, I found people that I could truly begin to identify with and begin to develop friendships with.  I don’t remember what the topic of conversation was, but I recall several nights that summer when Maria sat up a talked with me and my sister until sometime around 2:00 in the morning, and she still had to go to work the next morning.  That may not seem much to many people, but to me, someone who had been ignored and alone, having never really had a friend before, the simple willingness to me meant a lot, and it was one step in helping me overcome my fear of people, to open up, and to break down my thought that no one really wanted to be my friend.  Even though that Bible has not meet at her home for several years, that group still means a lot to me.  It has encouraged me to grow in Christ, and thanks in part to it, I have learned to open up and reach out to people.  Even to the point that for the past year and a half, I have taught periodically, and through that experience I have been given the opportunity to teach at my church.

            Her character was a the more greatly shone when a growth in her left shoulder caused by genetic condition, which actually caused abnormal growths in several places that are inert and harmless other than discomfort, somehow developed into a cancer.  Doctors don’t know how this occurs because the cancer is not cause by the genetic condition, and there is no known treatment for this highly aggressive cancer.  By the time the cancer was identified, in had consumed tissue, cartilage and even some of the bone, so they had to amputate her left arm.  Through all of it she trusted God, and she tried to reach out to all the people around her because of the trial that God was bringing her through.  The surgery was in Texas, and when she came back to Wichita, one would think that people would have to encourage her, on the contrary, she was full of praise and laughter, continuing to encourage others by saying and showing that the Lord is faithful and sufficient.

            Then about six months ago, an x-ray of Maria’s lungs showed several small spots.  The cancer had metastasized in her lungs.  There was nothing that could be done.  The cancer was untreatable, and it couldn’t be removed.  It was just a matter of time, yet she told others not to worry about her, she knew where she was going.  Her concern was for her family, her husband, her 21 year old son, 16 year old daughter, and 8 year old son.  And even as her last hour drew closer, people’s testimony was that they were more encouraged by talking to her than they think they encouraged her.  Several weeks ago my sister and I had the opportunity to talk with her for a while.  We talked a little bit about her condition, but much of the time we talked about what the Lord had taught her, and she spent time encouraging us to follow the Lord saying that time is short, and we don’t know how much longer we have, and that serving the Lord is the only thing that is worthwhile.  She encouraged us to follow the Lord, and both my sister and I left feeling better than we had before.

            Maria touched many people, and especially during those last months, she was a sermon preached much louder than words.  I don’t know why God choose to bring her through that trial, but this I do know, that God used her.  She touched my life, and I will never forget everything that she did for me.  Now because of God’s work in my life, and Maria being one of those tools that God used, I pray that I may life my life to reach others, and encourage other, and to serve the Lord with all my heart, mind and strength.

A beautiful rose
Nurtured and cared for by a loving hand;
Its petals beautiful,
And fragrance delightful,
And yet, time shall claim its beauty fair,
Its petals on the ground,
Yet its fragrance remains.

For death cannot or'take
The fragrance of the flow'r.
Its beauty shall remain
As pleasing in God's sight.

A beautiful life
Nurtured and cared for by the Master's hand;
Its joys overflowing,
And radiance mighty,
And yet, time shall claim its beauty fair,
Its shell turned into dust,
Yet its fragrance remains.

For death cannot or'take
The fragrance of that life.
It's beauty shall remain
As pleasing in God's sight.

~ Adam Luce inspired by the words of Maria Miller

A question

The Philosophy of Music

Music in the Church:
Philosophies of Its Usage In Antiquity
 and How It Should Be Applied in the Present 

By
Adam Luce
12-13-06

“The pious people kept watch in the church ready to die with their bishop.  Then it was that the custom arose of singing hymns and psalms, after the use of the Eastern parts, lest the people should wax faint through the tediousness of sorrow; and from that day to this the custom has been retained, in many, nay, almost all of the Christian congregations throughout the rest of the world following therein. (as quoted by V. Lenti)”

So the custom which was started as a result of persecution, continued on even to this generation.  This is not the only time this phenomenon is seen in history.  It is also occurred in the times of the reformation with Luther, other hymn writers such as Bunyan, or even in the development of the Negro Spiritual.
            A contemporary of Ambrose, namely Augustine (354-430 A.D.), was the second greatest influence on the early church.  Although Augustine did not introduce any new styles or write any hymns, he still struggled with how music should be used in the church.  The crisis was not just on a corporate level, it was on a person level.  He was torn between the love of the music itself and the love for the message it conveyed.  Augustine himself testifies in his book Confessions that before his conversion, he was enraptured by the sound of music until God set him free from his addiction to it, but even after he was converted he said, “I admit that I still find some enjoyment in the music of hymns, which are alive with your praises, when I hear them sung by a well trained, melodious voices.”  So even though he was no longer bound to music, he still had within him a struggle between the music and the message conveyed by the music.  He testified, “But if I am not to turn a deaf ear to music, which is the setting for the words which give it life, I must allow it a position of some honor in my heart, and I find it difficult to assign it to its proper place.”  Augustine recognized the power of music to emphasize the text, to help convey the texts meaning and to aid in its memorization. So on the only hand, he had the benefits of music and his flesh, which could never get enough of it, and on the other hand, he had the conviction that the text and its message are primary.  So he struggled with trying to find the balance.  He commented that it would be easy and much safer for him to follow the precepts of other who completely banned music in the church, even to the point of making the reading of the scriptures in a monotone voice.  To that idea he responded:

“But when I remember the tears that I shed on hearing the songs of the Church in the early days, soon after I had recovered my faith, and when I realized that nowadays it is not the singing that moves me but the meaning of the words when they are sung in a clear voice to the most appropriate tune, I again acknowledge the great value of this practice.”

So that was the line that Augustine tried to walk.  He didn’t want to put overdue emphases on the music, but he also didn’t want to completely banish it either.  So he concluded that he should allow the singing of music, but that when the music becomes more moving than the message conveyed, that is a grievous sin.
            However, Augustine’s convictions were not shared by all the clergymen of his time and those that followed.  As time went on, the music in the church began to change.  More and more complex music was developed and used in the church.  There was the introduction of the mass, which began simple, but as time went on, it became increasingly complex.  Moving into the Renaissance, there began the development of the motet.  The motet form grew increasingly complex.  It would often have 4, 5 or even more parts.  In that type of setting, text is very muddled and hard to distinguish.  That placed the text in the background, and put the music to the forefront.  Even if the text were understandable, it would have made little difference to the congregation because they would not have understand the text because the Roman Catholic mass was performed in Latin and not the vernacular (the language of the people).  Thus by around 1500, the music of the Roman Catholic Church held to none of the principles that were held by Augustine.  Although the disregard for the text and message of the music was not a primary cause of the reformation, music was ripe for reform.  During the time of the reformation there were several different camps of thought not only when it came to theology, but when it came to music as well.
            One school of thought was Luther (1483-1546 A.D.).  There is evidence to suggest that there existed hymns in the German vernacular before Luther, but as a whole the congregations in Germany were not allowed to sing in the church service.  William J. Reynolds and Milburn Price state it their book A Survey of Christian Hymnody that, “The same conviction that prompted Luther’s translation of the Bible into the language of the people also produced the desire for congregational involvement in the liturgy through singing. (p. 18)”  Luther also allowed for the text of German chorals (hymns) to be taken from sources other than the Bible (p. 19).  Luther, unlike Calvin, also kept the basic form of the liturgy.  He just modified it for his own uses.  One of the most famous writers of music for the Lutheran liturgy was J. S. Bach. 
            Another school of thought was John Calvin (1509-1564 A.D.).  In contrast to Luther, Calvin believed in Scripture alone as a source for the texts to be used in Church music.  Furthermore, he believed that instruments were not to be used in the worship.  Those who opposed the idea of having no instruments in the church pointed to the fact that the Old Testament directed or sometimes even commanded the Israelites to use instruments in their worship services.  Calvin argued against that because he claimed that the command to use instruments was part of the Old Covenant law and only applied to the temple worship.  In his commentary of Psalm 92, he commented on the command in verse 4 to have the Levites use their instruments in the service.  He said this, “Not as if this [using the instruments] were in itself necessary, only it was useful as an elementary aid to the people of God in these ancient times.”  He said that the purpose of the instrument was not for God’s sake, but for the sake of Israelites.  The instruments purpose was to “stimulate the worshippers, and stir them up more actively to the celebration of the praise of God with the heart.”  Calvin viewed that not as a necessity to worship God, but that it was “only necessary to help forward a people, as yet weak and rude in knowledge, in the spiritual worship of God.”  However, Calvin believed that the church under the New Testament has reached full maturity, and thus, is no longer in need of any aid in worship.  Furthermore, to use instruments in the church would only serve to cause the church to regress to a state of being under the law.
            Another reason for Calvin’s rejecting instruments in the church is that in his thoughts, instruments are equivalent to speaking in tongues.  Now before this is to be seen as too strange.  The first thing that must be understood is that Calvin viewed the communication of doctrine as essential.  Every part of the service must be understandable and capable of instruction.  Calvin said this in his preface to the Genevan Psalter, “Because to say that we are able to have devotion, either at prayers or ceremonies, without understanding anything of them, is a great mockery.”  For Calvin, since instruments cannot communicate any sort of doctrine, it is no better than speaking in tongues without an interpreter.  As Calvin concluded in his commentary of Psalm 71, “They [instruments] are banished out of the churches by the plain command of the Holy Spirit, when Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14:13^{[[1], [2]]}, lays it down as an invariable rule, that we must praise God, and pray to him only in a known tongue.”  And so Calvin’s conclusion was that instruments should not be used in the church because they do not meet the standard necessary for proper worship.
            Now this should not be seen as Calvin’s attempt to entirely reject using music in the church.  On the contrary, Calvin considered music very important.   For Calvin also said in his preface to the Genevan Psalter, “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.”  Calvin believed that music was very important and that it was even a gift from God; however, that does not give us free license to do with music whatever we want with it, on the contrary, as Calvin said, “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.”  So Calvin did not reject instruments in the church because he was some sort of maniac, rather it was because he thought that he had a rational Biblical reason, and even more than that, he did not want to risk abusing the gift that God had given[3].
            Calvin was not alone in his belief of using no instruments in the church.  Spurgeon (1834-1892 A.D.) followed in that tradition.  Like Calvin, he considered music very important, and also like Calvin, he did not consider the lack of instruments equal to having poor music in the church. He believed that the church should not be lacking in singing with great fervor.  He said in his commentary on Psalms chapter 4, “Our holy mirth is none the less overflowing because we prefer to express it in a more spiritual manner, as becometh a more spiritual dispensation. (from The Treasury of David)”  He also instructed believers saying, “Let us lay ourselves open to the Spirit's touch, so shall we make melody. May we be full of faith and love, and we shall be living instruments of music.”
            So Spurgeon believed that the New Testament believer was to sing with all his heart.  So even without instrumental music, it was still to be musical.  In his commentary of Psalm 81, Spurgeon gave several principles for singing in the church.  He gave this command for congregational singing:

“Sing, in tune and measure, so that the public praise may be in harmony; sing with joyful notes, and sounds melodious. Aloud. For the heartiest praise is due to our good Lord. His acts of love to us speak more loudly than any of our words of gratitude can do. No dulness should ever stupefy our psalmody, or half heartedness cause is to limp along. Sing aloud, ye debtors to sovereign grace, your hearts are profoundly grateful: let your voices express your thankfulness. Unto God our strength.”

So it is seen that Spurgeon had a delight in the full, proper and enthusiastic singing.  It was not supposed to be dull, as if the lack of instruments should mean that the music is boring, rather it should be sung with the whole heart as unto the Lord.
            However, not all followers of the tradition of no instruments in the church were quite as balanced as Calvin and Spurgeon.  Even though both of them rejected the use of instruments in the church worship, and they would even argue that such a use is unscriptural, they never went so far as to say that it is outright idolatry to use instruments in church worship.  As such was the case with Robert L. Dabney (1820-1898 A.D.).  Dabney claimed that because instrumental worship is not commanded by God, any use of instrumental music in the church is idolatry because it is of human invention.  Part of Dabney’s fear was that once the idolatry of instruments in worship was let in, any number of idolatries would be allowed in. (REVIEW by Robert L. Dabney of Dr. John L. Girardeau's Instrumental Music in Public Worship).
            However, that idea should not be seen as totally without reason because he was reacting against the ideas of the Roman Catholic Church (or what Dabney termed Popish music).  Dabney explained some of this in his article he wrote to the editor of the Watchman And Observer, Richmond VA, February 22, 1849.  His main problem with the Roman Catholic mass was that it was addressed to the senses.  All of the music in the mass was performed in an unknown tongue (notice the echoes of Calvin).  He explained their form of worship us thus:

“He [the Pope] asserts that even though there were not an articulate word pronounced in any language, the solemn drama would convey its instructions to the heart, through the genuflections, the pantomime, the adoration of the priests, and the varying harmonies of the music. Their theory of church music is just the same. The hymns are in an unknown language: if the worshipper heard every syllable articulated, he would not understand the ideas that are sung, nor does it matter that he should. The sentiment of devotion is conveyed sufficiently, by the character of the music.”

So then, the worship of the Catholic Church focused entirely on the fleshly communication of the service because the text had absolutely no influence of the congregation.  The Roman Catholic Church brought people in by appealing to their senses, and by giving them a religious experience.
            Dabney strongly opposed those ideas of worship in the church.  His response was, “The theory of Protestant religious music is, or ought to be, essentially different. We appeal to the understanding and to those intelligent emotions, which are produced by the understanding on the heart.”  His belief was that there is no religion contained in the music itself.  Music itself only assists in the conveying and impressing of the truths contained in the text.  He believed that music should appeal to the emotions through the understanding of the mind.  Thus he stated his purpose for music, “We sing articulate, intelligent words, in a familiar language, conveying to every hearer, instructive ideas and elevating sentiments. The articulation of words sung, is the very essence and soul of our musical worship.”
            Thus far, the reasons given have been mostly with theological arguments; however, Dabney gave some aesthetic and practical reasons for not using them as well.  One thing that must be understood before continuing is that in the 1800s the controversial instrument that churches were arguing about was the organ, so in both of his articles Dabney is speaking directly against the organ, but he also made it clear that most of his arguments apply against all instruments[4].  “And first; none who are familiar with the use of the organ, can be so hardy as to deny, that it is unfavorable to distinct articulation, which is the very essential of religious music.”  Since Dabney believed that the communication of the text is of primary importance, any instrument that breaks down the clearness and distinctness of the text should not be used.  Furthermore, he also argued that since the organ is the most overpowering instrument, it drowns out the congregation and further degrades the integrity of the text (Watchman And Observer, Richmond VA, February 22, 1849, Volume IV, No. 28).
            “Second: The organ is incapable of accentuation. The alternate notes played upon it cannot receive any variety of ictus or force, as should be the case in all music.”  Dabney further argued that English poetry requires an alternating accent on the syllables, and the organ does not have that ability.  Furthermore, he argued that the organ does not contain the ability to be truly musical because it does not have the ability to shape phrases.  “Hence the music of an organ, although it may have a certain kind of solemnity, can never be spirited. It is only rescued from the character of drawling, by the power and fullness of its tones. To use it as an accompaniment to vocal music, is death to the spirit and expression of the poetry which is sung. (Watchman And Observer, Richmond VA, February 22, 1849, Volume IV, No. 28)”
            Money was also a big reason why he said churches should not use organs.  “The money cost of these instruments, with the damaging debts incurred for them, is a sufficient objection. The money they cost, if expended in mission work, would do infinitely more good to souls and honor to God. (REVIEW by Robert L. Dabney of Dr. John L. Girardeau's Instrumental Music in Public Worship.)”
            All those reasons were important to Dabney, but the one thing that disturbed him the most was the reason why churches were wanting organs.  He explains the pressure against churches in that time period, “It is always urged: "we must have an organ to keep pace with other churches in attracting a congregation, and in retaining the young and thoughtless."”  Dabney firmly believed that the people were to be attracted to the church by the Gospel and the Word, not music.  He lamented, “Has it come then to this, that the chaste spouse of Christ is reduced to borrow the meretricious adornment of the "scarlet whore," in order to catch the unholy admiration of the ungodly? (Watchman And Observer, Richmond VA, February 22, 1849, Volume IV, No. 28)”
            One last thing that set the Calvinistic view apart from that of the Lutheran view was that Calvin believed that the only source for the texts of hymns in the Church is Scripture, and the Scriptures that were predominantly used were the Psalms.  Calvin believed that the purpose of hymns in the church is to “incite us to pray to and praise God, and to meditate upon his works in order to love, fear, honor and glorify him.”  The question must be asked about how one is to find text that can do that.  Calvin’s belief was that, “when we have looked thoroughly, and searched here and there, we shall not find better songs nor more fitting for the purpose, than the Psalms of David, which the Holy Spirit spoke and made through him.”  So then, the decision to use only Scripture is a very safe because who can go wrong with singing scripture.
            So then it is seen that Dabney was not just totally off his rocker with the rejection of instruments being used in the church, and the same goes for both Calvin and Spurgeon.  They had reasons for believing what they did, and there arguments should be considered.
            That leads to the all-important question, “How should music be used in the church, and how does what we learned apply to us today?”  I think one thing that we need to realize is that the struggle of what to do with music is not a new struggle.  It has been wrestled with for 2,000 years, and if the Lord wills, it will be struggled with for another 2,000 years or longer.  We are not alone in our struggle, and I think it would be helpful for the church today to look back at history and try to gain a clearer perspective on the struggles that we are having now.
            For instance, we learn from Ambrose that some musical styles often become popular because they speak to or assist in times of trouble.  We see this in the development of the Negro spiritual, or as in the depression, the Southern Gospel song brought the hope in using the Gospel and putting hope in the lyrics, and they could easily be sung at home.  It makes me wonder if there wasn’t also a reason for the advent of the praise and worship song?  Maybe it was because the previous generation lost its first love of singing the hymns to the Lord, and the hymns became nothing more than tradition and not from the heart?
            We learn from Augustine that even though music has the great power to move us, it also has the power to distract us from what is really important.  How often do we consider in the music that we prefer, whether we like it because of the message or just because the music moves us?  Do we fight that personal struggle to put music in its proper place?
            Luther encouraged the writing of the liturgy not just to make pretty music, even though he loved pretty music, he did it to teach the word and to involve people in the proclaiming of God’s truth.  Do we use music to encourage others?  Do we use it to teach?  And when we write songs, do we do it just to make people feel good?  Liturgies were not put together haphazardly; they had a reason behind their structure and form.  Do we have a rhyme and reason behind what we do, even if it is not a liturgy?
            Calvin put a great deal of emphases on the text and message of music in the church.  He believed that every part of the worship meant something.  Whether we agree or disagree with his conclusions about instruments in the church, I don’t think anybody can truly argue that his emphasis on text was unbiblical.  Do we have that same zeal for the teaching of the Word?  And even if we don’t agree that we should base our hymns directly out of the Scriptures, do we have that same zeal for accurately portraying the truths of God in the texts of our songs?
            Although Dabney might have been a little extreme, does he not have several good points about the sometimes impracticality of instruments?  Can we become so caught up in the instrumentation that we forget about the singing?  Or can we get so caught up in the instrument that we put a great deal of money and effort into them that could best be used elsewhere?
            Lastly, I think we learn that many of the arguments that we use in our churches today are not unlike those used in the past.  Does not the argument used against organs sound vaguely familiar to those used against the use of praise bands?  We see by looking at history that many of our arguments have been used against other things of which now we don’t even give second thought to.
            So I find myself now caught up in two worlds.  One world being that of musical training, and the other being the generation around me that says it doesn’t matter as long as you feel something.  The former have a style all its own, and the latter having its own as well.  The former being traditional with its popularity fading, but the latter is new and considered exciting by this generation.  But above both of those worlds, the Word of God is calling me to proclaim the truths of God and to praise my Creator and Savior.  All music could pass away, but that calling will never pass away.  So I find myself in a battle about which world to live in.  Even though I don’t agree with all of his conclusions, I whole-heartedly concur with Calvin on the proclaiming of the Word, yet I still find in myself the desire, like Luther, for the beauty and expression of music.  I also want to reach people, so what world do I live in?  Do I embrace the popular so that I will be listened to by all, or do I go with what is aesthetically pleasing and musically refined?  So, like Augustine, I find the struggle within me about what to do with music.  I don’t want to go to one extreme or the other.  It would be easy if Scripture were clear on the issue, so I am left without resolution on the issue.  All I know for sure is that I want to please my Lord by the music I create.  So maybe it is much as Mark Bartel, the choir conductor of the Singing Quakers at Friends University, said, “It’s not so important what people decide about what music they do as long as they have put thought into it and know why they do the music they do.”  So here and now, I will make no firm decision on what style I will follow, but I do know why I do the music that I do.  I want to please my Lord and Master in everything that I do, including my music, and I pray that in all my music, whether I perform it or write it, that it will be glorifying to Him, for I know that if desires to do so, it will be blessed, and it will be fruitful.

Sources
Saint Augustine, Confessions, book X

Robert L. Dabney, letter to the editor of Watchman And Observer, Richmond VA
February 22, 1849, Volume IV, No. 28.  Retrieved from http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/dabney/organs.htm 

Robert L. Dabney, a review of Dr. John L. Girardeau's Instrumental Music in Public Worship. Instrumental Music in the Public Worship of the Church. By John L. Girardeau, D. D., LL.D., Professor in Columbia Theological Seminary, South Carolina. Richmond: Whittet & Shepperson. 1888. The Presbyterian Quarterly, July 1889.  Retrieved from http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/dabney/organs.htm 

Charles Spurgeon, The treasury of David, originally in written form retrieved from http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/treasury.htm

John Calvin, Commentary on the Psalms, originally in written form retrieved from http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom10.html

John Calvin, preface to the Genevan Psalter, originally in written from retrieved from http://www.fpcr.org/blue_banner_articles/calvinps.htm

Vincent A. Lenti, Saint Ambrose, the Father of Western Hymnody, The Hymn vol. 48, No. 4 October 1997

William J Reynolds and Milburn Price, “A Survey of Christian Hymnody” 4^th ed. Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream.  1999.