Episode 28 - The Transcendent Rhythm: Unveiling Music's Mystical Power

Have you ever allowed the sublime symphony of a song to sway your soul?
 Welcome to a journey that uncovers the mystic influence and power of music, a universal language that resonates with beings across all planes of existence. 

Drawing wisdom from Spurgeon, we unravel the divine potency of music that brings together humans, angels, and creatures from diverse tongues and cultures. 

As we harmonize with the melodies of the universe, we contemplate the echoes of earth’s music that reverberate through the celestial realms and the role of music in Christian culture as envisioned by Luther and Calvin. 

Stepping into the rhythm, we embrace the fine line between the spoken and the sung. 
The Scriptures blur the boundary between these arts of expression, revealing the power of song as a carrier of truth and wisdom. 

Join us as we paddle through the sea of sonorous communication in musicals, films, and nature, and discover the potential of song in the new creation. 

We delve into the profound dimensions of Bach's St Matthew's Passion. 

We share Jonathan Edwards' utopian vision of a harmonious society built upon the foundation of words and music. Fasten your seatbelts as we embark on this melodious voyage, to uncover the power of music in touching our lives and beyond.

The theme music is "Wager with Angels" by Nathan Moore

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:31

Well, welcome to the next episode of the Christ-centered Cosmic Civilization Podcast. And we're continuing to think about music and especially the way that the living God sings, enjoys music, and in the highest heaven it is filled with music and song. And we're still in that, have in our minds the point that Spurgeon makes, where he has the idea that the songs that we learn on earth as redeemed people and the music we learn on earth as redeemed people, that is the music and song that is taken into heaven, certainly or possibly in the intermediate state, awaiting the greater musical possibilities of the new creation. But this idea of the music of heaven is important, that heaven is filled with music, and it's music that unites not only the diversity of human beings from every language and nation, tribe and people, but also the bewildering range of angelic creatures, from the mighty four living creatures that surround the throne right down to the smallest of all, the angels. There's this amazing vision in Revelation especially, where all of the inhabitants of heaven angels, archangels, all the company of heaven are joined together in this music and singing together. And it's that way that we on earth, we in church, can gather together and bring something of that about. But it's difficult to have all the animals on earth joining in, although if we take the Psalms seriously and I think we should it's as if the whole, all the trees and the animals and the weather and everything is going on with this heavenly joining in, with the heavenly worship. But we don't always do but that sense that music has this capacity to reach across all the different kinds of creatures and pull us together in a united activity that we can blend together the music and song of many different kinds of creatures. It once the cosmic Christ is the center and the theme or the inspiration. Because again, I don't want us to restrict our music and song to only religious music and song, that meaning by that music and song that is intentionally the subject of which is, say, christ or theological topics. I think it's the case that what we want to say is that when Christ is the center of our hearts and minds, all the kind of music and song that we produce is coordinated by that, regardless of the intermediate topics that are addressed.

Speaker 1: 4:03

Now we thought a little bit about how John Calvin had this strange desire to relativize biblical instructions because of his own nervousness of music and instruments in Christian culture in the 16th century. But Luther wasn't like that, martin Luther, he is so positive about music and particularly and on this Calvin may have shared a love of the human voice. But Luther particularly speaks about this love of how human voices can join together to sing different parts, all harmonizing into a polyphonic wonder of song. This is a quotation from him. He says how strange and wonderful it is that one voice sings a simple, unpretentious tune while three, four or five other voices are also sung. These voices play and sway in joyful exuberance around the tune. He must be a coarse clod and not worthy of hearing such charming music. Who does not delight in this and is not moved by such a marvel? Well, that's great that Luther loves the sort of polyphonic sophistication of many voices singing at once and exuberantly moving around the theme tune, which can be a simple thing. But Calvin probably well, and certainly the reform tradition tended to be nervous of that and felt that there should be almost a studied simplicity in Christian singing and there is something to be said for that the accessibility of congregational singing so that everyone can join in rather than only trained professionals. But nevertheless, luther is asking us to enjoy the hearing of the charming music, and whoever doesn't delight in. This is a coarse clod he often puts in, those little put downs there.

Speaker 1: 6:33

But this then music. And does it have this reach to go from the earth to the heavens? Can music really have that scope to, if not touch on the heavenly realms, to effect and influence not just our physical level of being but a soul and spirit? That music stretches across both the seen and the unseen dimensions of reality. In 1 Samuel 16, 14 to 23, we have that mysterious account of an evil spirit sent to trouble King Saul. And yet, when the spirit filled David played the harp or the lyre, the evil spirit would leave Saul alone. For a time and again, we've already thought on this. Is this because the sound of the stringed instrument on earth was such a powerful echo of the heavenly music? Or was it perhaps to do with the musical themes that David explored? Or is it something about music itself that alienates and troubles the evil spirits? Whatever the case, it makes us aware that music does seem to have a reach and influence that goes beyond what we may assume, particularly what we may assume in the reductionist, modernist, flat view of reality that we have been so uncomfortable with. It's also worth looking at 1 Samuel, 18, 10 and 1 Samuel 19,. For further examples of this, the power of music. In a similar way, in two Kings, chapter three, verses 14 to 15, and this one I really chewed on over the years so often and embraced this, you know, as someone from a Methodist background who can't really have a daily devotional time without referring to the Methodist hymn book and enjoying that.

Speaker 1: 9:00

Two Kings three, 14 to 15, the prophet Elisha intended to answer the inquiry of Jehoshaphat. When he was doing that, he called for a harpist. Again, it's fascinating that it's the stringed instruments that are deployed at these times and when we think about stringed instruments, obviously a harp, a guitar, violin, even the piano. Inside the piano there are strings that are hit with hammers. Is a piano classified as a percussive instrument or a stringed instrument? But that sense of strings being under tension, different kinds of tension did different lengths of tension and so on to produce the sound.

Speaker 1: 9:50

Nevertheless, there's Elisha then two Kings, 3, 14 to 15. He's going to answer the inquiry of Jehoshaphat. He calls for the harpist and as the stringed instrument was played, so it says the hand of the Lord, which is the Spirit of God. So the Spirit of God came upon Elisha and he was able to prophesy. In other words, music is not only an expression of what we already feel, of the state we are in, but music can bring about a new state of heart and mind, to the extent that the sovereign Spirit of God will honor the effects of such music. So the music changes the state of Elisha such that the Spirit of God comes upon him to enable him to prophesy, to have wisdom, to exercise his gifts. And so what does that mean for the way we use music to change at the state of our heart and mind, and how this is not, whereas there have been those who say no, that that is a fleshly way of thinking, you know the idea that that could affect your closeness to God or his engagement with you, or so I've heard people say. That's fleshly, worldly to imagine that mere physical musical instruments and earthly music could actually affect one's experience of the Living God. But nevertheless, there it is two Kings, 3, 14 to 15.

Speaker 1: 11:48

The theme of the emotional or spiritual or mental impact of music is also taken up by the Apostle Paul when he contrasts the kind of high received from alcohol with the fullness of the Spirit that we may receive when we are singing together so that contrasts between fleshly substances alcohol, but possibly other substances we could think of, can give us a high, an emotional or even mental high. But when we sing together there's a certain fullness, a high of the Spirit that can be so. In Ephesians 5, 18 to 20, he says don't get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking or communicating to one another in song with Psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God, the Father, for everything, in the name of our Lord, jesus Christ.

Speaker 1: 13:16

Now, that idea speaking to one another with Psalms, hymns and songs, speaking with songs. Now, in the way we've been taught, perhaps to make a very sharp difference between speaking and singing, and so we assume that they're almost unrelated, certainly in normal life in, certainly the Western world, in modern, the modern age, again, that flattening out of things to a shallow, superficial level. So speaking and singing are not, are not, are contrasted and possibly almost unrelated. But it's fascinating to see that isn't how little children are. Little children mix up singing and speaking all at once, speaking to one another in little sing-song, rhymes and song, and it's quite a natural thing for them to do that, to interweave singing with speaking, particularly the younger they are, and then of course they quickly become schooled out of doing that or embarrassed from doing that. But it's as if they have to be repressed. That instinct within them to mix speaking and singing has to be repressed within them.

Speaker 1: 14:58

In our human traditions we might make this clear distinction between speaking and singing, as if they were utterly different activities. But Paul or scripture, let's say scripture itself, doesn't make that distinction. And we should, which church should be a place where we're recovering that basic instinct that we experience perhaps as children. But church, obviously, is a place of real freedom, where we're learning how to be truly human and expanding our capacities as human. And so is this a place where we can start to relearn this way to speak to one another with song. Could it be that in the perfected state of the new creation, singing and speaking will all be the same one and that we will be able to express ourselves always in that perfect harmony of words and music? That's an amazing thought.

Speaker 1: 16:18

So in musicals, plays and films, musicals, that is how people speak and communicate. In musicals, where they'll suddenly burst into song, and sometimes they're accompanied by everybody else, and when you're caught up watching such a play or such a film, particularly when you're somewhat used to that mode, it seems entirely natural to do that. And so it may well be. I mean animals, birds especially. That's just how they communicate all the time in song. It could be that the higher you go, from earth into the heavens because we've seen that the stars and the planets just continuously sing to one another, and in the highest heaven it seems there's just a tremendous amount of singing. And then the whales, of course, in the oceans, as a higher form of creature, also sing to one another, speak to one another with songs. So let's appreciate how seriously the Bible takes song or musical communication, and then let's see how deeply truth hits us when it's joined with the right music.

Speaker 1: 17:52

The sheer quantity of, I want to say, poetic literature in the Bible. But even the word poem is a non-musical term. So when we talk about poetic literature in the Bible, is there, that is, should we not say, songs? Songs in the Bible, especially in the prophets. But I think it's very often misunderstood by modern readers, and I think especially quite a lot of what we might call modern Bible scholars, who are people who have become used to thinking in prosaic and non-musical ways of analysis. Very few academic papers are sung or sent to music, and so I think that they've possibly quite often become conditioned and damaged by the fact that so little of the work and communication is sung or sent to music.

Speaker 1: 19:04

And so people ought to often assume that this poetic language, or let's call it the language of songs, that these prophetic songs or historic songs, songs in which history is told, people often assume that this language of songs indicates less precision, almost as if we are not to read too much into song-like language. Now, I say that because very, very often when we've been trying to engage in detailed analysis of a piece of scripture, it's very common for someone to say something like ah, but this is poetry and by which they meet, they, they, and sometimes, if you push them, they will overtly, explicitly say that that means that it is not to be taken to, it cannot bear the weight of careful analysis. That the words are not, are more vague, or will not bear the kind of weight of meaning that deep analysis is trying to place upon them. Yeah, but that is deeply mistaken.

Speaker 1: 20:44

The speech, poetic speech or song language can in fact speak with greater precision and offer more depth and weight than other forms of communication that I think about, how hymns that I love are some of the most precise and perfect expressions of doctrine that I know of, better, better than any mere paragraphs. Some of the songs of Christmas, incarnation and the cross and so on carry such theological precision and depth precisely because it is the language of song that is capable of handling greater traffic in terms of meaning. And again going back to Zephaniah 3.17, we see the Lord God Himself singing, singing for joy, when he has one salvation for His church. It says the Lord God is with you. The mighty warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you, in His love. He will no longer rebuke you but will rejoice over you with singing. I kind of feel that because that is, it's as if he well, this is at least as I imagine it that he reserves the very highest forms of His communication for His singing speech, when he is wanting to speak most clearly, most profoundly.

Speaker 1: 22:28

You see, we all know how even simple words can strike us with a heart-rending power when they are sung with powerful music. Words become heavier, weightier, more suggestive of meaning when accompanied with the right music, powerful music, singers. And this is what. And we actually end up having almost a strange view of singers, because we imagine them to mean and understand more than they do and that sometimes they, when a singer is interviewed about a song they've written and the person interviewing them or fans, will want to know what the depth of meaning is in certain phrases that they used in their songs. And then it turns out there isn't all that much that they intended, but it's because that the feeling is that more is meant by sung words. It's answering something with us. We expect song words to mean more, and singers are often perceived as having a great wisdom simply because their music-empowered words strike us so deeply. Singers might even be interviewed about complex political issues and theological questions simply because their music and songs and words, sung words have given the singer or the composer an aura of wisdom and insight. So, in this sense, the prophecies of Scripture should be read or sung even as if they too are spoken or sung with all the power and depth of great songs, not only telling us the truth but rending our hearts as well. And that way the singing of scripture, all kinds of scripture, is well worth doing.

Speaker 1: 25:05

Some people say that music is better than words, but others worry that music might undermine words. And we've come across that quite a bit, where people are worried that music distracts from the words. Calvin had a little bit of that about him, that he felt music would distract people from the study of the word, and that idea of either elevating music above words or placing music too far below words. In truth, I think the biblical vision in the cosmic civilization of the Lord Jesus Christ, in truth words and music belong together, working together to bring out the fullness of truth. And that's why, as we've just speculated, in our new creation, future and the never-ending story, or the never-ending song that we will sing together forever and ever, surely the very highest communication of all would be to speak to one another in song, as Paul dreamed in his letter to the Ephesians. When the true words are joined to the right music, we feel the force of truth as never before.

Speaker 1: 26:37

And there's a great quotation who's it from? It's from Joan Huyser-Hannig in Musical Theology, and she talks about how Bach was the music director at St Thomas's, a Lutheran church in Leipzig, germany, and he wrote his St Matthew's Passion for a Good Friday service. He wrote it in the key of E minor. Now this is her I'm quoting from the book here, joan's book. It's called Musical Theology Past Lessons, present Perspectives. She says this he wrote it in the key of E minor, which has one sharp. The German word for sharp is Krutz, which also means cross.

Speaker 1: 27:29

The Gospel of Matthew is packed with numerical symbolism and Bach embedded biblically significant numbers two, three, five, seven and twelve in his score. He also used music to emphasize key ideas in the text. His notes ascend for the word heaven. A melisma that's a multi-noted syllable highlights the words love, die, wept and forever. Those drawn out notes help worshipers experience how God's love forced Christ's death so that surrefully sinful people like Peter, who three times denied knowing Jesus, can live with God forever.

Speaker 1: 28:23

So I love that paragraph from Joan's book because it shows that Bach, who's this absolutely brilliant musician, felt and actually accomplished in his St Matthew's Passion the music, supporting, boosting, elevating the words, the theology, the meaning. And again it makes us yearn for a time when all our communications might be of that level. Just one final thought connected to that, before we end this episode, and it's this Jonathan Edwards, in what is called his Miscellany, 188, in those collected thoughts he has, and it's number 188, in that he also had this kind of dream of words and music coming together. He says this the best, most beautiful and most perfect way that we have of expressing a sweet concord of mind to each other is by music. When I would form in my mind an idea of a society in the highest degree happy, I think of them as expressing their love, their joy and the inward concord and harmony and spiritual beauty of their souls by sweetly singing to each other.