David and Instrumental Music

This is copied from the July 1971 edition of the "Mooresville Memo" a publication of the Mooresville Pike Church of Christ in Columbia, TN. It was written by H. E. Phillips.

A few days ago my brother Charles E. Phillips gave me a tract written by P. W. Hayes of Lake Wales, Florida entitled "Where Was David?" This small tract was written to prove the use of instrumental music in worship to God. My brother had a long talk with this Christian Church preacher about this subject but did not convince him of his error. I wish to examine some of his points in this tract for the sake of any who may not understand the nature of the arguments made by these people.

Hayes states that Jesus mentioned in Luke 24:44 three common divisions of the Old Testament: Law, Prophets and Psalms. He then says, "It is generally accepted that when Moses and Elijah appeared on the mountain, one represented the law and the other the prophets. Why did not someone represent the Psalms?"

Any argument that is based upon "it is generally accepted" is not worth the time it takes to make it. "It is generally accepted" that the word baptism includes sprinkling and pouring water upon a person as well as burying one in water, but does this prove it to be true? The very thing that P. W. Hayes must do is prove that the appearance of Moses and Elias with Christ at the transfiguration represented the law and the prophets. If he cannot prove this by the word of God, his argument based upon it is worthless.

But even if he did this, the voice from the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him" (Matthew 17:5). This says nothing about hearing David. How does one get David into this passage?

Hayes says further, "When a party makes a will and then alter makes a new will there is nothing to hinder them from incorporating some of the provisions of the old into the new. When this is done they become as binding as any of the new provisions."

That is exactly right. However, it is also true that when one makes a new will and omits some provisions in an old one, the former provisions are no part of the new one. Hayes must prove first that the Psalms have been incorporated into the New Testament and then he must explain how he takes the instruments of Psalms and eliminates the burning of incense and animal sacrifices. These are a part of Psalms also. "May He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice" (Psalm 20:3). "Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then they shall offer bulls on Your alter." (Psalm 51:19. "I will go in to Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows, which my lips have uttered and my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble. I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals, with the sweet aroma of rams; I will offer bulls with goats" (Psalm 66:13-15).

Either the Psalms are a part of the New Testament or they are not. In the word of Hayes in this very paragraph from which I have just quoted, "To discount them because they happened to be a part of the Old would be foolish. It would be an attempt to question the power and authority of the one who made the will." Every argument Hayes will make from Psalms to prove instrumental music in worship today I will make for the burning of incense and the offering of animal sacrifice.

The writer then quotes Colossians 3:16 to the effect that the apostle Paul said to teach and admonish one another, "in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." He argues that some, "wish to cloud the issue" by claiming the word psalms means, "a spiritual song." No, this is not the case so far as I am concerned. But Paul did say in this passage what to do with the psalms; "singing with the grace in your hearts to the Lord." He did not say play.

But if the word psalms demanded playing, which it does not, the instruments are specified and must be used. In Psalm 149:3 the dance, timbrel and harp are specified as instruments. In Psalm 150:3-5 the trumpet, psalter, harp, timbrel, dance, stringed instruments, organs, loud cymbals and high sounding cymbals are specified. Do these people use all these instruments specified? It is as wrong to substitute or omit the instruments specified as it is to substitute or omit what is specified upon the Lord's table. If not, why not?