Music and Praise

The place music occupies in Christian worship varies from congregation to congregation. Martin Luther considered music to be “second only to the Word of God” and both he, and later John and Charles Wesley, used music extensively in conjunction with their reforming work within the Church.

In the 19th century the Salvation Army, founded by William Booth, used music in spreading the Gospel, and  Americans Dwight Moody and Ira David Sankey, the former preaching and the latter singing, evangelised Chicago and visited Great Britain in 1873 and 1883. One of their slogans was, “Mr. Moody will preach the gospel and Mr. Sankey will sing the gospel”.

 

During Billy Graham’s ‘crusades’ music was used in conjunction with the preaching of the Gospel and the number of hymns that now exist is surely beyond an accurate count.

 

But what is the scriptural position? What part should music play in our worship? These are the questions the author tackles and seeks to answer.