Music that Comforts the Soul

My morning devotion was to good to not share with you today, so here it is:

1 Samuel 16:23 says, “So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.”

Chris Robins comments:

There is a notion in our culture that music can tame the savage in us – that there is something soothing that calms even the wild beast.  I don’t really know if it is true, but I don’t think that is what the passage is saying.  Think about it.  What would David be singing?  He was a songwriter, and a rather prolific one.  We have his songbook – the Book of Psalms.  So what rescued Saul from the torture and manic fury of a demon riding his conscience night and day?  It was those Psalms, the songs and lyrics of a man in love with his God, full of praise, repentance, and love.  It is the Word that calmed Saul’s heart – the Word of God.  I would make much of this for your own heart and life.  Christian music has its place in the life of the Christian, especially when it is the Scripture itself in music.  Use it, and use it wisely.  Find what you like in devotional music and listen to it.  Even better, sing to yourself.  Don’t be distracted by the folks who tell you not to listen to music of the world.  That is not forbidden.  But be wise, because evil spirits are real.  Be in the Word, memorize the Word, soak in the Word.  Take in the Word of God like it was cereal in the morning, a sandwich at lunch, and pasta at dinner.  The Word set to music can do all of this.  And when evil comes it will not stay very long.  Within earshot of David’s songs not a demon can linger to bother the children of God.

The Glory of 1 Samuel 3:21

“And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the Word of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 3:21)

Do you see it? The Lord appears and the Lord reveals Himself to us through His Word. This is strange because we see things that appear and we see things that are revealed with our eyes, not our ears. Yet we hear the Word of the Lord with our ears, not our eyes. What does this mean? We see with our ears! We see the Lord, from hearing His Word! O’ the burden that a pastor must have for His people in preaching the Word of God! Do you want to them to see? Do you want yourself to see? Hear His Word, and you all will see. Why? Because the Lord reveals Himself by His Word.