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Which Musical Instruments is it OK to Use in Worship?

This is a controversial topic for some! There are those who think that only pianos and organs are appropriate for worship. Others are OK with drums, electric guitars and so on. What does the Bible have to say?

Instruments used in the Bible

Some instruments were used for false worship:
'Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.' Daniel 3:7

'They have harps and lyres at their banquets, 
         pipes and timbrels and wine, 
 but they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD, 
         no respect for the work of his hands.' Isa 5:12

Some for true worship:
      Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, 
            praise him with the harp and lyre, 
      praise him with timbrel and dancing, 
            praise him with the strings and pipe, 
      praise him with the clash of cymbals, 
            praise him with resounding cymbals. Psa 150:3-5 

David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals. 2Sa 6:5

What do you notice about these lists of instruments? They are virtually identical:


So you can see that there weren't special instruments used for worship. Therefore it's good to use whatever is already used in our culture or subculture. For instance if you're area is full of ex-hippies, you might want to have acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass, keys and drums. If your area is full of house music or hiphop fans, you might want to have drum machines and keys. And so on.

Ethno-Arts

In some parts of the world 19th century missionaries, who weren't afraid to be directive, told people not to use instruments that were perceived as being used to contact the spirits. The trouble with this is the people themselves probably didn't have a problem with using them to worship God. Also there is a huge advantage in people using their own instruments to worship God, and write their own songs, and it becomes culturally theirs, and not a colonial import. It's true that some instruments may need to be prayed over and 'redeemed' or 'cleansed' for use in worship before we bring them into our gatherings.

Conclusion

As we have seen, any musical instrument can be used for worship. In fact it is much better to use instruments already used in the wider culture, whatever they may be. This will depend on the cultural background of the audience in question (not just church-goers, who may be from a different generation and/or sub-culture).

Bible quotes from: The New International Version. (2011). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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