September 4, 2019

Just feeling a bit paranoid by Gary Rose



A couple of weeks ago, I had my monthly Chiropractic treatment in Wesley Chapel and then began the trip home. After a few minutes a police car began following me. And he kept following me. Whenever I turned, he turned – it made me nervous. I am a good driver (everybody thinks they are) but why was that cop following me? Did I do something wrong? Was there some sort of outstanding warrant that I wasn’t aware of? Why did he just keep following and following and following. Finally, though, he turned onto another street. Frankly, I felt just like the small dog in the picture – paranoid.

Fast forward to this morning, its 1:30 in the A.M. I can’t sleep. Then I remember the episode with the patrol car and I thought about the picture of the dog with another (and much bigger) dog following him. Then it hit me – that is just how a faithful Jew must have felt under the law. Did the Jew often think that God was watching him, just waiting for him to do something against HIS law? Had he forgotten just one of the smallest commandments and committed a sin? And then I remembered the following passage from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians…

Galatians 3 ( World English Bible )
 6 Even as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.”  7 Know therefore that those who are of faith, the same are children of Abraham.  8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Good News beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you all the nations will be blessed.”  9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.  10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.”

Truth: nobody’s perfect; everyone makes mistakes. God’s Law under the Old Testament was perfect, but since we are not – we have a problem. The Good News is, God has given us grace through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Those who do their best to do God’s will can be forgiven because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

So, the next time I notice a police car behind me, I will try to remember this passage and not be paranoid. Besides, my truck is bigger than a puny police cruiser, anyway! How nice it is to be the BIG DOG on the block. On second thought… forget everything I just said and just do your best to stay out of trouble.

Bible Reading September 4, 5 by Gary Rose


Bible Reading September 4, 5


World  English  Bible


Sept. 4
Psalms 36-39

Psa 36:1 An oracle is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked: "There is no fear of God before his eyes."
Psa 36:2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes, too much to detect and hate his sin.
Psa 36:3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
Psa 36:4 He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn't abhor evil.
Psa 36:5 Your loving kindness, Yahweh, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Psa 36:6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like a great deep. Yahweh, you preserve man and animal.
Psa 36:7 How precious is your loving kindness, God! The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
Psa 36:8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the abundance of your house. You will make them drink of the river of your pleasures.
Psa 36:9 For with you is the spring of life. In your light shall we see light.
Psa 36:10 Oh continue your loving kindness to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.
Psa 36:11 Don't let the foot of pride come against me. Don't let the hand of the wicked drive me away.
Psa 36:12 There the workers of iniquity are fallen. They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.

Psa 37:1 Don't fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.
Psa 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
Psa 37:3 Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
Psa 37:4 Also delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psa 37:5 Commit your way to Yahweh. Trust also in him, and he will do this:
Psa 37:6 he will make your righteousness go forth as the light, and your justice as the noon day sun.
Psa 37:7 Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don't fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
Psa 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don't fret, it leads only to evildoing.
Psa 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land.
Psa 37:10 For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for his place, he isn't there.
Psa 37:11 But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psa 37:12 The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth.
Psa 37:13 The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming.
Psa 37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to kill those who are upright in the way.
Psa 37:15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Their bows shall be broken.
Psa 37:16 Better is a little that the righteous has, than the abundance of many wicked.
Psa 37:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Yahweh upholds the righteous.
Psa 37:18 Yahweh knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever.
Psa 37:19 They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
Psa 37:20 But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish-- vanish like smoke.
Psa 37:21 The wicked borrow, and don't pay back, but the righteous give generously.
Psa 37:22 For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.
Psa 37:23 A man's goings are established by Yahweh. He delights in his way.
Psa 37:24 Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for Yahweh holds him up with his hand.
Psa 37:25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.
Psa 37:26 All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His seed is blessed.
Psa 37:27 Depart from evil, and do good. Live securely forever.
Psa 37:28 For Yahweh loves justice, and doesn't forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
Psa 37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.
Psa 37:30 The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom. His tongue speaks justice.
Psa 37:31 The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide.
Psa 37:32 The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to kill him.
Psa 37:33 Yahweh will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
Psa 37:34 Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
Psa 37:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
Psa 37:36 But he passed away, and behold, he was not. Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found.
Psa 37:37 Mark the perfect man, and see the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.
Psa 37:38 As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together. The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
Psa 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh. He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
Psa 37:40 Yahweh helps them, and rescues them. He rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, Because they have taken refuge in him.

Psa 38:1 Yahweh, don't rebuke me in your wrath, neither chasten me in your hot displeasure.
Psa 38:2 For your arrows have pierced me, your hand presses hard on me.
Psa 38:3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin.
Psa 38:4 For my iniquities have gone over my head. As a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
Psa 38:5 My wounds are loathsome and corrupt, because of my foolishness.
Psa 38:6 I am pained and bowed down greatly. I go mourning all day long.
Psa 38:7 For my waist is filled with burning. There is no soundness in my flesh.
Psa 38:8 I am faint and severely bruised. I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart.
Psa 38:9 Lord, all my desire is before you. My groaning is not hidden from you.
Psa 38:10 My heart throbs. My strength fails me. As for the light of my eyes, it has also left me.
Psa 38:11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague. My kinsmen stand far away.
Psa 38:12 They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long.
Psa 38:13 But I, as a deaf man, don't hear. I am as a mute man who doesn't open his mouth.
Psa 38:14 Yes, I am as a man who doesn't hear, in whose mouth are no reproofs.
Psa 38:15 For in you, Yahweh, do I hope. You will answer, Lord my God.
Psa 38:16 For I said, "Don't let them gloat over me, or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips."
Psa 38:17 For I am ready to fall. My pain is continually before me.
Psa 38:18 For I will declare my iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin.
Psa 38:19 But my enemies are vigorous and many. Those who hate me without reason are numerous.
Psa 38:20 They who also render evil for good are adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.
Psa 38:21 Don't forsake me, Yahweh. My God, don't be far from me.
Psa 38:22 Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation.

Psa 39:1 I said, "I will watch my ways, so that I don't sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me."
Psa 39:2 I was mute with silence. I held my peace, even from good. My sorrow was stirred.
Psa 39:3 My heart was hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned: I spoke with my tongue:
Psa 39:4 "Yahweh, show me my end, what is the measure of my days. Let me know how frail I am.
Psa 39:5 Behold, you have made my days handbreadths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath." Selah.
Psa 39:6 "Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn't know who shall gather.
Psa 39:7 Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
Psa 39:8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Don't make me the reproach of the foolish.
Psa 39:9 I was mute. I didn't open my mouth, because you did it.
Psa 39:10 Remove your scourge away from me. I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
Psa 39:11 When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity, You consume his wealth like a moth. Surely every man is but a breath." Selah.
Psa 39:12 "Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don't be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were.
Psa 39:13 Oh spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go away, and exist no more."

Sept. 5
Psalms 40-42

Psa 40:1 I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me, and heard my cry.
Psa 40:2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.
Psa 40:3 He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahweh.
Psa 40:4 Blessed is the man who makes Yahweh his trust, and doesn't respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Psa 40:5 Many, Yahweh, my God, are the wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are toward us. They can't be declared back to you. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
Psa 40:6 Sacrifice and offering you didn't desire. You have opened my ears. You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
Psa 40:7 Then I said, "Behold, I have come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll.
Psa 40:8 I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart."
Psa 40:9 I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, Yahweh, you know.
Psa 40:10 I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your loving kindness and your truth from the great assembly.
Psa 40:11 Don't withhold your tender mercies from me, Yahweh. Let your loving kindness and your truth continually preserve me.
Psa 40:12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head. My heart has failed me.
Psa 40:13 Be pleased, Yahweh, to deliver me. Hurry to help me, Yahweh.
Psa 40:14 Let them be disappointed and confounded together who seek after my soul to destroy it. Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt.
Psa 40:15 Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that tell me, "Aha! Aha!"
Psa 40:16 Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let such as love your salvation say continually, "Let Yahweh be exalted!"
Psa 40:17 But I am poor and needy. May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my deliverer. Don't delay, my God.

Psa 41:1 Blessed is he who considers the poor. Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.
Psa 41:2 Yahweh will preserve him, and keep him alive. He shall be blessed on the earth, and he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies.
Psa 41:3 Yahweh will sustain him on his sickbed, and restore him from his bed of illness.
Psa 41:4 I said, "Yahweh, have mercy on me! Heal me, for I have sinned against you."
Psa 41:5 My enemies speak evil against me: "When will he die, and his name perish?"
Psa 41:6 If he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood. His heart gathers iniquity to itself. When he goes abroad, he tells it.
Psa 41:7 All who hate me whisper together against me. They imagine the worst for me.
Psa 41:8 "An evil disease," they say, "has afflicted him. Now that he lies he shall rise up no more."
Psa 41:9 Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate bread with me, has lifted up his heel against me.
Psa 41:10 But you, Yahweh, have mercy on me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.
Psa 41:11 By this I know that you delight in me, because my enemy doesn't triumph over me.
Psa 41:12 As for me, you uphold me in my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.
Psa 41:13 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting! Amen and amen.

Psa 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God.
Psa 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
Psa 42:3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually ask me, "Where is your God?"
Psa 42:4 These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me, how I used to go with the crowd, and led them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping a holy day.
Psa 42:5 Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his presence.
Psa 42:6 My God, my soul is in despair within me. Therefore I remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon, from the hill Mizar.
Psa 42:7 Deep calls to deep at the noise of your waterfalls. All your waves and your billows have swept over me.
Psa 42:8 Yahweh will command his loving kindness in the daytime. In the night his song shall be with me: a prayer to the God of my life.
Psa 42:9 I will ask God, my rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?"
Psa 42:10 As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries reproach me, while they continually ask me, "Where is your God?"
Psa 42:11 Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him, the saving help of my countenance, and my God.

Sept. 4
Romans 16

Rom 16:1 I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the assembly that is at Cenchreae,
Rom 16:2 that you receive her in the Lord, in a way worthy of the saints, and that you assist her in whatever matter she may need from you, for she herself also has been a helper of many, and of my own self.
Rom 16:3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
Rom 16:4 who for my life, laid down their own necks; to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the assemblies of the Gentiles.
Rom 16:5 Greet the assembly that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first fruits of Achaia to Christ.
Rom 16:6 Greet Mary, who labored much for us.
Rom 16:7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives and my fellow prisoners, who are notable among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
Rom 16:8 Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord.
Rom 16:9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved.
Rom 16:10 Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus.
Rom 16:11 Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet them of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.
Rom 16:12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Greet Persis, the beloved, who labored much in the Lord.
Rom 16:13 Greet Rufus, the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.
Rom 16:14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.
Rom 16:15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.
Rom 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. The assemblies of Christ greet you.
Rom 16:17 Now I beg you, brothers, look out for those who are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and turn away from them.
Rom 16:18 For those who are such don't serve our Lord, Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the innocent.
Rom 16:19 For your obedience has become known to all. I rejoice therefore over you. But I desire to have you wise in that which is good, but innocent in that which is evil.
Rom 16:20 And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Rom 16:21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives.
Rom 16:22 I, Tertius, who write the letter, greet you in the Lord.
Rom 16:23 Gaius, my host and host of the whole assembly, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, as does Quartus, the brother.
Rom 16:24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all! Amen.
Rom 16:25 Now to him who is able to establish you according to my Good News and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret through long ages,
Rom 16:26 but now is revealed, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known for obedience of faith to all the nations;
Rom 16:27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Sept. 5
1 Corinthians 1

1Co 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
1Co 1:2 to the assembly of God which is at Corinth; those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours:
1Co 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 1:4 I always thank my God concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus;
1Co 1:5 that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge;
1Co 1:6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7 so that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;
1Co 1:8 who will also confirm you until the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 1:9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
1Co 1:10 Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1Co 1:11 For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12 Now I mean this, that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos," "I follow Cephas," and, "I follow Christ."
1Co 1:13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?
1Co 1:14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius,
1Co 1:15 so that no one should say that I had baptized you into my own name.
1Co 1:16 (I also baptized the household of Stephanas; besides them, I don't know whether I baptized any other.)
1Co 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Good News--not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn't be made void.
1Co 1:18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing."
1Co 1:20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn't God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1Co 1:21 For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn't know God, it was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe.
1Co 1:22 For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom,
1Co 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks,
1Co 1:24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1Co 1:26 For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble;
1Co 1:27 but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;
1Co 1:28 and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are:
1Co 1:29 that no flesh should boast before God.
1Co 1:30 But of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 that, according as it is written, "He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord."

Psallo and the Instrumental Music Controversy by Wayne Jackson




Psallo and the Instrumental Music Controversy

For more than a century the advocates of the use of instrumental music in Christian worship have contended that one of the stronger arguments in defense of that practice is to be found in the Greek word psallo. This term, found only five times in the New Testament, is rendered by the English terms “sing” (Rom. 15:9; 1 Cor. 14:15; Jas. 5:13), and “make melody” (Eph. 5:19).
It has been alleged, however, that psallo embraces the use of a mechanical instrument. In classical Greek the word meant “to strike,” as, for instance, “striking” the strings of a harp. And so, it is claimed, this concept is transferred into the New Testament.

The History of Psallo

Words have histories, and linguistic history often reveals that terms are altered in their meanings as they pass through the centuries. So it was with psallo.
The history of the Greek language extends back about fifteen centuries before Christ. The era called the “classical” period was from around 900 B.C. (the time of Homer) to the conquests of Alexander the Great (c. 330 B.C.). During this time psallo carried the basic sense of “to touch sharply, to move by touching, to pull, twitch” (Liddell, p. 1841).
Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.), the Greek playwright, used the word of “plucking hair” (Persae, p. 1062). Euripides (480-460 B.C.?), another Greek writer, spoke of “twanging” the bowstring (Bacchae, p. 784). Psallo was used of “twitching” the carpenter’s line so as to leave a mark (Anthologia Palatine, 6.103). Finally, in Plutarch the verb also could convey the sense of “plucking” the strings of an instrument (Pericles 1.6).
Surely it is obvious that in these various passages the object of what is “touched” was supplied by the context.
Scholars are aware, however, that languages change with time. In 1952, F.F. Bruce wrote: “Words are not static things. They change their meaning with the passage of time” (Vine, 1997, p. vi). This concept must be understood if one is to arrive at the meaning of psallo as used in the New Testament.
The Septuagint (LXX) is a Greek translation of the Old Testament that dates from the 3rd century B.C. In this production, psallo is used to represent three different Hebrew words. The term may be used to denote simply the playing of an instrument (1 Sam. 16:16). It may bear the sense of singing, accompanied by an instrument (as certain contexts reveal – cf. Psa. 27:6; 98:5 – Eng. versions). Or, the word may refer to vocal music alone (cf. Psa. 135:3; 138:1; 146:2).
After a detailed consideration of the use of psallo in the Greek OT, Ferguson affirms that “what is clear is that an instrument did not inhere in the word psallo in the Septuagint” (p. 7 – emp. orig.). He contends, in fact, that the “preponderance of occurrences” of psallo in the LXX refer simply to “vocal music.”
In a study of the transitional uses of psallo across the years, one thing becomes apparent. The task of the conscientious Bible student must be to determine how the verb is used in the New Testament. This is the only relevant issue.
Incidentally, if one is going to quote the classical usage of psallo, or that conveyed in the LXX (as defenders of instrumental music commonly do), then he could well argue for the playing of instruments as a pure act of worship – with no singing at all – because that sense is clearly employed at times in those bodies of literature.

Language Authorities

J. H. Thayer (1828-1901) was Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation at the Divinity School of Harvard University. He also served on the revision committee that produced the American Standard Version of the New Testament.
In 1885 A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament was published, which reflected Thayer’s translation, revision, and enlargement of an earlier work involving the labors of C.G. Wilke and C.L.W. Grimm. In its day, Thayer’s work was the finest lexicon available, and still is of considerable value.
In discussing psallo, after commenting upon the word’s use in classical Greek, and in the Septuagint, he notes that “in the N.T. [psallo signifies] to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song” (p. 675).
The first edition of W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words was issued in 1940 in four volumes. In 1952 a one-volume edition was published. F.F. Bruce, Head of the Department of Biblical History and Literature at the University of Sheffield, wrote the Foreword for that production. Therein, Prof. Bruce praised Vine’s work. He stated that the “Greek scholarship was wide, accurate and up-to-date.” He noted that the author had a “thorough mastery of the classical idiom,” a “close acquaintance with the Hellenistic vernacular,” and an awareness of the influence of the Septuagint upon the New Testament.
In his popular work, Vine, in commenting upon psallo (under “Melody”), notes the classical sense, the Septuagint usage, and then says: “in the N.T., to sing a hymn, sing praise” (1997, p. 730).
In another book, Vine explained the matter more fully.
“The word psallo originally meant to play a stringed instrument with the fingers, or to sing with the accompaniment of a harp. Later, however, and in the New Testament, it came to signify simply to praise without the accompaniment of an instrument” (1951, p. 191 – emp. added).
In 1964. the prestigious Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (edited by Kittel, Friedrich, and Bromiley) issued from the press. The article which dealt with psallo was written by Gerhard Delling. Relative to Ephesians 5:19, Delling contended that the literal use of psallo, as “found in the LXX, is now employed figuratively” (Kittel, et al., p. 499).
In an abridgement of this work, published in 1985, Bromiley expressed it this way: “psallontes does not now denote literally playing on a stringed instrument” (p. 1226).
In the revised edition of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, David Howard of Bethel Theological Seminary, commented upon psallo.
Psallo originally meant to play a stringed instrument; in the LXX it generally translates zimmer and ngn. In the New Testament it refers to singing God’s praises (not necessarily accompanied by strings)” (p. 314).
In the Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, Balz and Schneider write: “In the NT psallo always refers to a song of praise to God” (p. 495).
In his popular work, Word Meanings in the New Testament, Ralph Earle comments on psallo in Ephesians 5:19.
“‘Making melody’ is one word in Greek, psallontes. The verb psallo meant first to strike the strings of a harp or lyre. Then it meant to ‘strike up a tune.’ Finally it was used in the sense ‘to sing’” (p. 333).
It is important to remember that these men were affiliated with denominational groups that employ instrumental music in their worship. They have no motive for misrepresenting the facts of this issue. Their testimony, therefore, is compelling indeed.
On the other hand, we must acknowledge that a few scholars have set aside the historical evidence, being swayed by their own theological prejudices. They assert that psallo in the New Testament embodies the idea of “playing” a musical instrument. Liddell & Scott, as well as Edward Robinson, in their respective works, listed the term “play” as the significance of psallo in Ephesians 5:19.
The best example of unwarranted lexical liberty in recent times is the Baur-Arndt-Gingrich production. In the first edition (1957), William Arndt and F.W. Gingrich defined psallo as follows: “in our literature, in accordance with OT usage, sing (to the accompaniment of a harp), sing praise … Rom. 15:9… Eph. 5:19”
What most did not realize at the time, however, was that the phrase “to the accompaniment of a harp” was not in Baur’s original work. It was added by the subsequent editors. Following the death of Arndt, Frederick Danker joined with Gingrich for yet another revision (2nd Ed.). At the time, Danker apparently was unaware of the “tampering” by Arndt & Gingrich. When he learned of it, he admitted that the earlier editors had made a “mistake” in their rendition. He promised to try to remedy the error in a future revision.
Gingrich later acknowledged that the added phrase was only his interpretation. In the 2nd edition (1979), the phrase was deleted. However, this comment was added — obviously to placate someone.
“Although the NT does not voice opposition to instrumental music, in view of Christian resistance to mystery cults, as well as Pharisaic aversion to musical instruments in worship … it is likely that some such sense as make melody is best here [Eph. 5:19]” (p 891; see McCord, pp. 390-96).
One might have hoped for something better in the 3rd edition, over which Danker had control. But such was not to be. The editor initiated a “departure” from earlier formats by offering an “expanded definition” of words. And so the “sing, sing praise” of the 2nd editon becomes “to sing songs of praise, with or without instrumental accompaniment” in this latest edition.
However, both 2nd and 3rd editions suggest that those who render psallo by the word “play” in Ephesians 5:19 “may be relying too much on the earliest meaning of psallo [i.e., the classical meaning].” And yet, this is precisely what Arndt, Gingrich, and Danker have done. They imported the classical sense into the New Testament, when their lexicon was supposed to define words according to the “New Testament and other early Christian literature” usage.
People need to realize that Greek lexicons are not inspired of God; they can be flawed at times. J.H. Thayer summed-up the issue rather candidly.
“The nature and use of the New Testament writings require that the lexicographer should not be hampered by a too rigid adherence to the rules of scientific lexicography. A student often wants to know not so much the inherent meaning of a word as the particular sense it bears in a given context or discussion … [T]he lexicographer often cannot assign a particular New Testament reference to one or another of the acknowledged significations of a word without indicating his exposition of the passage in which the reference occurs. In such a case he is compelled to assume, at least to some extent, the functions of the exegete” (p. VII).
Some scholars have clearly set aside the true significance of certain words and allowed their theological bias to flavor their definitions. This has happened with baptizo (immerse), when some suggest that “sprinkling” is encompassed in the verb’s meaning. Some theologians manipulate the meaning of the preposition eis (for, unto, in order to obtain) in Acts 2:38 in an effort to avoid the conclusion that immersion in water is essential to salvation. This is a sad but tragic reality within the theological community.

Translations

It must be a matter of some consternation, to those who argue that psallo necessarily includes the instrument, that virtually no standard (committee) translation of the English language (e.g., KJVASVRSVNEBNIVNASBNKJVESV) provides a hint of instrumental music in any of the five texts where the verb is found in the New Testament. This should be dramatic testimony to the fact that the cream of the world’s scholarship has not subscribed to the notion that psalloinheres a mechanical instrument of music.

Post-Apostolic Testimony

In a thorough discussion of the topic, Prof. Everett Ferguson has shown dramatically that the writers of the first several centuries of the post-apostolic period employed psallo simply to denote the idea of “singing,” or else they used the term in its classical sense only metaphorically, e.g., in Ephesians 5:19, plucking the strings of one’s heart in praise to God (pp. 18-27). (Note: In his translation, Hugo McCord rendered this passage as “plucking the strings of your heart,” thus giving the “plucking” a figurative thrust.)
At this point we must add this testimony from McClintock & Strong’s celebrated Cyclopedia:
“The Greeks as well as the Jews were wont to use instruments as accompaniments in their sacred songs. The converts to Christianity accordingly must have been familiar with this mode of singing; yet it is generally believed that the primitive Christians failed to adopt the use of instrumental music in their religious worship. The word psallein, which the apostle uses in Eph. 5:19, has been taken by some critics to indicate that they sang with such accompaniments … But if this be the correct inference, it is strange indeed that neither Ambrose … nor … Basil … nor Chrysostom … in the noble encomiums which they severally pronounce upon music, make any mention of instrumental music. Basil, indeed, expressly condemns it as ministering only to the depraved passions of men … and [he] must have been led to this condemnation because some had gone astray and borrowed this practice from the heathen … The general introduction of instrumental music can certainly not be assigned to a date earlier than the 5th or 6th centuries” (p. 759).

An Ad Hominem Observation

An ad hominem (“to the man”) argument is designed to show the fallacy of an illogical position. It appeals to an erroneous proposition being defended, and demonstrates that, if followed to its logical conclusion, the idea manifests an unreasonable viewpoint. That this is a valid method of dealing with error is evidenced by the fact that Jesus himself occasionally employed it to expose false teaching (cf. Mt. 12:27). There is certainly a legitimate usage of this type of argument in the music controversy.
Several writers, who have argued the psallo position, have contended that an instrument of music is unavoidably inherent within the term. O.E. Payne alleged that if the Christian fails to employ the instrument in worship, he “cannot conform to the divine injunction to psallein” (p. 172). Others (e.g., Dwaine Dunning and Tom Burgess) have argued similarly (see Bales, pp. 97ff).
In view of this, let us consider Ephesians 5:19, where the inspired apostle commands the saints in Ephesus to practice “speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody psallontes with your heart to the Lord.”
If the participle psallontes retains a literal, classical sense (to pluck), and therefore inheres the instrument, then the following conclusions necessarily result.
This command cannot be obeyed without the employment of the instrument.
Since each Christian is under the obligation to psallo, each person must play an instrument.
The instrument must be one capable of being “plucked” (e.g., the harp), which would eliminate organs, pianos, trumpets, etc.
This writer has never encountered an advocate of the use of instruments in worship who will stay with the logical demands of his argument in defense of psallo. That speaks volumes.

Recent History

Perhaps the most telling thing of all in this controversy over instrumental worship is the fact that in the recent history of our exchanges with those of the Independent Christian Church (with whom we’ve had most of our discussions), the psallo argument has been virtually abandoned.
One of the last major debates on instrumental music was between Alan E. Highers (churches of Christ) and Given O. Blakely (Independent Christian Church) in April, 1988. During the course of that encounter, Blakely never attempted to introduce the psallo argument. In fact, he “broke new ground” in that he argued that “authority” for what one does in worship is not even needed; worship is a wholly unregulated activity — a position wholly absurd!
Instrumental music in Christian worship is indefensible.

Interesting Quotations

“Although Josephus tells of the wonderful effects produced in the Temple by the use of instruments of music, the first Christians were of too spiritual a fibre to substitute lifeless instruments for or to use them to accompany the human voice” (The Catholic Encyclopedia, p. 651).
“There is no record in the NT of the use of instruments in the musical worship of the Christian church” (Pfeiffer, p. 1163).
“Whatever evidence is forthcoming, is to the effect that the early Christians did not use musical instruments” (Smith, p. 1365).
“The foregoing argument [of this book] has proceeded principally by two steps. The first is: Whatsoever, in connection with the public worship of the church, is not commanded by Christ, either expressly or by good and necessary consequence, in his Word is forbidden. The second is: Instrumental music, in connection with the public worship of the church is not so commanded by Christ. The conclusion is: Instrumental music, in connection with the public worship of the church, is forbidden” (John J. Girardeau, Professor, Columbia Theological Seminary (Presbyterian), p. 200).
Sources/Footnotes
  • Bales, James D. 1987. Instrumental Music and New Testament Worship. Resource Publications: Searcy, AR.
  • Balz, Horst & Schneider, Gerhard. 1993. Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament. Vol. 3. Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, MI.
  • Baur, W., Gingrich, F. W., Danker, F. 1979. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. University of Chicago: Chicago, IL.
  • Bromiley, G.W., Ed. 1985. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament — Abridged. Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, MI.
  • The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913. The Encyclopedia Press: New York, NY.
  • Earle, Ralph. 2000. Word Meanings in the New Testament. Hendrickson: Peabody, MA.
  • Ferguson, Everett. 1972. A Cappella Music. Biblical Research Press: Abilene, TX.
  • Girardeau, John J. 1888. Instrumental Music in the Public Worship of the Church. Whittet and Shepperson: Richmond, VA.
  • Howard, David. 1986. “Melody,” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia – Revised. Vol. 3. G. W. Bromiley, Ed. Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, MI.
  • Kittel, Gerhard, et al., Eds. 1964. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Vol. VIII. Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, MI.
  • Liddell, Henry and Scott, Robert. 1869. A Greek-English Lexicon. Clarendon: Oxford, England.
  • McClintock, John & Strong, James Baker: 1969 Reprint. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. Vol. VI. Grand Rapids, MI.
  • McCord, Hugo. n.d. Fifty Years of Lectures. Vol. 2. Church of Christ: Atwood, TN.
  • Payne, O. E. 1920. Instrumental Music Is Scriptural. Standard: Cincinnati, OH.
  • Pfeiffer, C. F., Vos, Howard and Rea, John. 1998. Wycliffe Bible Dictionary. Hendrickson: Peabody, MA.
  • Smith, William and Cheetham, Samuel. 1880. A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities. Vol. II. John Murray: London, England.
  • Thayer, J. H. 1958. Greek-English Lexicon. T. and T. Clark: Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • Vine, W. E. 1951. First Corinthians. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI..
  • Vine, W. E. 1997 ed. Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nelson: Nashville, TN.
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