Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "New Year's Day" (Pentatonix)

Welcome to 2017!!!  It's the first Tuesday of the year!!!  I can't think of any better way to celebrate than sharing with you on this incredible day!  Welcome to a new year of interludes with inspiration, choruses with conversation, and the tunes of our time!  It's Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!

Welcome to a new year!  We are so grateful that you chose to read The Notes each week!  Typically, we select music from the not-too-distant past (the 80s or there about) and highlight the song with The Notes treatment.  But today, we want to share a song with you from one of the hottest musical acts of today.  


I've been singing most of my life.  I actually get paid to sing in the current career I have.  I realize that I am blessed to have that opportunity.  There are many talented folks, as we've seen on the myriad of reality shows featuring musical acts, who don't get selected to receive the record contract, the promotional tour, or the accolades of judges.  Today we feature an act from their first song on the NBC Acapella reality program, The Sing-Off, fans of the show knew that they were destined for incredible success.  Their arrangement of "Video Killed The Radio Star" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Video Killed The Radio Star") cemented their pathway to winning the show.  Here with today's feature song and a little bit of what happened in their life in 2015 is the acapella group Pentatonix:

In the beginning...there was acapella.  The human voice has always had the capacity to make music.  Think about the years that you have been alive.  How many different forms of music have you observed?  Unlike the languages of Latin and Greek, musical styles, while rising and falling in popularity, tend to never die.  If you want one example, just look at the album Chant, by the Benedictine Monks of Santo de Silos, which in 1994 soared up to number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart and went double platinum.  The entire album is Gregorian Chant, a style of music dating back to the first century. 

Fast forward to 2016 and you have Pentatonix, who do this:


As you can see, the musical universe continues to expand.  Experimental music is being attempted daily and with the advent of digital and electronic processing, the end of that universe is nowhere in sight.  Regardless of the nuances of the new musical environment, the reality is that all of music boils down to the foundation...the very first musical instrument ever created... the human voice.

According to the website, insearchoftruth.org, there are over 1150 verses in the Bible that reference the music world in some form or another.  While the references to vocal music are significantly less, many pertain to using the voice in paying reverence or worshiping God.  From the website:  ("References to Music in the Bible" from insearchoftruth.org)

Vocal Praise to God

The primary purpose of this analysis is to separate references to vocal praise from those mentioning musical accompaniment. This first category contains all the references of worship to God, which contained only vocals. If instruments of music were actually used in the following passages, there is no reference to it in the context:
Exodus 15:1-18; Numbers 21:17; Deuteronomy 31:19-32:44; Judges 5:1-12; II Samuel 22:1; II Samuel 22:50; I Kings 4:32; I Chronicles 6:31-33; I Chronicles 9:33; II Chronicles 23:18; II Chronicles 35:15; II Chronicles 35:25; Ezra 2:41, 65, 70; Ezra 7:7, 24; 20:24; Nehemiah 7:1, 44, 67, 73; Nehemiah 10:28, 39; Nehemiah 11:22-23; Nehemiah 13:5, 10; Job 35:10; Isaiah 5:1; Isaiah 12:2, 5; Isaiah 24:14, 16; Isaiah 26:1; Isaiah 35:10; Isaiah 42:10-11; Isaiah 44:23; Isaiah 48:20; Isaiah 49:13; Isaiah 51:3, 11; Isaiah 52:8-9; Jeremiah 20:13; Jeremiah 31:7; Jeremiah 31:12; Jeremiah 33:11; Ezekiel 40:44; Amos 8:3, 10; Jonah 2:9; Zephaniah 3:14, 17; Zechariah 2:10; Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; Acts 16:25; Romans 15:9; I Corinthians 14:15; I Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12; James 5:13
Although many of the Psalms note accompaniment of musical instruments, many reference singing with no mention of instruments. These references are provided below:
Psalm 7:17; 9:2, 11; 13:6; 18:1, 49; 21:13; 27:6; 28:7; 30:1, 4, 12; 32:7; 34:1; 35:1; 40:3; 42:8; 51:14; 59:16; 61:8; 65:13; 66:2-4; 69:12, 30; 77:6; 89:1; 95:1,2; 96:1, 2; 100:2; 101:1; 104:12, 33; 105:2; 118:14; 119:54; 126:2; 135:3; 138:1, 5; 145:7; 146:2
In fact, if you drill this down even more and just query "singers", there are only 38 references included in the Holman Christian Standard Bible, the most of any of the most popular translations or paraphrases.  Considering all the words in the Bible, 38 times may seem small. Considering the context, which should always be done when reading the Bible,  the import of singers changes dramatically. 

As referenced above, the first song recorded in the Bible was sung by the Israelites after God had destroyed the Egyptian army at the Red Sea.  The response as they celebrated this miracle?  They sang!!!  The first words of the song show how meaningful it was to be able to express their thanks in this way.  


"Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said:
I will sing to the Lord,
for He is highly exalted;
He has thrown the horse
and its rider into the sea."  Exodus 15:1

Time and again throughout the Old Testament, the singers were placed in areas of responsibility.  My personal favorite is the story of those who were appointed by the government to sing during the time of King Jehoshaphat.  You can find this story here:  2 Chronicles 20 HCSB  Notice a couple of things from this story. 
Israel was threatened with war by the nations that surrounded her. (Not much has changed in 3000 years). The people knew that their military might not be enough against the 3 armies that were organizing to overrun their land.  So what did they do?  


First, they prayed.  That's right, they were in trouble and they sought God.  Unlike many in our time who only pray during times of distress, the nation of Israel under Jehoshaphat's reign, had a decent relationship with God.  Seeking God was something they practiced pretty consistently.  


Secondly, they waited.  Wow!  I find it hard enough to wait for my hamburger at Mcdonald's much less wait for God to get back to me about what I need to do about a situation.  But waiting on God to answer us is a practice that we must put into our toolbox of "habits" if we are to grow as disciples.  

After hearing from God they acted.  They basically checked to make sure everyone was on the same page and then they did something that would seem incredibly strange to modern military leaders.  From verse 21:   

21 Then he consulted with the people and appointed some to sing for the Lord and some to praise the splendor of His holiness. When they went out in front of the armed forces, they kept singing:
Give thanks to the Lord,
for His faithful love endures forever.
22 The moment they began their shouts and praises, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who came to fight against Judah, and they were defeated.


Did you notice where the singers were placed as the battalions were being formed?  IN THE FRONT!  This is not the particular place I would like to find myself going into battle as a musician, but the singers were obedient and regardless of the outcome began shouting and singing, GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HIS FAITHFUL LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!!!.  They were completely sold out to the lyrics of this particular song and God gave them the victory without even having to raise a club.  

How do we apply this?  It's not always easy to break out into song, nor is it conducive to keeping you from getting some interesting looks.  But a couple of things we CAN do as we come face to face with those who would see us destroyed.  


1)  Consult God.  Through prayer, His Word,  and the Holy Spirit, God will lead you to the direction you should go in the confrontation.  You may however have to be patient and wait on His instructions, and they may not be exactly what you want to hear.  But be faithful, and get ready with confidence in the fact that God knows the outcome. 

2)  Be prepared to be at the front of the battle lines.  This will not be where you want to be, but you must face your enemy head-on.

3)  Praise God for the outcome.  He knows what will happen.  Rely on His Love that endures forever.  (Jeremiah 29:11 New International Version of the Bible)

4) Believe the lyrics of your song!!!  This may be the most important challenge of them all.  We've all seen singers who have "phoned it in"  (Mariah Carey, New Year's Eve, need I say more?)  It is difficult for you to believe them if they aren't completely sold out to what they are singing about. "Take me all the way, Hear me when I say"  That is why it is so important for us to realize that if we are singing to/about Jesus, our hearts must be intimately connected with each word that comes from our vocal chords.  If you do not have a relationship with God through Jesus or your relationship is broken, this is all but impossible.  Your relationship with God is something that must be nurtured every day.  Then when there are those moments of panic, it is not unusual for you to call out to Jesus for help.  If you don't have a relationship with God through Jesus, please check the archives for last week's Musical Notes, there are instructions there that can show you the realization that this relationship is the most important you will ever have.  After realizing this, just talk to God.  Allow the Holy Spirit to wash over you.  Allow Jesus to save you and secure you for eternity.  And then allow the expression of His love to soar from your lips because it's "Time to celebrate, like New Year's Day"

"I sing because I'm happy!  I sing because I'm free!! His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me."

 
'Til Tuesday
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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