~ The Spiritual Gift of Music – Great Composers ~
Opening Comment ~ “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:16-18).
Quotes ~ (1) The following quote is from: “THE GIFT OF MUSIC: Great Composers and Their influences” by Jane Stuart Smith, Betty Carlson Crossway Books.
Johann Sebastian Bach: The outstanding member of the greatest musical family the world has ever known. The Bach ancestors left Hungary rather than give up their Biblical faith. The focus of Bach's spiritual life was in Christianity and in the service of religion through music. Bach's Christian faith and his music are inseparably united. His belief in the reality of heaven caused his music to be timeless.
On the title page of his copy of “Little Book for the Organ” Bach wrote, “To the glory of God alone in the highest and to further the learning of everyone.”
He believed that the primary reason for music should be for the glory of God and the recreation of the mind. Many critics consider Bach the greatest of all composers. In him we have the supreme uniting of a person's faith and his talent.
Bach, in a sense, placed himself “in the pulpit” to expound the gospel, and his cantatas reflect the depth of Christianity. Bach wrote his music as an act of worship in the true mystical sense, and his faith and music are unified.
Often Bach wrote on manuscripts, “With the help of Jesus,” or “To God alone be the glory,” acknowledging that his gift of music was from God.
Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the spiritually wisest musicians the world has known. Art comes from the being made in the image of God, and we know. God is for the arts and has relegated to men and women wonderful gifts of creativity. Often these gifts have not been used for God's glory...
“God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17b).
Most critics agree that Bach is the greatest composer of all time. Many of the greatest composers have acknowledged their indebtedness to Bach.
(2) Jewish conductor Felix Mendelssohn became a Christian shortly after his second performance of “The Passion According to Saint Matthew” by J.S. Bach. That same piece led Nancy Ginstling to think about Jesus for the first time. She ultimately became a Christian, and wrote the book “The Jewish Case for Jesus.”
(3) “I feel strongly that all the arts, and particularly music, should be placed in the service of Him who has created and given them.” —Martin Luther
Note ~ As individuals turn further and further from the personal, infinite God, the Giver of gifts, the more dehumanized and twisted will be that which he or she creates. May the great gift of music be used for the glory of God.
Closing Comments ~ “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12-16).
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
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