Influence of Music on the Human Personality

Driving home: But believing that the scriptures are breathed out by the living God, that the writers did not write alone under the impulse of the Lord, that the writers did not write alone under the impulse of the living God, that the…

Martin suggests that verse 15 could have been omitted without affecting the overall message of 2 Kings 3, but its inclusion by God's inspiration highlights its importance for teaching.

Now surely amidst the great issues recorded in 2 Kings chapter 3, this little incident involving the minstrel could have been overlooked or omitted without affecting the overall drift and the overall message of the chapter. We would not feel it at all strange if the text jumped from verse 14 right to verse 16. If we were reading through and we read the rebuke of Elisha the man of God to King Jehoram, ending with the words, If it were not that I regarded the presence of the Lord as the presence of the Lord, the sons of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not look towards thee nor see thee.

2:53 - 3:37 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin clarifies that the 'minstrel' was a player of stringed instruments, not a singer, and that 'the hand of the Lord came upon him' signifies a peculiar divine enablement to…

He contrasts the common modern understanding of a 'minstrel' as a wandering singer with a tambourine (like in The Mikado) with the biblical meaning of a skilled instrumentalist.

minstrel. Now, the first thing we must do is understand the identity of this minstrel. Now, he was not a wandering troubadour, a singer-player, and a parator of poems who went around and had a tambourine in which he collected some shekels to make a living. We think of a minstrel in terms of perhaps one of the songs, I believe, in the Mikado, one of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, a wandering minstrel man I am of something in riches, I think, or rags or something. I forgot what the actual language was. But

13:32 - 14:13 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin clarifies that the 'minstrel' was a player of stringed instruments, not a singer, and that 'the hand of the Lord came upon him' signifies a peculiar divine enablement to…

He clarifies that 'the hand of the Lord' is not a literal, physical hand from heaven, but a metaphorical expression of divine enablement.

that terminology mean, the hand of the Lord came upon him? Well, obviously, there was not a literal seven-foot hand stretched out of heaven that suddenly enveloped him, like the hand in some horror movie. No, no. This is an expression used elsewhere in the Word of God to describe a specific activity.

17:09 - 17:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin clarifies that the 'minstrel' was a player of stringed instruments, not a singer, and that 'the hand of the Lord came upon him' signifies a peculiar divine enablement to…

He references Elijah's physical strength to outrun Ahab's chariot as an example of 'the hand of the Lord' granting peculiar enablement for a specific task.

Verse 15, And when the minstrel played, he was standing at the door of the church and to keep in shape against such a day. So you see in the context, the hand of the Lord means that a peculiar enablement from God was imparted in terms of a specific task that was given to the servant of God. In this case, the hand of the Lord resulted in physical strength to make a 20-mile run in which he would even outrun a king who had horses that were bred for that kind of endurance, running endurance function.

18:00 - 18:41 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin clarifies that the 'minstrel' was a player of stringed instruments, not a singer, and that 'the hand of the Lord came upon him' signifies a peculiar divine enablement to…

He explains that Elisha could not simply 'push a switch' to prophesy, emphasizing that prophetic words came only when God gave them, unlike false prophets.

And God again and again condemned the false prophets, you see, who would take on all the semblance of a divine athletus. And sometimes in their dress and in their manner of speaking, they tried to give the impression that God had come and given them a word, when in reality, God says, they ran, but I did not send them. And that concept is very clearly on the face of this passage, that when the minstrel plays, it is at that precise point that the hand of the Lord comes upon the prophet and he is able then to say, thus saith Jehovah, and give a word that does not have its origin in himself, but h...

20:17 - 21:01 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Bypassing other applications, Martin focuses on music's profound influence, citing its pervasive presence in modern life and its biblical precedent in calming Saul's spirit…

Martin quotes Spurgeon's sermon on this text, using the analogy of setting a sail to receive the wind of the Spirit, to illustrate Elisha using natural means to prepare for supernatural help.

Now, in a very interesting and helpful sermon on this text, Spurgeon makes the main point of the text, a very helpful, practical application with respect to Christians using the means at their disposal. And then he opens it up into many, many areas. He suggests that though Elisha could not create the wind of the Spirit, he could set his sail to receive it, and he did so. And then he goes on to draw out that application.

25:41 - 26:17 Read in full sermon

Driving home: So powerful was the influence of music upon the human spirit of Saul that when in common grace the music had calmed his human spirit so that it was no longer a fit dwelling place for this evil spirit. The evil spirit fro…

He recounts David's playing the harp for Saul, which caused an evil spirit to depart, demonstrating music's powerful influence on the human spirit.

you know that this is not the only place. Perhaps the incident that has come to the minds of many of you already is the one to which a brief allusion was made earlier in our study tonight. The incident of David's playing in the presence of this man's soul who is under the influence of an evil spirit from God. And one of the most amazing statements in all of Scripture is found in 1 Kings 16, 23.

29:20 - 29:47 Read in full sermon

The point: As a believer, recognize that any music that indisposes you to assimilate the Word of God is an enemy to your soul.

He mentions that ancient Greek philosophers prescribed flute playing and singing to soothe minds heavy with thought, and believed music could calm passions, heal mental diseases, and check political tumults, illustrating historical recognition of music's power.

I came across some very interesting things in my background reading some quotes of some of the old Greek philosophers. You know what their prescription was for a philosopher when his head was getting too heavy with too much thinking about philosophy? He was to take down a flute and play it and sing songs. Furthermore, the Greeks said that music was of great benefit to soothe the passions, to heal mental diseases and even to check political tumults amongst the people.

36:44 - 37:17 Read in full sermon

The point: As a believer, recognize that any music that indisposes you to assimilate the Word of God is an enemy to your soul.

He recounts Cornelius Ryan's description of a piper marching on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day, inspiring Highland troops amidst chaos, to show music's tremendous influence in history.

They understood the tremendous beneficial effects of music, and this has been seen in history. I recently read Cornelius Ryan's account of the invasion of Normandy, The Longest Day. It's a fascinating account, and one could not help but be thrilled in reading the account of some of the Highland troops who, when they came upon those pockmarked beaches with Allied soldiers all around them, dead and wounded and others dying, he describes the piper marching up and down the beach in front of those Highland troops as the sound of the bagpipes in the ears of those Highland battalions with nerve to fi...

37:17 - 38:00 Read in full sermon

The point: As a believer, recognize that any music that indisposes you to assimilate the Word of God is an enemy to your soul.

He quotes Charles Wesley's poem lamenting how music has been 'pressed to obey the devil,' leading souls to ruin, to highlight music's potential for evil even in earlier times.

So much so that Wesley, even in his day, back when there were no eight-track tapes, cassettes, index and add-on recorders and record players and tape players for our homes and our cars, back when the means of being exposed to music were much more limited, Wesley recognized the tremendous potential for evil when he penned these words. Listed into the cause of sin, why should a good be even? Music, alas, too long has been pressed to obey the devil. Brunken or lewd or light, the lay flowed to the soul's undoing,

38:17 - 39:02 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin challenges listeners to honestly answer three questions about rock music: its general climate (lawless frenzy), the behavior patterns of its performers and culture (drugs…

He quotes Mick Jagger stating that a rock concert is a success 'when it has turned into total madness,' to illustrate the intended climate of rock music.

I forced myself to watch about half of it. And in an interview with Nick Jagger, who, as many of you know, was next in line in the development of rock music and the rock culture after the Beatles, he was asked this question. Mr. Jagger, when is a rock concert a success?

42:12 - 42:36 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin challenges listeners to honestly answer three questions about rock music: its general climate (lawless frenzy), the behavior patterns of its performers and culture (drugs…

He contrasts the number of police required for a rock concert versus a high school operetta in the same venue, to demonstrate the inherent 'lawless frenzy' associated with rock concerts.

But you see, the exception only stands out because it is the exception. Why is it that the staff of police that are brought in for a rock concert be many times than the same hall, another kind of musical form, in a concert? Why? You can argue with those facts if you choose to.

44:41 - 45:18 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin challenges listeners to honestly answer three questions about rock music: its general climate (lawless frenzy), the behavior patterns of its performers and culture (drugs…

He cites the deaths of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix as examples of rock performers whose lifestyles were oriented towards drug use and destruction of the mind.

They're not even embarrassed about it. And they wrote up recently in Time magazine, the king of so-called country rock. They even went right down to telling how much he imbibes of drugs as a daily habit. And I'm not reading something into history when I tell you how Janis Joplin died.

46:54 - 47:21 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin challenges listeners to honestly answer three questions about rock music: its general climate (lawless frenzy), the behavior patterns of its performers and culture (drugs…

He suggests looking at rock album jackets in a record store to see the 'disorientation, lawlessness, utter rebellion' reflected in the appearance of rock artists.

Furthermore, an external appearance that bespeaks disorientation, lawlessness, utter rebellion against every cultural standard of decency is the general hallmark of the rock section. And I know there are exceptions, but generally speaking, all you need to do is stand in front of the rock section in any record shop and look at the jackets. And you'd think you were looking at people who had had their pictures taken

47:59 - 48:36 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin challenges listeners to honestly answer three questions about rock music: its general climate (lawless frenzy), the behavior patterns of its performers and culture (drugs…

He contrasts the lyrics of popular music from 30-40 years ago, which often expressed naive romanticism, with modern rock lyrics, to show a decline in common grace reflections of relationships.

And that's open for anyone to see. Now it's not an accident that the lyrics are found in conjunction with rock music. What were the lyrics of the popular music even 30, 40 years ago? Well, most of the lyrics had to do with a naive, romantic view of male-female relationships.

51:04 - 51:29 Read in full sermon

The point: As a Christian, deliberately listen to no music in the listening of which you could not expect the hand of the Lord to come upon you.

Martin shares his personal practice of listening to ennobling music on Mondays to refresh his mind and spirit after the agitation of preaching, illustrating how music can bring the 'hand of the Lord' to him.

It's one of the means I use to refresh my mind and spirit on Monday. You wonder what I do on my so-called day off? Well I have to make my bills out like everyone else and I have to wash the car and change the snow tires and all the things that anyone else has to do. But one of the things I try to do for an hour or two is to put on the headphones and listen to a minstrel.

63:53 - 64:20 Read in full sermon