Influence of Music on the Human Personality

Introduction: The Profitability of All Scripture

0:04 I would encourage you to open your own Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 3, the third chapter of 2 Kings, and as was announced this morning, our attention will be directed particularly to verse 15, But now bring me a minstrel, and it came to pass when the minstrel played that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

0:38 2 Timothy 3 and verse 16 is a very familiar text to many of us. In that particular text of God's Word, we are told that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, or more literally, all Scripture is God-breathed and is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction. In that statement, the Apostle not only tells us something concerning the nature of Scripture, it is God-breathed, that is, it comes from the mind and heart of God with all the authority

1:22 of God, but the Apostle tells us something about the practical function of Scripture. As God-breathed revelation, it is profitable for teaching. That is what we are to know about God and ourselves and life. And then with that teaching, it is profitable to reprove and correct and to instruct us.

1:46 And therefore, in our considerations of the life and ministry of Elisha, which presently find us in 2 Kings chapter 3, we have sought in our study of the passage to understand what there is of Christian teaching, what there is of reproof. And we have come to the conclusion that there is absolutely proof and correction and instruction in the way of righteousness. And so we have seen something of the wonderful faithfulness and sovereignty of God in this great conflict between the powers of darkness and the God of grace. Last week we looked at the chapter in terms of its rich teaching concerning the doctrine of sin.

2:28 The objective reality of sin. Some of the main manifestations of sin. And we have seen in this great conflict, some of the main manifestations of sin and of sin, and then God's gracious dealing with sinners. Now tonight we shall examine an aspect in this entire episode which is rich in its instruction in righteousness, and I refer of course to the text that was read in your hearing.

2:53 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.

3:38 And he said, Thus saith the Lord. There would be no fundamental lack in the overall thrust of the passage if the incident recorded in verse 15 were omitted. 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 writers did not write alone under the impulse of the of their own thoughts and their own judgment, but under the superintendence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we must believe that the inclusion of verse 15 is as much the God-breathed

4:18 word as is the record of the prophecy which went before the mighty deliverance of the living God in the midst of his people. And if it is part of the God-breathed scripture, then it too is profitable for teaching. It too is profitable for reproof, for correction, and for instruction which is in righteousness. And so in this, our concluding study in this chapter, containing this incident in the life of Elisha, our attention will be directed to verse 15.

The Specific Setting of Elisha's Request

4:54 And as we attempt to think through the text and its message to our own hearts, consider with me, first of all, the specific setting. The setting of this incident of the playing of the minstrel. Try to refresh your minds with the facts. The three kings, that is the king of Israel, the ten northern tribes, the man Jehoram, and his army, along with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and his army, and the king of Edom with his army, they have gone out into the wilderness, and you'll remember that they were seeking to come up.

5:32 And launch, as it were, a surprise attack upon Moab and king Mesha, their leader. But as they've gone into the wilderness, they are overcome with thirst. And we read the account in verse 9. And so the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and they made a circuit of seven days' journey, and there was no water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them.

6:02 And the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, the king of Israel said, Alas, for the Lord hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. And so we have a situation in which these three kings and their armies are reaching a point of desperation. And if one can read this passage under the influence of sanctified imagination, he can feel and in his mind's eye see something of the situation. In which the incident of the minstrel is recorded.

6:36 There is the movement of the rested, desperate, and despairing masses of men that comprise the armies of Israel and the army of Edom. And in the midst of them there is another man. And that man is conspicuous by his garb. He does not have on normal military attire.

6:58 There is no indication that he carried a sword. And that man, of course, was the man Elisha. But as the previous history of the man reveals, and as the subsequent history reveals, he was very much a man among men. He was a man who felt deeply, a man who had great sympathies, whether it was for a widow in her desperate plight, whether it was for a bunch of young preachers, one of whom lost his axe head.

7:29 You find again and again the element of Elisha. But Elisha, as a people person, he was not an aloof, austere, monkish kind of an individual. He was a man whose heart felt with deep human sympathy the needs of his fellow men. And therefore, being in a situation where thousands of men are on the brink of dying with thirst, when there is this tremendous sense of the foreboding circumstances that surround them.

8:01 Here is Elisha. A man amongst men, a man of God, but a man no less, feeling the feelings of his comrades, in all likelihood experiencing the same thirst as they experience. There is no indication that he was exempt from that common thirst. There is no indication that God somehow miraculously provided water for him, or that he would be the selfish kind of a man who would hoard a canteen of water under the folds of his garment, or under the flap of his tent.

8:36 Now it is in that situation that suddenly three men of tremendous importance begin to approach this man Elisha. And when he becomes aware of these men, the identity is clear to him. And his eyes, perhaps for the first time, alight upon the king of Israel, this man Jehoram. And as Elisha looks upon Jehoram, he sees that he is the son of the king of Israel, the son of Israel.

9:02 In Jehoram, he sees in that man, as it were, the very embodiment of all of the tragic state of the nation of Israel. For in Jehoram, you will remember, is a man who, though he went through a few external flurries of reformation, was basically an idolater at heart. Son of wicked Ahab and Jezebel, this man in that sense is their son. And as in Jehoram, he sees not only after the flesh but after the spirit as well.

9:36 And so in Jehoram is the very embodiment of everything for which Elisha, as a man of God, stands in opposition. Here he stands as the representative of Jehovah with Baal worship rife in the land, with this worship that was instituted by Jeroboam still carried on, not only by multitudes of the people, but by… and from the people of Israel, all of them, and this whole base of God, thrown into the ground.

10:01 but by the king himself. And therefore, as he looks upon him, everything in his holy righteous soul is stirred to a mingled sense of zeal for the rights of Jehovah, anger against the foul Baal worship in which this man has engaged and from which he has only been partially delivered,

10:24 and all of that spiritual harlotry of the calf worship instituted by Jeroboam. And here this man, conscious, as he says later on, that he stands in the presence of Jehovah, becomes, as it were, the very crucible of all of that great conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. And now as they come to receive from God, he opens his mouth and speaks this scapegoat. The saving rebuke recorded in verses 13 and 14.

11:25 And so he, as it were, allows these mingled feelings of grief and anger and zeal for Jehovah to spill out in this scathing rebuke. And one can just imagine how the ears of Jehovah must have burned and how red must have flushed up from his neck and upon his cheeks and how all who would treat the king with a fawning kind of respect probably held their breath. And now they are wondering what in the world this madman Elisha is doing, daring to speak this way to the one who could with his armies fall upon him and take his life.

12:07 And as that rebuke is ringing in their ears, suddenly the prophet sighs. He takes a breath and he starts to open his mouth. And can you imagine something of the electricity in the air in that tent or outside that tent where all of this occurred? Now they expect some amazing prophecy.

12:27 Now they expect some amazing prophecy. Now they expect some amazing prophecy. To come from the lips of the man of God. And after his sigh and he takes his breath, he says, bring me a plunker on an instrument.

12:40 Bring me a minstrel. Now one can imagine something of the amazement, something of the confusion. The three kings have come to hear a word from Jehovah. And as it were, the prelude to that word, the scathing rebuke comes from the mouth of the man of God.

13:01 And as it were, the prelude to that word, the scathing rebuke comes from the mouth of the man of God. And as it were, the prelude to that word, the scathing rebuke comes from the mouth of the man of God. And then the strangest thing occurs. He asks for a musician to be brought into his presence.

The Specific Details: Identity and Effect of the Minstrel's Playing

13:10 Now that's something of the living setting that is outlined for us in the passage. Having tried to give you a feel for that setting, consider with me in the second place the specific details of the incident itself. We read that Elisha gives a command to bring to him. Amen.

13:32 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

14:13 to us, the word minstrel has a connotation that is not quite what we have in the passage before us. The word in the Hebrew has as its root meaning to strum or to beat with the fingers. Hence, it was the word used to describe the minstrel. It was the word used to describe one who played upon a stringed instrument. This is

14:35 exactly the same word that is used to describe the activity of David in 1 Samuel 16, verses 16 and 17. There we read, Let our Lord now command thy servants that are before thee to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp, that is, a minstrel. And he is a skillful player. And it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. Then answered one of the young

15:12 men and said, Behold, I have seen the son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, that is skillful in playing. Now that's the language. Precisely the same word is used here. So it refers to one who plays upon a stringed instrument.

15:30 Over in chapter 18 of 1 Samuel and verse 10, And it came to pass in the moral that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house, and David played with his hand. Now this is exactly the same verbal form as we have in the passage in 2 Kings. It is the participle form of this word, which means to strum on an instrument. And so, though often singing accompanied the strumming, the emphasis in terms of the original, the emphasis in terms of the descriptive language,

16:15 is not upon singing. It is upon the instrumental music, not the vocal. Now that has tremendous significance for our purposes tonight. So much for the identity of the minstrel. Now

16:30 notice, in the second place, as we look at the details, the effect of the minstrel's playing. It does not tell us how long he played, but in the process of his playing, a wonderful and an amazing thing happened to Elisha. Verse 15, And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Jehovah came upon him. While this minstrel was playing, he was playing, honking on his instrument, the hand of the Lord came upon the man of God. Now what does

17:09 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.

17:31 And what does it mean? Well, it is an expression of a man's ability to remember God, to remember God, to remember his own image. And this is an expression of one of the most important bijou黄s, an expression of the ability to remember God with respect to one of His servants. I am going to read a passage that actually says that this is something that is very clear in the Bible and that I will not be able to see it, but that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

18:00 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.

18:42 And then in Ezekiel 1.3, you have the same word used or the same construction of words with respect to Ezekiel prophesying. He speaks of the hand of the Lord coming upon him. And in that incident, it was the peculiar enablement of God to speak the word of God.

19:01 So then the meaning of the phrase should be obvious to us. A peculiar enablement of God for a specifically God-given task was granted on that occasion. In this context of 2 Kings 3, it means that the Lord gave to his servant the ability to speak forth the word of God in that specific situation. You see, the prophets...

19:31 could not prophesy any time someone might desire them to prophesy or to prophesy, or when they had a notion that they would like to prophesy. You see, all the way through the record of the prophets, you have this phraseology. The word of the Lord came. The word of the Lord came.

19:53 The hand of the Lord came. No prophet ever prophesied simply because someone wanted him to prophesy. The fact that these three kings come and say, give us the word of the Lord, that was not something that Elisha could just push a switch in his back and suddenly, thus saith Jehovah. No, no, unless God gave the word, he would have no word to give.

20:17 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 has its origin,

The Nature of the Relationship Between Music and Prophecy

21:01 origin in the living God. And the prophet simply becomes the mouthpiece of the Almighty. Now this brings us to the very practical question. In what way was the playing of the minstrel related to the hand of the Lord coming upon the man of God?

21:23 The text brings them into the closest proximity. When the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord, we cannot deny the relationship. But the question we must ask is, what was the nature of that relationship?

21:47 Well, let me answer that question negatively and then positively. It was not by means of working up the prophet into a frenzied state until he felt some kind of impulse carrying him along and then he just blurted out a prophecy. There are some things that we can do about it. There are some things that we can do about it.

22:08 There are some who hate every element of the supernatural who try to say, well, you see, the prophets, in reality, they weren't really the mouthpieces of God. They were just people who had a more highly cultivated religious sensitivity. And if you could get them in the right mood and, as it were, nurture that sensitivity, then you could spring loose the benefits of that sensitivity and they could share their insights. Well, you have nothing of that nature here.

22:37 You see, there is nothing to indicate that this was the result of an ascending religious fervency or frenzy. Rather, it was a descending act of divine sovereignty. The hand of the Lord came upon him. Something comes from above and without in the direction of the man of God.

23:03 It's not a case of something coming from within that brings him to God. It brings him to the prophetic level. That is not the relationship between the playing of the minstrel and the hand of the Lord. But stating it positively, the playing of the minstrel was a blessing of common grace which calmed the prophet's mind and spirit, thereby putting him in a fit frame of mind and spirit to receive the Word of God.

23:40 Go back to the setting. That's why I spent a few moments reminding you of that setting. The feelings of apprehension for the armies that all around him are manifesting despair as they are held in the terrible grip of a death-like thirst. Something of the grief and anger and zeal that boiled up within his spirit at the presence of Jehoram, this manifestation, of the wickedness of Israel.

24:14 And as only one who speaks understands something of the venting of that mingled spirit of anger and grief and pain and zeal for Jehovah, which found expression in his rebuke, something of his own spirit has been mingled with his words and virtue has gone out at him. And you see, recognizing that in that state of mind, in spirit, not sinful in itself, he was nonetheless not fit to separate his own spirit from the impulses of the Spirit of God.

24:59 And therefore, he says, bring me a minstrel, that by the playing of the minstrel, his own mind and spirit would be quieted, stilled, brought to a state of quiet, tranquil, and peacefulness. And in that situation, the hand of the Lord comes upon him, and the word of the Lord is imparted. Well, so much for the setting of the incident, the specific facts of the incident. Now, in the third place, what are the significant lessons of this incident?

The Powerful Influence of Music on the Human Personality

25:41 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.

26:17 And he says, Elisha, like his predecessor, speaking of the other prophets who used musical instruments, only used a natural means for putting himself into readiness for receiving supernatural help. And then he goes on to exhort God's people. And he speaks of many practical matters. I commend the sermon to you.

26:40 It's in volume 27 of the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit. That's available in our church as well as in our academy library.

26:51 Now, I want to bypass that very legitimate realm of application, and I want to focus more upon another area that I announced this morning, namely, the powerful influence of music upon the human personality. Here in the text before us, amidst warfare between nations that involves the deepest of God's redemptive designs, God records the playing of a minstrel, and he brings it into the closest proximity to the hand of the Lord and to the word of the Lord,

27:35 and therefore sets before us a wonderful demonstration of the powerful influence of music upon the human personality. Now, why do I zero in upon this point of application while bypassing others? Well, for several reasons. Let me give them to you.

27:53 Number one, we live in a day when we are all bombarded with the sounds of music, particularly powerful instrumental music. And this music rarely has a neutral influence upon us. In our text, it was instrumental music which came between an agitated, excited, tumultuous spirit and the calm, rational reception of the spirit of the man of God essential to receiving the word of God. And because you and I live in a day

28:36 in which, by virtue of tape recorders, record players, radios, and all of the other means to constantly blare music into our ears, we must recognize that that music is not an amoral issue. God has so constituted us that it has a profound influence upon the human personality. And if this were the only passage in the word of God that seemed to intimate that, I would be a bit reluctant to spend the remainder of the time sitting on that one point of application. But surely, if you have any knowledge of Scripture,

29:20 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.

29:47 16, 23 of, I'm sorry, 1 Samuel, not 1 Kings, 1 Samuel 16 and verse 23. And it came to pass when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul that David took the harp and played with his hand so Saul was refreshed and was well and the evil spirit departed from him. 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.

30:32 The evil spirit from the Lord actually left. That's an amazing thing. That the state of the soul conditioned by music made it either fitting or unfitting for that soul to be the very dwelling place or to be so uncomfortable for a demon that he leaves. That's an amazing statement, but it's there.

31:01 And we could bring into play many other lines of biblical truth relative to this one great principle illustrated in our text tonight. The powerful influence of music upon the human personality. So that's my first reason for dealing with the subject. It is a powerful influence.

Pastoral Concern: Music's Impact on the Soul

31:21 We are all exposed to it. My second great reason is intensely pastoral. Whatever is in the interest of your souls should be a matter of pastoral concern. And since music has a positive influence for good or for evil, I cannot be silent upon this issue and be true to my trust as a shepherd of souls.

31:53 Now in seeking to open up this area of application, I am not going to attempt to play the part of a musicologist, for I am not a musicologist. A musicologist is a man who has given himself or a woman to the study of music as a science. I have not done that. I would be totally out of my field.

32:14 I do commend to you the excellent treatment of the subject of music in general by Pastor Jim Corenti. We have a tape of that, I believe. Do we not, Mr. Kilbrook?

32:25 And in a real sense, Mr. Corenti, a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, could be classified at least as a fledgling musicologist, and he treats the subject of music in a very balanced and helpful and biblical way that is sound from the perspective of musicology. And I would urge any of you who are concerned to follow this issue through from that perspective to obtain his tape. You will find it very profitable.

32:54 Furthermore, and I want to assure you young people here, I am not going to take the role of an irrational ranter and just stand up here and, quote, blast your music. I hope you all know me well enough to know whatever else I am, I'm not an irrational ranter who just stands up here and works up a lather over nothing. Nor am I going to take the role of a legalistic lord over your conscience, because that's a role which God has assigned to no man. I desire to do one very fundamental thing, that is simply to bring to bear upon your conscience some of the perspectives of this portion of the Word of God so that you may honestly reflect upon

33:37 those principles as they relate to your own life. And as I wrestled with how to do this, I came to the conclusion the best way I could do it is to ask you one very simple, pointed question and then help you to answer that question. And the question is this. Does the music you generally listen to render you better prepared to receive and cherish the Word of God, or does it dispose you to be insensitive and rebellious to the Word of God?

34:12 You get the question? Does the music you generally listen to of whatever kind, of whatever kind, does the music you generally listen to render you better prepared to receive the Word of God and to cherish it, or does it dispose you to be insensitive and rebellious to it? Now you see, this question puts the whole issue in the area of supreme importance. Your salvation depends upon your reception of the Word of God,

34:56 not by direct revelation as Elisha received it, but certainly by a thoughtful, earnest believing acceptance of that Word. James says, Receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your souls. In the parable of the sower, those who receive the Word on good ground, it says of them, These are they who when they hear the Word of God receive it. My friend, you will not be saved unless you receive the Word of God.

35:29 And therefore, if the music you listen to does not dispose you to receive that Word with greater eagerness, but rather to treat that Word with indifference, that is an instrument of your potential damnation. And as the children of God, how important is our assimilation of the Word as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby. And therefore, as a believer, any kind of music that indisposes me to assimilate the Word of God as my meat and drink is an enemy to my soul.

36:14 Music then, as we've already seen in our text, does have a powerful influence. In our text it was an influence for good, but often it is an influence for evil. The good of the Word, the good of music is recognized in Scripture as we've already intimated in this first Samuel passage. Its beneficial effects are illustrated in history.

36:44 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.

37:17 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 fight

38:00 and to go in and to take that beach. Tremendous influence of music is seen in history. But the evil effects of music are also demonstrated in the Word of God. And in human history.

38:17 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,

39:02 widened and strewed with flowers the way down to eternal ruin. You see, in his day, Wesley, this was Charles Wesley, the great hymnist, not only recognized the ability of music to elevate, but the ability of music to drag downward. Now, having laid out the principles, I want to zero in and speak tonight particularly to that expression of music which is predominantly instrumental and has, as it were, captured our own culture in the past twenty years. And I'm speaking, of course, of rock music.

A Pointed Question: Does Your Music Prepare You for God's Word?

39:45 Now, all you young people have been waiting for me to come to this, and you've got your heels dug in, you're saying, what's he gonna say? May I plead with you? Just hear me out as a reasonable young person in the presence of what I hope is a reasonable adult. Now, I know you can't generalize.

40:04 There's old 1950s rock and roll, Elvis Presley stuff. There's hard rock. There's acid rock. There's punk rock.

40:11 There's country rock. I'm fully aware of all the distinctions. And I'm also aware that there are shades and degrees. I'm fully aware of that.

40:22 But isn't it interesting that all those musical forms do include the word rock? And therefore, I am speaking of that musical form which is characterized by that hard, driving, repetitive beat that is the common denominator of rock music. And all I want to do in helping you to answer that larger question does the music you listen to better prepare you to receive and cherish the word or does it dispose you to reject and to despise it? I want you to honestly answer in your own mind three very fundamental simple questions concerning rock music.

Critique of Rock Music: Climate, Behavior, and Lyrics

41:04 Question number one. What is the general climate of a rock concert? Well, you say, I don't go to rock concerts. I hope you don't.

41:15 But you see, it's acknowledged by every rock performer that you do not understand rock music unless you see and feel and experience rock music in a rock concert. It is in a rock concert in that community of musical sympathy that rock music comes to its own intended end. Now, what is the general climate? I didn't say in every single incident.

41:51 I said what is the general climate of a rock concert. I think there is but one set of words to describe it. It is lawless frenzy. Some of you saw the recent television production tracing out the history of rock music.

42:12 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?

42:36 And you know what his answer was? I consider a rock concert a success when it has turned into total madness. End quote. Now, that is not some stuff-shirted, near-sighted itcher

42:59 when we have attained-ness. Now, I ask you, is total madness the frame of mind in which the word of God

43:43 is received and cherished? You see, with the prophet of God, it was simply a spirit ruffled. The engagement in holy things even rendered him unfit for the word from God. And if it was vegetated even with holy things to be called the word, what is the hope for a spirit?

44:25 What is the general climate of a rock concert? It is lawless frenzy. And I think you'll admit that if you want to be honest. Oh, I know you can provide the exception.

44:41 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.

45:18 Speak to any municipality that has to provide police protection when there's a rock concert in town. Ask them, what is the ratio of protection provided? For instance, ask the Cedar Grove police how many police they had to provide when the high school just did the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, The Pirates of Penzance, on Saturday night. Ask them what they would provide if the same number of people were coming for a rock concert in the same auditorium as this fella.

45:51 Because you know the answer already, don't you? Lawless frenzy. All right, second question. What are the general behavior patterns of rock performers and those who imbibe the so-called rock culture?

46:13 What are the general behavior patterns of rock performers and those who imbibe the so-called rock culture? Are they not, for the most part, I know there are exceptions, but for the most part, do they not make unembarrassed claims that drugs, all the way from pop to acid, and everything else, snorting cocaine and all the rest, that that's a part of their total lifestyle?

46:54 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.

47:21 The facts are there. And Jimi Hendrix, the facts are there. And you go down the line and you find, you see, that the whole basic lifestyle is one which is oriented to the destruction of the mind and its rationalities. Furthermore, promiscuous, bestial-like sex is for the most part an integral element of the lifestyle of the rock performers and those who imbibe the rock culture.

47:59 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

48:36 in a madhouse. And their appearance is a reflection of their music, which in turn is a reflection

48:59 of the state of the soul. So that's my second question. What are the general behavior patterns of rock performers and those who imbibe the rock culture? The presence of illicit drug traffic at any rock concert, again, is a common fact.

49:13 You read the reports when they write up after a concert and they speak of the air being heavy with the stench of marijuana. And the cops don't even try to bust people. They just try to keep them from busting each other's skulls open. Question number three.

49:31 What is the general behavior drift of the lyrics of rock music? The scripture says, whatsoever things are pure, lovely, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. I have subjected myself to the pain of both listening to and reading, whenever it's available, the printed lyrics of rock music. So don't accuse me, some of you who are defensive, don't accuse me of reading something in, I've listened and tortured my ears and my soul.

50:08 I've looked and read and tortured my eyes and the general drift of the lyrics used in conjunction with rock music is irrational drug-induced gibberish. Some of it is sheer verbal nonsense. Much of it is despair. Much of it is rebellion.

50:37 Much of it is nihilism. Much of it is a glorification of drugs and of the drug culture. Much of it is lawless sex in which women are treated as things that you bed down and then drop them and leave them. Much of it is just the expression of total disorientation to life and to reality.

51:04 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.

51:29 But at least there was an element of common grace that there was something noble about male-female relationships. At least they reflected some remnants of common grace in which a man said, albeit in a very unrealistic, romantic way, she passed by and I saw her and having seen her I can think of no one else until I die. Well, you see, there's something noble about that. It captures an element of the committal for life relationship.

52:08 It wasn't I saw you, I got in heat for you, I bedded down with you, now you go your way and I'll go the other way. Don't listen to the words. You don't? It's what you think.

The Destructive Influence of Rock Music on the Soul

52:23 You absorb far more than you realize. Now I ask everything thinking man, woman, boy or girl in this place tonight, if you face that larger question, does the music you listen to make your soul more receptive to the word of God or indisposite to the word of God? How in the name of anything that is rational can you face these other three questions with respect to rock music and say you have any concern for your soul? If rock music is an integral part of your life, I ask you to face the question what is the general climate of a rock concert?

53:08 Lawless frenzy. And the goal of the music is to it. When the men in the stage are breaking their instruments over one another's back and when people from the audience are clawing at the performers to madness. My friend, do you know what total madness is in its ultimate expression?

53:46 It's hell. Weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth. Why? Nothing beautiful.

53:57 Nothing sane. Nothing lovely. Nothing rational. And that's why I call most of that music hell.

54:10 Because it reflects the very spirit of hell which is lawless frenzy. You face that second question, what are the general behavior patterns of rock performers and those involved in rock culture? It is not just what we would like to call a common manifestation of human sinfulness. It is an aggravated expression of the highest forms or the lowest forms of total lawlessness.

54:45 Blowing the mind to that precious gift of God into which we are to receive the word and with which we are to reflect upon God and ourselves and life in the light of the scriptures. We're to love God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength. And God cannot be loved in a mind that is blown under us. And third question, what is the general drift of the lyrics of rock music?

55:15 Well, you see in all of those things it is quite obvious that this musical form is exerting a very profoundly evil influence upon this generation. And I'm convinced there are some of you dear young people and this is why I've preached as I've preached tonight. God is witness to how much you are on the hearts of your parents, your elders and others. We pray for you.

55:45 Our hearts yearn for you. And there are times we shed tears for you. And down in your heart of hearts you know we have nothing but your good on our hearts. And as I ask the question, Lord, what is it?

56:02 What is it from the human side that is keeping your word from taking hold of the hearts of so many of our young people? We seek to preach to you. You seem to listen and I'm grateful to God and I want you young people to know that. I'm grateful that you give to me a respectful hearing.

56:20 You're not sitting there snapping bubble gum and looking out the window. And I'm grateful for that. And I say that with utmost sincerity. And that's what makes me even more perplexed.

56:31 I say, Lord, what is it? They seem to be listening. They seem to be absorbing. They seem to be in that sense susceptible to the worst.

56:40 It's quite evident that that word is not taking any root. Somewhere between the falling upon the ear and the implantation of the heart. And I have come to this conviction as I've observed you young people with many of you I'm convinced this is one great part of the answer. It is your will to rock neutralizing the effect of the word of God upon your heart.

57:13 And listen to me. Until you're prepared to change your understanding and addiction to your rock music because the most serious and his law and his son and his gospel and his forgiveness you know as well as I do not one of those thoughts can coexist for thirty seconds with rock music flaring in your ear. Come on, be honest with me.

57:55 If you dare and you'll prove yourself a liar the mind be bombarded with its end and seriously reflect upon that which has as its end total sanity. The sanity of accepting the fact that you're God's creature accountable to God under his wrath and yet wonder of wonders

Rock Music as the 'Glue' of Peer Relationships

58:37 an object of his sincere overtures of mercy to forsake your sin and flee to Christ for refuge. Am I saying if you willfully deliberately turn your back upon your addiction to rock music you'll be saved? No. You see Elisha could not create the word of the Lord.

59:00 It had to come. But he could call a minstrel to put him in a frame of mind fit to receive the word of God. You can't regenerate your own hearts young people. Can save you.

59:25 There's another problem isn't there? The rock music in great measure is the glue that holds you together with your peers isn't it? The glue that holds you together. I've seen it time and time again.

59:45 In most of the interaction with teenagers today a record has a place. Either a record's under the arm which is going to be exchanged with another or the record has to be there played when you're together. You see your rock music has become the glue that holds you together. And for you to say I am going to turn from that which is not in the best interest of my soul's well-being is to take away the glue that holds you together.

60:20 What a tragic confession to say that you need the music of hell to hold you in any meaningful human relationship. What a tragic confession. What a tragic confession. And God has made us to be held together in bonds so much richer so much more ennobling so much more.

60:45 Glorifying to Him and satisfying to us. That's why some of you young people are counting the cost aren't you? I'm speaking the truth am I not? It is the glue isn't it?

60:59 Not the only glue but it's pretty much the glue. The same way with many of you dabbling in drugs is part of the glue. You want to be able to look at one another with a knowing look I've done it too. Sure.

61:14 What a tragic thing to confess. That's what sin has done to mock you make a fool of you. Now the Lord says return to sobriety. That's the very language used in second Timothy.

A Word to Believers: Addiction to Counterproductive Music

61:31 Servant of the Lord must not strive but be patient in meekness instructing them that oppose themselves. If peradventure God will give them repentance to the acknowledgement of the truth. May I in closing speak a brief word to you who are the people of God. I would be greatly surprised if there were not some of you as Christians who don't have a form of addiction to rock music which is counterproductive in your spiritual life.

62:06 You see there's no sin that Christians cannot fall prey to and even come into some form of bondage in relationship to that sin. I'd love to say Christians don't fornicate. Christians don't lie. Christians don't steal.

62:16 But the Bible doesn't teach that. The exhortations of the New Testament don't teach that. I'd love to say no Christian could allow himself to let his soul go to sleep in the presence of the Holy Spirit. I'd love to say no Christian could allow himself to let his soul steep in that which is so patently anti-God.

62:37 But that would not be a realistic perspective would it? Maybe some of you who have been really struggling in your Christian lives maybe this is the answer. Could it be? Could it be?

62:48 God says whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue if there be any praise think on these things. Elisha said bring me a minstrel. And while or when the minstrel played the hand of the Lord came upon him. May I give you a good rule of thumb as a Christian?

63:15 Deliberately listen to no music in the listening of which you could not expect the hand of the Lord to come upon you. Isn't that a good little rule of thumb? I have often felt the hand of the Lord listening to some of the products musical products of the works of the masters of a bygone day. I have been filled with a sense of wonder at the harmony and the unity of God's universe as expressed in music that was ennobling and uplifting and the hand of the Lord has come upon me with great refreshing.

63:53 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.

64:20 And time and time again when my spirit has felt the drain of the agitation of preaching and ministering on the Lord's day the hand of the Lord has come while I listen to a minstrel. And I am sure that is the experience of many of you. But my friend don't you listen to anything anything that you haven't listened to while expecting the hand of the Lord to come upon you. Isn't that a good little rule of thumb?

64:50 I hope you'll find it helpful and I trust that for some of you who perhaps have found the things said tonight very agitating and disturbing don't go away mad and irrational. Go home and think about what has been said and if you feel anything has been really unfair irrational unfactual and if you can demonstrate to me that I have uttered falsehood more than once I've made confessions both of my own sin and error from this pulpit and I'll gladly do it again. But if you cannot demonstrate error or falsehood then my friend your issue's not with me or your dealings aren't with me

65:35 your dealings are with the living God. And don't cop out by saying well you don't understand yes it's because I do understand that I speak as a shepherd to your soul. It is while a minstrel played that the hand of the Lord came. May God grant that if you're listening to the devil's minstrels who fit you to receive an evil spirit that you may repent and flee to Christ and ask him for the power to overcome your addiction to that which can only issue in the destruction of your soul.

Conclusion and Prayer

66:16 Christ came to deliver your sins even the sin of addiction not just to rock music any music that eats at the vitals of your soul Christ can deliver seek him for that deliverance let us pray. Our Father we are grateful that the scriptures contain all that we need for life and godliness we thank you for the record of this minstrel and his place in the history of redemption we thank you for the many practical lessons

67:00 it contains for us living several thousands of years after the event and we pray that the spirit himself would write the truth upon our hearts and give us grace to embrace its implications we pray now as many of us must go into a situation in work some in their homes others with relationships where musical music is not an option or where their souls are blurred into their own ears through no choice of their own

67:45 give your people grace somehow oh lord to block out its negative influence may their hearts and minds be so filled with the must pay a much greater price than many of us as adults if they are truly to embrace the claims of Christ over them. We know the pressure in this area is a powerful one, but we thank you that King Jesus is more powerful. O Lord, come and plant the flag of your gracious triumph in the hearts of our young people.

68:29 Bless now the word. Receive our thanks for your presence and goodness to us this day. And may the benediction of that presence rest upon us and abide with us as we leave. We ask in our Savior's name.

68:45 Amen.