Excert from Kevin Bond's website:
http://www.bondedmusic.com/gpage1.htmlTHE MAKERS OF THE MUSIC
"And he [Hezekiah] set the Levites in the house of the Lord . . . to sing praise unto the Lord" (vv. 25, 30). The musicians were Levites. Not all Levites were musicians just as not all Levites were priests. But all the musicians of the Temple came from the Levites. These musician Levites were skilled in making music. They not only "sang praises" (v. 30), but they also played musical instruments (v. 25) to accompany the singing of praises. Verse 25 mentions three of the instruments used—cymbals, psalteries (lyres—similar to harps), and harps. Verse 26 adds a fourth instrument when it says that some of the Levite priests played "trumpets." The lesson to note here is that these musicians were capable in music and called for their task. We have too many making music in our services, however, who are very short on ability, training, and calling. These music makers do not bring much adoration to God but rather sore ears to the listeners and a distraction to worship. Volunteer choirs are too often a distraction to the worship of God rather than a help to worship. Much that is called special music in our churches is anything but special. Churches need to major on congregational singing and skip the "special" music if individual talent is lacking in church. Parading a bunch of music makers across the rostrum of a church who can not perform well is not honoring to God. Musicians do not need to be professional to perform in front of the church congregation, of course; but they must be capable. We do not want every Tom, Dick, and Harry preaching at church; and we should not have every Tom, Dick, and Harry performing special music at church. Hezekiah did not call for a volunteer choir and orchestra. Rather, he put those in the choir who were especially gifted, trained, and sanctified to be in the choir. Let our churches do likewise.
