The Songs of Zion
By
Pastor Clarence William Page
Even the Babylonians knew that there was a distinct difference between the songs of Zion and the songs of Babylon. Listen to their own witness:Pastor Clarence William Page
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? (Psalm 137:1-4) The Holy Bible
"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" Lest we miss the significance of this passage, let us remember that God is Holy. God is Deity (He is GOD!!!) One does not purposefully and without careful consideration offer just ANYTHING to ALMIGHTY God. The Apostle Paul was a little more dramatic. He said,
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31) The Holy Bible
Paul further expounds by saying,
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28-29) The Holy Bible
It is very clear then that our God is indeed the greatest of the greatest and that He does not accept just anything. Paul is very succinct when he says, "let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:" Clearly then, God is not to be played with nor is He to be offered just anything.
Quite clearly, the above does not apply to music only but it does apply to music. The worship we offer God, including the music, must be acceptable and it must be reverent. The Rock & Roll noises bearing the spirit of Satan and called "Christian Music" now being offered in some churches and over the airways do not pass the test of "songs of Zion" nor do they pass the tests of acceptability and reverence. Simply, that music bears the image and imprimatur of Satan and, if offered at all, should be offered to Satan, but has no business whatsoever in the house or Sacred Service of the Living God. The Gospel writers Matthew, Mark and Luke all agree that Jesus addressed the issue of what should be offered to God. Consider now their testimonies:
This is a defining issue. Please hear the Lord:
20 And he saith unto them,Whose is this image and superscription?
21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things which are God's. (Matthew 22:20-21) The Holy Bible
16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.
17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him. (Mark 12:16-17) The Holy Bible
24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's.
25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God t he things which be God's. (Luke 20:24-25) The Holy Bible
Worship offered to God is supposed to be sacred. He is holy. The angels are holy. We are to be holy and our worship is to both express and communicate that holiness. The music offered unto God should emanate from holy vessels and should bear the mark of sincerity and the imprimatur of holiness. When we offer unto God music which bears the spirit of Satan we demonstrate our disregard for Who He (God) really is. We do a disservice to ourselves as well as to those who seek to worship God through the corporate worship experience we create. Those who are truly Saved have not so learned the Lord! Those who know not the Lord will lean to their own imagination and seek to bring into the Sacred worship service that which they know in the "natural" and do not truly understand in the "Spiritual". They see nothing wrong with Rocky - Rolly music in the worship service (because that is what they are accustomed to). All of this (which we are discussing) seems stupid to them because they are not filled with the Holy Ghost and do not have a depth in Christ which allows the Holy Spirit to hold sway in their lives. They will continue on insist on bringing secular music into the Sacred Worship service (under the guise of "Church music" or "Christian Music"). Let those of us who are filled with the Holy Spirit pray and stand guard against Satanic influences that seek to pollute our worship services.
Copyright© Clarence William Page/Trinity Baptist Church 2007.