If we spent more time praising God, we would not indulge the flesh, which produces a cacophony. We wouldn’t have time to complain and find fault. Instead, we would be filled with the Spirit, who makes us sing.

What makes good music? My father was a lover of great music. As a young boy, I didn’t understand why he loved opera and classical music so much. It was beyond my ability to appreciate. He enjoyed many other types of music too and considered them good, but he had a refined taste that was able to savor the heights of musical accomplishment found in the classics. I long to be able to have that kind of musical appreciation. Opera is still a difficult taste for me to acquire.   

What does this have to do with doctrine and theology? Everything! We can appreciate simple theological truths as we begin our journey of faith, but as we grow, we begin to perceive the depth and vastness of God Himself. Good music reveals to us the archetypal musician — God Himself. God sings!

When C.S. Lewis creates the world of Narnia in The Magician’s Nephew, he imagines a world literally sung into existence. Likewise, when God spoke the world into existence, it was written in Hebrew poetry — a kind of song. The Bible ends with a song too. The book of Revelation is a liturgical worship service, and it ends with a doxology:

“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” 

When you read Paul’s letters, you find him explaining some profound doctrinal point, and then suddenly he stops and praises God:

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

The Bible is full of doxologies and teaches us that this is our primary mission in life. Doxologies are like songs and are often incorporated into the hymnbooks of the church. We must get in tune with the song God is creating. As it says in the Shorter Catechism: The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Our end is doxology and delight. When these two are brought together perfectly, we are in resonance with the Creator Himself. God is composing the Song of Songs in His redemption of mankind — and what a glorious song it is! We have a foretaste of it now, but we must wait for the final consummation.

When we look at the symphony God is creating, we see facsimiles of it in good music. Good music has complexity, tension, and resolution. This mimics the path of redemption: suffering, struggle, and consummation. It is not like the endless loops of algorithmic music. Techno and much modern electronic music lack true tension and therefore have no need for resolution. They are merely reflections of the meaninglessness of life under the sun — endless loops of predictable, boring oscillations. There is no ultimate purpose, no meaning, no hope, and no consummation.

It is music that says: “Live however you want and have fun, because this is all there is.”

Such music is the soundtrack of a world without redemption — a hollow imitation of the true Song that God is even now composing in His people.

If we think of the Song of Redemption as a symphony of many instruments, and if we are being tuned and trained to join in this great song, then we can think of our sanctification as musical training. When Paul talks about being filled with the Spirit, he relates it to singing. Ephesians 5:18–19 says:

“Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.”

The Spirit intends to use us as instruments to make beautiful music. Yet because of sin, we are a mixture of bad music and are often a cacophony. Walking in the flesh produces disorder, disharmony, and noise — but walking in the Spirit is the opposite of that. God wants us to enjoy unity, harmony, and a well-ordered life — everything that makes for good music.

The law of God tells us what good music sounds like.

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