1 Samuel 16:23 – And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.
What a weird passage this is. God leaves Saul, sends a demon to disquiet him and the demon goes away when music is played by David. It’s easy to just get back to this passage later, but this passage has been an important part of the spirit of Village Psalms in its assertion that music has real deal spiritual effects. If we can say for sure that beautiful music can drive away evil then shouldn’t the faithful prioritize this in their mission? Shouldn’t we bring beautiful music to the world? Shouldn’t music be more apart of our spiritual practices? Confession, invocation, petition, mourning, praise, etc.; these are the building blocks of psalms. The Hebrews seemed to understand the link between music and spirit in a way that puts song at the center of life. How can we revive this tradition today?
Another aspect of this verse that I love is how important is was for the writer to express, (almost awkwardly) that David played it with his hand. It was important that we know this detail. Perhaps it tells us something about his playing technique or emphasizes the intimacy of the performance. Maybe it’s speaking to the connection between spirit, body and instrument? Either way it paints a vivid picture.
How can we play an instrument made of wood and skin with our bodies made of flesh and bone and engage the spirit world? Can we clear evil, and if we can, does this calm the heart? And if clearing evil calms the heart does that make place for the spirit? More and more I believe this. More and more I am convicted of my musical responsibility. The trick is, how do you make something spiritually real in a world were nothing is real? How do you make real connection in a world that has turned us into chatbots? My intuition tells me that part of that answer is to go back in time to when music was at the center of our society, our tribe. When music was everything. When music was real, made with real instruments by real hands. When all we knew was each other. When all we depended on was God.