Those who defend the use of mechanical instruments of music in New Testament worship sometimes appeal to David. The argument goes something like this: Mechanical instruments were not part of the worship at the tabernacle under Moses. David later introduced instruments into Israel’s worship, and God accepted them. Therefore, why cannot Christians introduce instruments into the worship of the church today? The argument raises a legitimate question, but it rests upon a mistaken premise. David introduced something new, but he did not introduce something unauthorized.
Instruments Before David
Mechanical instruments certainly did not originate with David. They existed very early in human history. Genesis tells us that Jubal “was the father of all those who play the harp and flute” (Genesis 4:21). God had also commanded the use of instruments among Israel long before David. When Israel was in the wilderness, God told Moses: “Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps” (Numbers 10:2). These trumpets also had a religious purpose. God said: “Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the LORD your God” (Numbers 10:10).
The Law also commanded “a memorial of blowing of trumpets” (Leviticus 23:24) and “a day of blowing the trumpets” (Numbers 29:1). Thus, the divinely commanded use of instruments in connection with Israel’s religious observances began before David; yet we do not read of an elaborate system of harps, cymbals, psalteries, and organized Levitical musicians during the earlier period of tabernacle worship. That more extensive system was instituted later under David.
Did David Act Without God’s Authority?
This is the crucial question. Did David decide on his own to introduce instruments into worship, after which God simply accepted his innovation? The Bible specifically says otherwise. During the reign of Hezekiah, the worship of the temple was restored according to the arrangements established by David: “And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets” (2 Chronicles 29:25).
Notice carefully what the passage says. The arrangement was “according to the commandment of David,” but the inspired writer immediately explains, “for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets.” It is also significant that all three men named were prophets through whom God revealed His will. Peter called David a prophet (Acts 2:30), and David himself said, “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2). Gad was “the king’s seer,” and Nathan is also identified as a prophet (2 Chronicles 29:25). This establishes that God sometimes gave His word through David by inspiration. It is therefore entirely possible that God Himself gave this command through David, along with the prophets Gad and Nathan. Thus, “the commandment of David” does not mean that the use of instruments originated in David’s own mind.
David introduced something new, but not something unauthorized, and that distinction is essential. David was doing what God commanded him to do.
What If David Had Reasoned As Some Do Today?
Suppose David had reasoned, “God has commanded certain things in worship, but He has not forbidden me from adding harps and cymbals. Therefore, I will add them.” That would be an entirely different situation from the one described in the Bible. David did not have to argue that God had never said, “Thou shalt not use a harp.” He had positive divine authority for what he did. The LORD commanded this instrumental arrangement through His prophets. To use instruments today, the church would need that kind of authority in the New Testament Scriptures. Unlike David, Christians today are not living during a period of ongoing revelation; the faith has already been “once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3; cf. John 16:13).
What About the Church?
God had the right to change what He required in worship during David’s time, and He later replaced the Old Testament system of worship with the New Testament system. Just because something was authorized under the Old Testament does not mean it is authorized under the New Testament. Animal sacrifices, incense, a special priesthood, feast days, and numerous other elements belonged to Israel’s worship but are not parts of New Testament worship.
The question, then, is not, “Did David use instruments?” He certainly did. The question is, “Why did David use them?” The answer is that God commanded their use. We might also add that God’s command to use mechanical instruments was never a universal command for everyone in the world. It was part of the system of worship God gave specifically to Israel under the Old Testament. Furthermore, the instrumental service associated with the temple was assigned to designated Levites; it was not simply a general command for all Israelites to bring instruments into worship.
The issue today is whether God has authorized mechanical instruments in New Testament worship. When the New Testament addresses the music Christians are to offer God, it repeatedly specifies singing: “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).
Other New Testament passages also speak of singing (Matthew 26:30; Acts 16:25; Romans 15:9; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Hebrews 2:12; James 5:13). Where is the corresponding New Testament authorization for Christians to play mechanical instruments in worship?
Can We Do What David Did?
Absolutely. We should do exactly what David did: worship according to God’s authority. If God, through Christ’s apostles and prophets, had instructed Christians to both sing and play mechanical instruments in worship, we should do both, but that is not what we find in the New Testament. This conclusion is also consistent with history. The early church worshiped without mechanical instruments for hundreds of years.
The difference between David and us is not that David was permitted to add unauthorized worship while Christians are forbidden to do so. David had God’s authorization for what he instituted. The New Testament church has no corresponding authorization for mechanical instruments.
Appealing to David, then, does not establish the right to introduce instruments into Christian worship. In fact, David’s example establishes the opposite principle: Before introducing something into the worship of God, we should be able to show that God authorized it.
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15 Reasons Not to Use Mechanical Instruments in Worship
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Does Revelation Authorize Mechanical Instruments in New Testament Worship?