The Principle

Someone may say, “I still don’t find where the Word says not to have musical instruments in worship.” This is true. There are many things that God did not mention by name, but He did leave us a principle to go by and He deals with the positive side of everything. It would take most of the world to hold the books He had to tell us the negative side of everything. He tells us what to do and leaves us a principle to go by and expects us to measure to it.

Let us notice a few texts on this line. “Ye shall not do after all things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.”* (Deuteronomy 12:8) God does not want people to draw their own pattern to follow Him (Leviticus 10:1; Proverbs 14:12). Notice what happened to Aaron’s sons for offering strange fire before God. He slew both of them before the altar. It is dangerous to trifle with God. David decided to bring back the ark which had been stolen and it pleased all the people and God (1 Chronicles 13:1-14; 15:2,13). But David failed to get the book of the Law and see how God had planned for it to be moved. He got some helpers and made a cart, etc.; but God was displeased and slew a man, and David was troubled. He learned that God had a plan for the Levites to carry it on their shoulders. After he learned how God wanted it moved, he moved it and God blessed him. Israel had been keeping the feast of Tabernacles for a number of years, but not according to the Law (Nehemiah 8:13-17), and when they found in the book of the Law that the people should dwell in booths of palm branches, etc., they did this just like God said, and God blessed them greatly.

This is a principle that we can follow all the way through the Bible. God did not say not to use musical instruments in worship, and He did not say not to watch television, and He did not tell us not to smoke tobacco. But He did tell us what to do, how to do it, and expects us to do it His way, not ours. It is a dangerous thing to trifle with God and His word.