instruments in the church
What does the Bible say about instruments in the church? These are the passages readers found most helpful — tap any citation to read it in context.
11 passages · most helpful first
1Alleluia. Praise the Lord in his holy places. Praise him in the firmament of his power. 2Praise him for his virtues. Praise him according to the multitude of his greatness. 3Praise him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise him with psaltery and stringed instrument. 4Praise him with timbrel and choir. Praise him with strings and organ. 5Praise him with sweet-sounding cymbals. Praise him with cymbals of jubilation. 6Let every spirit praise the Lord. Alleluia.
3Praise him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise him with psaltery and stringed instrument. 4Praise him with timbrel and choir. Praise him with strings and organ.
23And so, whenever the evil spirit from the Lord assailed Saul, David took up his stringed instrument, and he struck it with his hand, and Saul was refreshed and uplifted. For the evil spirit withdrew from him.
20O Lord, save me! And we will sing our psalms, all the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.”
15What is next? I should pray with the spirit, and also pray with the mind. I should sing psalms with the spirit, and also recite psalms with the mind.
5But David and all of Israel played before the Lord on every kind of musical instrument made of wood, and on harps, and lyres, and timbrels, and bells, and cymbals.
19speaking among yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, singing and reciting psalms to the Lord in your hearts,
6And I saw, and behold, in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb was standing, as if it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth to all the earth. 7And he approached and received the book from the right hand of the One sitting upon the throne. 8And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having stringed instruments, as well as golden bowls full of fragrances, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they were singing a new canticle, saying: “O Lord, you are worthy to receive the book and to open its seals, because you were slain and have redeemed us for God, by your blood, from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10And you have made us into a kingdom and into priests for our God, and we shall reign over the earth.”
13Is any of you sad? Let him pray. Is he even-tempered? Let him sing psalms.
7Even those things that are without a soul can make sounds, whether it is a wind or a stringed instrument. But unless they present a distinction within the sounds, how will it be known which is from the pipe and which is from the string?
16May our lord order, and your servants, who are before you, will seek a man skillful in playing a stringed instrument, so that when the evil spirit from the Lord assails you, he may play with his hand, and you may bear it more easily.”