Music (1)

Dear Boys and Girls,

In a remote castle, the Castle of Wartburg, a lone man was bent over his work. A stack of papers was next to him, and a large Bible lay open on the wooden table. The Bible was written in Greek and Hebrew. The man, Martin Luther, could read this Bible, but his thoughts were on all the people in his country. They had never read the Bible because it was not written in their language. Painstakingly, Luther began to translate the difficult words into the common German words which he heard his countrymen around him speak whenever he walked into the surrounding towns and countryside. He first translated into German the New Testament from the Greek language and then the Old Testament from the Hebrew.

Luther had been through many troubles because he defended God’s truth. Maybe you will study his life when it is Reformation Day. Then you will see that he had many enemies. Luther knew that the devil was one of those enemies who wanted to stop him from spreading his ideas, which had been taught him by the Lord. I wonder how he felt when he looked up at the high, solid walls of the castle in which he was hidden for about a year. Perhaps it made him think of the words of one of the songs he wrote: “Ein’feste Burg ist unserGott”: “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.” Perhaps, in his thoughts, he sang some of the words of this hymn: “The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, one little word shall fell him.”

Martin Luther said that the devil dreads music and that it makes him flee. He called music a costly treasure, given by God, to His praise. Maybe that is why, beginning in 1523, he wrote at least thirty-six hymns. He wanted to teach the people to sing in the congregations, just like singing was heard in the temple in the Old Testament, and like, in New Testament times, Paul wrote, “teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).

When words and music are put together, the music can sometimes tell us something about the meaning of the words. When music becomes softer or louder, changes to a different key, or emphasizes certain notes, it sets the tone for the words. How beautiful music is.

Imagine how David sounded when he sang, “Create in me a clean heart, 0 God.” He felt that he did not have a clean heart, and he must have been very sad. Perhaps his harp became soft and pleading as his heart begged “and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51).

Before he became a king, he was often found in the fields, watching his father’s sheep. There, with the sheep resting calmly around his feet, he sang, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to he down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters” (Psalm 23). With his back, he rested against a tree. The sheep chewed their cud, and the little lambs frisked in the sunshine nearby. David could feel it in his heart—the Lord was very nearby. The Lord watched over him and gently cared for him every moment of the day; He knew what was in David’s heart. David was just like one of the small sheep lying quietly in the shade under the tree, and the Lord was his Shepherd. Can you imagine how the notes coming from his small harp must have skipped over the quiet hills and meadows? How happy the music must have sounded.

“Music refreshes and calms a troubled soul,” said Martin Luther. He loved music, but he also knew what it was to sing “for Thee my troubled heart is burning.” He had tried in so many ways to find peace for his troubled soul, but then the Lord showed him the way. Luther knew he could never make it right between God and his soul himself; he needed Another, the Lord Jesus Christ, to take away his sins and give him a clean heart. Ask the Lord often, boys and girls, if you may also be shown the only Way, of which Luther read in the Bible, “The just shall live by faith.”

The idea of “music” was given us some time ago by Trina Keurhorst. We hope to have a second quiz on this subject, as well. Thank you, Trina!

Psalms

Fill in the blanks. The answers can be found in Psalms 9, 13, 29, 33, 45, 59, 65, 68, 71, 75, 81, 95, 96, 98, 100, 105, 106, and 148.

1. “O come, ______ us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation.”

2. “My lips shall greatly rejoice when ______ sing unto Thee; and my soul, which Thou hast redeemed.”

3. “But I will declare ______; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.”

4. “Let us come before His presence with ______, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.”

5. “Sing unto God, ______ kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the LORD; Selah.”

6. “Sing aloud unto God ______ strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.”

7. “I will sing ______ the Lord, because He hath dealt bountifully with me.”

8. “I will be glad and ______ in Thee: I will sing praise to Thy name, O Thou most High.”

9. “Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the ______ of a psalm.”

10. “The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in His temple doth every ______ speak of His glory.”

11. “Blessed be the LORD God of ______ from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.”

12. “The pastures are ______ with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.”

13. “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the ______: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”

14. “Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him; talk ye of ______ His wondrous works.”

15. “Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: let them praise the ______ of the LORD.”

16. “But I will sing of Thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning: for Thou hast been my ______ and refuge in the day of my trouble.”

17. “Sing to Him a new song; play ______ with a loud noise.”

18. “My heart is ______ a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the King.”

19. “Make a joyful ______ unto the LORD, all ye lands.”

20. “Sing unto the LORD, bless His name; shew forth His salvation from day to day. Declare His ______ among the heathen, His wonders among all people.”

21. What do the first letters of the answers above spell? _____________________ (Psalter ____:____)

Color the pictures at right and use one as a bookmark in your Psalter book; share them with others for their Psalter books!

Please send your answers to:

Aunt LenaBeth
62 Roosevelt Ave., Butler, NJ 07405
Fax: (973) 838-0863
E-mail: aemol@live.com

Answers to “A Soft Answer” quiz are:

1. spirit Proverbs 16:32

2. peaceable 1 Timothy 2:2

3. offend Psalm 119:165

4. work 2 Thessalonians 3:12

5. bridleth James 1:26

6. bread Proverbs 25:21

7. killed Romans 8:36

8. lowly Matthew 11:29

9. swift James 1:19

10. mighty Proverbs 16:32

11 “Grievous words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1b).

12. T

13. F

14. F

15. T

16. T

17. T

18. F

19. F

20. T

21. T

22. T

23. 7

Answers to previous quizzes were received from:

Brittany Bakker

Abby Baum

Sarah Baum

Cassy Behm

Krysta Behm

Andrea Blankespoor

Elisabeth Blom

Jonathan Blom

Matthew Blom

Michael Blom

Monica Blom

Arno Boer

Tian Boer

Reanne Brink

Brieanna Brouwer

Brittany Brouwer

Christina De Boer

Corne De Boer

Martina De Boer

Rachel De Boer

Julia De Jager

Kaleb De Jager

Lukas De Jager

Reanne DeLeeuw

Megan DeLeeuw

Braden Den Dekker

Derek Den Dekker

Jenna Den Dekker

Kelsey Den Dekker

Dezirea Erickson

Andrew Fluit

Joan Fluit

Bethany GeBuys

Erin GeBuys

Kimberly GeBuys

Maria GeBuys

Sam GeBuys

Elana Goudzwaard

Joshua Greendyk

Stefan Greendyk

Leah Grisnich

Natalia Groeneweg

Nathan Groeneweg

Henriette Heger

Marilyn Heger

Amanda Herfst

Cameron Herfst

Tara Herfst

Wade Herfst

Keanna Hoogendoorn

Keaton Hoogendoorn

Kayla Hoogmoed

Walter Hoogmoed

Daniel Hup

Jason Hup

Jonathon Hup

Rhonda Hup

Abigail Kamp

Anna Kamp

Charles Kamp

Rachel Kamp

Ruthanne Kamp

Aleshia Kieboom

Joelle Kieboom

Kaelynn Kieboom

Ryanne Kieboom

Kylie Klaasen

Byron Koenen

Jessica Koenen

Maria Koenen

Derek Mol

Jacob Mol

Luke Mol

Shelley Mol

Thomas Mol

Shantal Oudshoorn

Evan Post

Alexis Sisco

Alexis Sisco

Diana Sisco

Alana Slingerland (4)

Arianne Slingerland (2)

Alexis Slingerland (5)

Hannah Slingerland

Sylvia Slingerland (5)

Wilayna Stubbe (2)

Cherith Touw

Julia Touw

Sara Touw

Brandon Van Dyk

Erika Van Dyk

Ashley Van Dyke

Heidi Van Dyke

Kari Van Dyke

Timothy Van Dyke

Henrieke Van Garderen

Margo Van Garderen

Adrie Van Ravenswaay

Erica Van Ravenswaay

Leah Van Ravenswaay

Barbi Van Wingerden

Bensen Van Wingerden

Melanie Van Wingerden

Sarah Van Wingerden

Rebecca Van Zandwijk

Ashley Van’t Zelfde

Amanda Van’t Zelfde

Rlcki Vande Bruinhorst

Wayne Vande Bruinhorst

Abigail Vanden Berg

Elisabeth Vanden Berg

Seth Vanden Berg

Sarah Veldhuizen

Joshua Vogelaar

Melissa Vogelaar

Ivan Vrieselaar

Jordan Vrieselaar

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