v 6 The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, “His faithful love endures forever!” They accompanied the singing with music from the instruments King David had made for praising the Lord. Across from the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all Israel stood.
Two facets of beauty to reflect on here.
First, the beauty of music. Not all of us would claim to be ‘musicians’, capable of playing music for others to enjoy, But however ‘unmusical’ we seem to be, most of us find both pleasure and beauty in well-played music. Our tastes will vary from Classic FM to Radio 2, but what does that matter –we can admire the skill of the players and appreciate the pleasure in listening. There is a beauty in music that can touch the lives of all of us.
Then there is the beauty of the instruments themselves. This passage is not suggesting the David himself actually crafted the instruments but rather it draws attention to his planning and his enabling of the workers that built them. There is something both beautiful and yet functional in the orchestral instruments as you watch them being played. I marvel at the simplicity of the humble triangle, the huge complexity of woodwind and brass instruments and the sheer scale of organs like the one in the Royal Albert Hall. Then to hear them combine with human voices in performing ‘The Messiah’ is undeniably a form of beauty. God has gifted the makers of beautiful instruments every bit as much as He has gifted the performers.
Thank God for skilful musicians, but thank Him too for the craftsmen who design and build the instruments they play, many of which are truly works of art in themselves.
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