CHAPTER XI.
The Harps and Harpers of Revelation.

Even if "the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders" who "fell down before the Lamb" with the "one hundred and forty-four thousand standing on mount Zion," and the "victorious" hosts "standing by the sea of glass" in the vision of John on Patmos, did use not only harps, but all other kinds of musical instruments in the praise of God, it would not logically follow, as the thoughtful and well informed will admit, that therefore such instruments may be used by Christians in the worship of God here on earth, any more than it would follow, from the fact that such instruments were used in the Jewish worship, that therefore they may be used in Christian worship; and it is no part of my purpose here to attempt to defend a point which is so self-evident and so well established.

But, there is another and radically different use made in modern times of these "harpers harping with their harps," to which I invite attention, and which it is the purpose here to examine with care. The terms to be examined are contained in the following passages: "And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty [109] elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation," Rev. 5: 8, 9. "And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder; and the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps; and they sing as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand, even they that had been purchased out of the earth," Rev. 14: 1-3. "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb," Rev. 15: 2, 3.

Now, it is alleged that, while the Greek word ode (ωδη), which is the word used in Eph. 5: 19 and Col. 3: 16 and translated "song," and in the verb form "to sing," does not convey, in and of itself, the idea [110] of instrumental music, yet when we go to these passages just cited in Revelation where the same word is used, we find that when they "sang the ode," they used harps, and that therefore, when we sing the ode, as we are authorized in Eph. 5: 19 and Col. 3: 16 to do, we also may use harps, or other instruments. That the logic of this position may be seen as set forth by those who avow it, we quote here the following comment on these passages by Brother J. B. Briney in the Otey-Briney debate:

How are they singing this ode? How are they rendering this song? They are rendering it in connection with harps, that is, in connection with instruments of music. Now, says the Apostle, sing the ode, and I turn over here and I find out that those who sang the ode did it in connection with the harp and other instruments of music, and thus God's approval rests upon it. * * * There it is, my friends, singing the song of Moses, because Moses was the type of Christ, singing the song of the Lamb, who was Christ, and they did that in connection with the use of harps and other instruments of music. Now, if we are authorized to sing psalms, and we find out that those who sang the psalms did so in connection with instruments of music, and if we are admonished to sing the ode, and we find out that those who sang the ode did it in connection with instruments of music, and that God approved it, who shall say nay?--pp. 47, 48.

We now propose a respectful examination of this logic together with the facts in the case, and then we may be better prepared to say "who shall say nay."

1. Answering the questions, "How are they singing this ode? How are they rendering this song?" the author of this logic says: "They are rendering it in connection with harps." Well, what if they are? What if they are rendering it in connection with harps and every other kind of musical instrument that was ever made? They are not a church of Jesus Christ. They are not an assembly of Christians worshiping God here on earth during the Christian dispensation; and hence nothing that they are doing, that is, simply because they are doing it, can be properly quoted as an example governing the worship of such an assembly of Christians. Who, then, are these persons mentioned in Revelation, and where are they? John tells us that they are "before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands;" that "the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders" with "many angels round about the throne" are among them; that they have "come out of the great tribulation" having "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb;" and that "they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat; for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their Shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life; and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes."

These are some of the terms in which John introduces us to this celestial company. The idea of quoting [112] what they are doing and setting it forth as an example governing the worship of a church of Christ here on earth, is certainly wide of the mark. Be it said, once for all, that, on the hypothesis that there is a literal material "sea of glass mingled with fire," and that these are literal material harps, if God sees proper to have such instruments of music in His worship in heaven, nobody, of course, should object to it, and no loyal child of God would object to it. Neither would such a child of God object to it in His worship here on earth, if He should see proper to have it there.

2. The author of the logic now under review, referring to these "harpers harping with their harps" in heaven, says: "Thus God's approval rests upon it." Certainly "God's approval rests upon it" in that worship, precisely as, at the same time and in the same worship, "God's approval" rested upon "golden bowls full of incense," "a golden censer," and "the golden altar which was before the throne" where "the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God." Hence, according to the logic now under examination, a church of Jesus Christ is divinely authorized to have "golden bowls full of incense," "a golden censer," and a "golden altar," to set them up in the place of worship, and there burn incense on the golden altar in the worship of God. If not, why not? If any stickler for divine authority should call in question the use of golden bowls full of incense, a golden censer, [113] a golden altar, and the burning of incense in the worship of God to-day, the author of this logic could promptly say: "There it is, my friends, singing the song of Moses, because Moses was the type of Christ, singing the song of the Lamb, who was Christ, and they did that in connection with the use of" golden bowls, a golden censer, a golden altar, and the burning of incense, "and if we are admonished to sing the ode, and we find out that those who sang the ode did it in connection with" golden bowls, a golden censer, a golden altar, and the burning of incense, "and that God approved it, who shall say nay?" From the premises laid down, this conclusion inevitably follows, and there is no escape from it.

3. We will now examine the Greek word ωδη (ode), which is the word used in connection with what is related of the harps and harpers in Revelation. It is alleged as we saw in the foregoing comment, that because harpers harping with their harps are mentioned in Revelation in connection with those who sang the ode in that heavenly worship, therefore, when we sing the ode in Christian worship here on the earth, which the Scriptures tell us to do, we may harp with harps, or use other instruments of music. The assumption is that the word "ode" carries with it the idea of the harp or other such instrument, and that the case of the harpers in Revelation shows us how to "render the ode," namely, by accompanying it with harps or other such instruments of music.

Now, this is purely a groundless assumption, in [114] support of which there is not a solitary fact in Revelation or elsewhere in the Scriptures, nor anything in the definition of the word. We can settle this point by appealing to the Greek scholars who have defined the word for us.

(1). Thayer defines ωδη, the noun, as follows: "a song, lay, ode; in the Scriptures a song in praise of God or Christ." He defines αδω, which is the same word in the verb form, as follows: "to sing, chant."

(2). Sophocles defines ωδη: "ode, song." He defines the verb simply: "to sing."

(3). Robinson: "ωδη an ode, song, e. g. in praise of God;" the verb: "to sing, with Dative of person to sing to any one, in his praise and honor."

(4). Liddell And Scott: "ωδη a song, lay, ode; song, singing." The verb: "to sing; hence, all kinds of vocal sounds, to crow, as cocks, twitter as swallows, hoot as owls, croak as frogs, etc.; also of other sounds, to twang, of the bowstring; to whistle, of the wind through a tree; to ring, of a stone when struck; to sing to one; to sing, chant."

It is needless to quote other authorities. These are sufficient to show, beyond all successful contradiction, that this term, in the noun form in the Scriptures, always means simply a song, an ode, and in the verb form, to sing, to chant. It has no other meaning, conveys no other idea. The definitions given by these lexicons simply exhaust the word of all the meaning it has in the word of God, and there can be no other meaning in connection with it without using [115] additional words to convey that meaning. It is true that in connection with the use of this word in Revelation, we find other ideas, namely, harps and harping, but it is also true that in each and every case, there is an additional and different word to convey the additional idea. If the word κιθαρα (kithara), meaning a harp, or some other word with that meaning, had not been used, no such idea as "harp" would be in the passage. It would never have been dreamed of from the mere use of the word ωδη (ode); and if the word κιθαρωδος (kitharodos), meaning a harper, had not been used, the idea of "harper" would not be in the passage, nor would it be even remotely suggested by the word ωδη; and, in like manner, if the word κιθαριζω (kitharizo), or its equivalent, had not been used in the passage, the idea of harping would not have been thought of, except as suggested by the words meaning "harp" and "harper." The term ωδη (ode) suggests no such idea.

Now, what are the facts about the use of this word (ωδη, ode), and the harps and harpers mentioned in the book of Revelation? Nothing more nor less than simply this, namely, the harpers and the harping with the words which signify them, and the singers and the singing with the words which signify them, are merely found in use at the same time and place and in the same worship; but certainly it does not follow from this that the one implies the other, or that where we may find the one to be authorized by the Lord, the other is also so authorized. Of [116] course both may be so authorized, but we may never rightly so conclude unless both are specified. The one does not involve or imply the other. It so happens that both are found to be used in the instance of worship which the book of Revelation mentions as taking place after the close of the Christian dispensation, just as both are found to have been in use in the Jewish worship before the Christian dispensation began; but we do not find both in use by divine authority during the Christian dispensation; and this is precisely the point on which the whole issue turns. During this dispensation, the Lord has abundantly authorized His children to sing the ode in His worship, but He has nowhere authorized them to play the kithara in that worship. We find odes, and the singing of odes, but no kithara, nor the playing of the kithara. When the Lord says ode, He does not mean kithara; and, according to the definition of these terms by lexical scholarship, ode never implies kithara. As we have already seen, kithara (harp) and ode may be found together in the same worship, but always because each, independently of the other, is specifically named and thus authorized to be there, and never because either involves or implies the other. Hence, to argue that, because we find both at a given time in a given worship, we may, therefore, have both at any other time in any other worship when and where only one of them is specified, is, to say the least of it, a figment, pure and simple, without a single fact in either philology or the Bible [117] to sustain it. When the advocates of a cause are forced to resort to such reasoning in order to find a shadow of support for it, simply because they cannot resort to anything better, there is good ground for the presumption that there is, in reality, nothing to sustain it. Hence, with due consideration for the views and feelings of those who have hitherto been led to think otherwise, I respectfully add that this, it seems to me, is the only rational conclusion that can be reached in regard to this modern claim concerning the harps and harpers of Revelation.