崇拜时為什麼不用乐器？WhyNot Instruments In Worship?
作者：Brad
Freeman(Presbyterian Reformed Church) 译者：骆鸿铭
凡我所吩咐的，你们都要谨守遵行，不可加添，也不可删减。（申十二32）“What thing soever I command you, observe to do it:
thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”(Deut. 12:32)
然而，时候就要到了，现在就是了！那时真正敬拜的人，要在灵裡和真理中敬拜父，因為父就是想要这样的人来敬拜祂。上帝是灵，敬拜祂的人必须在灵裡和真理中敬拜。」 （约四23-24；中文标準本）“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father
seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24)
对绝大多数的福音派教会来说，有关在崇拜中使用乐器的问题，大多是围绕著要要使用什麼乐器，以及如何使用它们这个问题上，而不是在合乎圣经的崇拜中，乐器到底有什麼地位的问题。今日，使用乐器的崇拜已经有了自己的生命，许多教会对自己的身份认同不是凭著对教义的认识，而是凭著音乐的主题。有些教会选择古典乐、管弦乐取向，目的是要吸引比较有品位的人。其他教会则走流行风，採用的是从牛仔音乐，到尖端的摇滚乐团音乐会的各种形式的崇拜。当我们根据人的慾望来重新定义敬拜时，真正敬拜的本质要素就荡然无存了。合乎圣经的敬拜已经被一种偏好以人為中心的娱乐所取代。这种敬拜所诉诸的是肉体，而不是想要符合上帝的话。For the majority of
evangelical churches, questions regarding the use of instruments in worship
revolve more around which instruments to use and how to employ them than
whether or not they have any place in Biblical worship. Today instrumental
worship has taken on a life of its own, where churches identify themselves not
by doctrinal understanding but by musical theme. Some have opted for the classical, orchestral
approach, appealing to those with more refined tastes. Others have gone the
populist route, adopting everything from cowboy themed worship to cutting edge
rock and roll band concerts. In an attempt to redefine worship according to the
desires of men, the essence of true worship has been lost. Biblical worship has been replaced with a
preference for man-centered entertainment that appeals more to the flesh than
conforms to the word of God.
不过，上帝在祂的话中已经啟示录崇拜的各个部分，以及这些元素究竟应该如何遵行。出埃及记三十四章14节告诉我们，耶和华在人对祂的敬拜上，是忌邪的。换言之，祂拒绝接受献给其他神明的敬拜，或者是根据其他神明的方法献给祂的敬拜，也就是说用祂的话所没有指定的别种方法的敬拜。因此，关於乐器在崇拜中的地位这个问题，就不是一个抽象的神学锻炼，它牵涉到基督新约最核心的部分。倘若你没有按照耶和华所悦纳的方式来敬拜，用我们自己的方式所献上的敬拜，就会变成像该隐的供物，在上帝的眼中是不被悦纳的，无论这种敬拜如何得到人的赞同。 However, God has
revealed in His word the parts of worship and precisely how those elements must
be observed. Exod. 34:14 tells us that the Lord is jealous for His own worship.
In other words, He refuses to accept worship offered to other gods or worship
offered to Him according to other gods, that is, in any other way than He
appointed in His word. The question then regarding the place of instruments is
no abstract theological exercise. It goes to the very essence of the Christian
faith. If we do not worship the Lord in the way He accepts, worship offered our
own way becomes like Cain’s offering, unacceptable in the eyes of God, no
matter how much it may meet with others’ approval.
為了瞭解圣经关於乐器在崇拜中的地位的教导，我们必须明白我们的崇拜的场境和特色都是由耶和华所决定的。我们不是敬拜的观眾，而是在祂圣洁同在中的僕人。在至高上帝面前的崇拜，是一个「御前演出」；唯有祂能决定什麼是祂所悦纳的。我们的角色只是根据祂的命令来敬拜祂，而不是自行发明一种敬拜的方式。 In order to understand the Bible’s teaching regarding the place of instruments
in worship, we must realize that the Lord determines the context and character
of our worship. We are not the audience in worship, but servants in His holy
presence. Worship before the Most High God is a command performance; He alone
decides what is acceptable to Him. Our role is simply to worship according to
His commands rather than invent our own.
一、受圣经管制的崇拜 I. Worship Regulated By Scripture
十诫的第二诫宣告如何敬拜上帝。第二诫禁止在崇拜中使用任何上帝的形象，也禁止使用上帝所没有明确吩咐道、人的任何发明；所有其他的选择都是在被禁止之列。「但敬拜真上帝惟一蒙悦纳的方法乃是由祂自己设立的，并限於祂自己所啟示的旨意，因此我们不可按照人的想像和设计，或撒但的建议，使用任何有形的代表物或圣经所未吩咐的其他任何方法，去敬拜祂。」（威敏思特信仰告白，21.1）
The Second Commandment declares how God is to be worshipped. Forbidding the use of any images of God in
worship, it also forbids the use of any other inventions of man not expressly
commanded by God; all other options are forbidden. “But the acceptable way of
worshiping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own
revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and
devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation,
or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.” (Westminster Confession
of Faith, Ch. 21:1)
除了第二诫之外，圣经裡还有许多其他的经文提到在耶和华面前不被悦纳的敬拜。提两个例子就够了。首先，在利未记十章1-2节，拿答和亚比户在耶和华面前献上「凡火」，「是耶和华没有吩咐他们的」。上帝吩咐他们使用要从祭坛的炭所引来的火，但是他们献上从另一个没有经过授权的来源所引来的火，惹动了上帝的震怒，因為忽视了上帝明白的吩咐（另参：利十六12-13）。 In addition to the Second Commandment, there are many
other references in Scriptures to unacceptable worship before the Lord. Two
examples should suffice. First, in Lev. 10:1-2 Nadab and Abihu offered
“strange” fire before the Lord, “which he commanded them not.” They were commanded to use fire from the
coals of the altar, but they offered fire from another unauthorized source,
incurring the wrath of God for neglecting His express command. (see also Lev. 16:12-13)
其次，在撒母耳记上十三章14节，当扫罗违反了上帝有关敬拜的命令，国度就从他手中被夺去。他没有等候先知撒母耳，他没有照耶和华所吩咐道，等候先知撒母耳，而是自己去献上燔祭。「现在你的王位必不长久。耶和华已经寻著一个合祂心意的人，立他作百姓的君，因為你没有遵守耶和华所吩咐你的。」无论拿答、亚比户或扫罗，他们的动机多麼良善或真诚，耶和华只接纳祂的话所规定的敬拜。我们今天仍然在第二诫，以及其内在涵义的约束之下（太五17-20；约壹五21）。我们不能行自己眼中看為正的事；在敬拜中，我们必须只作耶和华吩咐我们的。申命记十二章8节说：「我们今日在这裡所行的是个人行自己眼中看為正的事，你们将来不可这样行。」Second, in 1 Sam.
13:14 the kingdom was stripped from Saul when he violated God’s commands regarding worship. He took it upon
himself to offer sacrifices rather than wait for the prophet Samuel to offer
them as the Lord commanded. “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD
hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to
be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD
commanded thee.” No matter how good or
sincere may be the intentions of those like Nadab, Abihu, or Saul, the Lord
only accepts the worship He prescribes in His word. We are still bound to the Second Commandment
today and all its implications (Matt. 5:17-20, 1 John 5:21). We may not do what
is right in our eyes; we must do nothing but what the Lord commands in worship.
Deut. 12:8, “Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day,
every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.”
正如我们会看到的，这点对乐器在崇拜中的地位，具有很重要的意义。那些支持包括乐器的人，是因袭了罗马天主教的常规，所谓的敬拜的基準原则（Normative Principle of Worship），而採取了相反的立场。这个方法是完全颠覆了敬拜的限定性原则（Regulative Principle of Worship）。敬拜的基準原则宣称，除非上帝明白地禁止，否则任何的敬拜都是可以进行的。他们把旧约裡存在的乐器，当作是上帝无条件的支持，认為乐器在今日是经过上帝批准的。结果是，乐器以一种报復的姿态被带回到新约时代的敬拜裡。As we will see,
this has an important bearing upon the place of instruments in worship. Those who have argued for the inclusion of
instruments have taken the opposite understanding based on the practice of the
Roman Catholic Church, called the Normative Principle of Worship. This approach turns the Regulative Principle
of Worship on its head, claiming anything goes in worship unless the Lord
expressly forbids it. They have taken
the mere presence of instruments in the Old Testament as an unqualified
endorsement from the Lord that they are authorized today. As a result, instruments have been brought
back into New Testament era worship with a vengeance. But is this really what
the Lord commands for us today?
二、旧约崇拜裡的乐器：概览 II. Introduction of Instruments in Old Testament
Worship
打从一开始，有乐器伴奏的音乐（instrumental
musicl；以下称「器乐」）就存在於人间。乐器是连同其他的文化成就，由该隐的后代犹八所发明的（创四21）。该隐的家系对敬拜耶和华并不热衷。直到摩西的时代，乐器才进入到对上帝的崇拜裡。在西奈山，耶和华颁布了十诫。祂不只是破天荒地设立了崇拜中的乐器，更是第一个亲自使用乐器的。在出埃及记十九章13节，耶和华亲自宣告祂的同在：「当号角声拖长的时候」（新译本）。然后祂吩咐摩西為祭司製作号角，呼召会眾前来敬拜，而且要在祭坛前，在献祭时要吹号角（译按：如民十10）。从摩西的时代开始，直到大卫时代，耶和华只命令人使用乐器来召集会眾，為战争作警告，并且宣告献祭。Instrumental music
has been with man almost since the beginning.
Instruments were invented along with other cultural achievements by
Jubal (Gen. 4:21) from the line of Cain, the line not involved in the worship
of the Lord. Instruments didn’t enter
into the worship of God until the time of Moses. At Mt. Sinai, where the Lord gave the
Israelites the Ten Commandments, He not only instituted for the first time
instruments of music in worship, but also was the first to use it Himself. In Exod. 19:13 the Lord Himself announced His
presence “when the trumpet soundeth long.”
He then commanded Moses to make trumpets for the priests to blow to call
the assembly for worship and to be blown over the sacrifices at the altar. From the days of Moses until the time of
David, the Lord only commanded the use of trumpets for calling assemblies,
warning for battle, and announcing sacrifices.
直到大卫王统治的时代，耶和华才暂时扩大了乐器的使用范围，包括崇拜。在代上十三章，以色列人试图把约柜从基列•耶林运回到耶路撒冷，这个过程包括了器乐，但是不管是音乐还是运送约柜本身，都不是按照上帝的话所吩咐的来进行。「大卫和以色列眾人在神前用琴、瑟、锣、鼓、号作乐，极力跳舞歌唱。」当然，耶和华对这个努力并不感到喜悦，虽然这是很真诚的。乌撒因為大卫这个未经授权的、对崇拜的包容性态度，以及上帝的律法受到了忽视，而「死在上帝面前」。 It was only during the reign of King David that
the Lord temporarily enlarged the use of instruments to include worship. In 1 Chron. 13 the Israelites attempted to
bring the ark from Kirjathjearim to Jerusalem.
This included instrumental music, but neither the music nor the
transport itself was done as God had prescribed in His word. “And David and all
Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with
harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with
trumpets.” (1 Chron. 13:8) Of course, the Lord was not pleased with the effort,
sincere though it was. Uzzah died
“before the Lord” as a result of David’s unauthorized, inclusive approach to
worship and the laws of God were neglected.
大卫一旦明白到要根据上帝的话来敬拜的重要性之后（代上十五13），如同先知拿单所指示的（代下廿九25），约柜就被顺利地运到了耶路撒冷。然而，这一次，只有上帝所指派的利未人，在约柜被搬动时演奏了乐器。运送约柜的行动本身，也被纠正，要反映圣经的要求，即利未人要用槓把约柜扛在肩上（代上十五13-15）。在希西家时代，利未人按照上帝所吩咐的演奏乐器，也就是在献燔祭之时。一旦献祭完成了，敬拜仍然继续，只是不再使用乐器。代下廿九28说：「会眾都敬拜，歌唱的歌唱，吹号的吹号，如此直到燔祭献完了。」此后，器乐，连同会幕和圣殿所有仪式和摆设的细节，都是按照上帝的命令。只要耶和华没有具体吩咐的，以色列人就不敢加添什麼（见代上廿八章）。因此，有乐器伴奏的音乐只是仪式性敬拜的一部分，象徵基督的献祭，本质上是一种预表，作為一个影儿，指向那将要来的实体。这对我们理解崇拜中的音乐是至关紧要的。主耶穌一旦完成了祂在十字架上的工作，礼仪性的崇拜，连同其所有的献祭和音乐的表徵，都结束了。「耶穌大声喊叫，气就断了。 殿裡的幔子从上到下裂為两半。」 Once David
realized the importance of worshipping according to the word of God (1 Chron.
15:13) as instructed by Nathan the prophet of God (2 Chron. 29:25), the ark was
successfully moved to Jerusalem. This
time, however, only the Levites, appointed by God, played instruments when the
ark was moved. The transport of the ark
itself was also corrected to reflect Scripture’s demands that the Levites carry
the ark upon staves (1 Chron. 15:13-15).
When there was a return to Biblical worship in the days of Hezekiah, the
Levites played instruments only as God had commanded, that is, only while
sacrifices were made. Once the
sacrifices were completed, worship continued without the use of instruments. 2
Chron. 29:28, “And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and
the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was
finished.” Instrumental music, along with all the details regarding the rituals
and furnishings of the tabernacle and the temple afterward were all by divine
command. Nothing was added that the Lord
did not specifically command (See 1 Chron. 28).
Instrumental music, therefore, was merely one part of ceremonial
worship, symbolic of Christ’s sacrifice and typical in nature, pointing as a
shadow to the reality to come. This is crucial to our understanding of
instrumental music in worship. Once the
Lord Jesus finished His work on the cross, ceremonial worship, with all its
sacrificial and musical representations, ended. “And Jesus cried with a loud
voice, and gave up the ghost. 38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain
from the top to the bottom.” (Mark 15:37-38)
因為器乐通过上帝的指定，与圣殿崇拜的暂时性层面有直接的相关，器乐只在一段时间内是崇拜的一部分。如同崇拜时的献祭系统其他的部分，乐器，连同演奏乐器的利未人，都是在新约中得著应验的崇拜的暂时性层面。正如各种献祭指向基督的献祭，利未人的乐器也是真正敬拜的预表，在新约崇拜的服事中已经得著了应验。 Because
instrumental music was directly connected to the temporary aspects of temple
worship by divine appointment, instrumental music was part of God’s worship
only for a time. Like the rest of the
sacrificial system of worship, instruments, along with the Levitical priests
who played them, were temporary aspects of worship fulfilled in the New
Testament. Just as sacrifices pointed to the sacrifice of Christ, the Levitical
instruments were also typical of an aspect of true worship fulfilled in the New
Testament worship service.
三、在新约中应验的器乐 III. Fulfillment of
Instrumental Music in New Testament Worship
随著圣殿崇拜被废止了，新约的信徒，包括犹太人和外邦人，只留下犹太会堂的敬拜模式，这这种敬拜模式并没有乐器的规定。早期信基督的犹太人的会堂，成為新约的教会。关於新约裡的敬拜方式，主没有给我们新的命令，因此早期并没有试著要把圣殿的敬拜仪式或其影儿加在会堂的敬拜上。其敬拜模式，不像圣殿那暂时的、象徵性的敬拜形式，是永恆的。它强调了真正崇拜的基本要素。With temple worship abolished, New Testament
believers, both Jew and Gentile, had only the synagogue pattern for worship
remaining, which had no provision for instrumental music. Early synagogues of believing Jews became the
first New Testament churches. The Lord
gave no new commands regarding worship practices in the New Testament, so there
was no early attempt to add temple rituals or its shadows to synagogue
worship. Its pattern for worship, unlike
the temporary, symbolic form of worship in the temple, was permanent. It highlighted the essence of true worship.
真正的敬拜不在於外表的形式或形式的表露。所有献给主的敬拜都必须是「在灵裡、在真理中」所作的（约第四章）。耶和华「鉴察眾人的心，知道一切心思意念」（代上廿八9），并且渴望人的肺腑认识真理，即人的内心或灵魂（诗五6），这正是器乐所代表的。器乐的外在美是描绘潜藏在人心中那真正敬拜的内在美。在那裡，在人心思的隐秘处，主会在圣洁的美中得著敬拜。诗篇九十六篇9节说：「当以圣洁的妆饰敬拜耶和华；全地要在祂面前战抖！」福音敬拜的内在美是一种讚美的祭，是从内心所作的，而不是用人手所作的。希伯来书十三章15节说，「我们应当靠著耶穌，常常以颂讚為祭献给上帝，这就是那承认主名之人嘴唇的果子。」器乐是外在的声音，象徵性地代表著我们对上帝的感情的流动。基督既然已经来临，我们就不再需要象徵性的讚美的展示。今天，所有的信徒都蒙召要被圣灵充满，「当用诗章、颂词、灵歌、彼此对说，口唱心和的讚美主。」（弗五19）所有的信徒在崇拜中，在上帝面前演奏的乐器是内心，并且要用讚美上帝荣耀的声音表达出来。当基督徒在崇拜中颂唱诗篇时，他们可以用一种对崇拜的属灵本质有更深的理解，来唱这些诗歌，也就是乐器所要代表的。同样，基督徒可以用对诗篇所说到的对耶和华的献祭的更深的属灵的认识来唱诗篇。这是对耶和华献的祭，是向為我们牺牲的逾越节的羔羊献的祭，向我们至高的大祭司献上的活祭。作為内在敬拜的象徵的器乐，已经过去了。新约教会如今是一个祭司的国度，所有的人都用内心的乐器和外在的声音来讚美主。「因為人心裡相信，就可以称义；口裡承认，就可以得救。」（罗十10）True
worship does not consist in mere outward forms or formal demonstrations. Worship offered to the Lord must always be
done “in spirit and in truth” (John 4). The Lord “searcheth
all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts” (1 Chron.
28:9), and desires truth in the inward parts, that is, in the heart or soul of
man. (Ps. 5:6) This is just what
instrumental music represented. The
outward beauty of instrumental music portrayed the inward beauty of true
worship, hidden in the heart of man.
There, in the inward recesses of the mind, the Lord is worshipped in the
beauty of holiness. Ps. 96:9, “O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness:
fear before him, all the earth.” The
inward beauty of gospel worship is a sacrifice of praise, done from the heart,
not with the hand. Heb. 13:15, “By him
therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the
fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Instrumental music was an outward
sound symbolically representing the movements of the affections toward God. Now that Christ has come, we have no need of
symbolic demonstrations of praise. Today
every believer is called to be filled with the Spirit of God, “Speaking to
yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
in your heart to the Lord.” (Ephes. 5:19)
The heart is the instrument every believer plays before the Lord in
worship, making melody within to the Lord and expressing it with the voice of
praise to the glory of God. When the Psalms are sung in worship, the Christian
can sing these with a deeper understanding of the spiritual nature of worship
that instruments represented. In the same way, Christians can sing with greater
spiritual understanding those Psalms speaking of offering sacrifices unto the
Lord, our Passover Lamb sacrificed for us, to whom we offer ourselves as living
sacrifices to our Great High Priest.
Instrumental music, as symbolic of inward worship, has passed away. The New Testament church is now a kingdom of
priests, where all praise the Lord with the inward instrument of the heart and
the outward voice, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom. 10:10)
四、歷史观点IV. An Historical
Perspective
在新约时代，信徒从一开始就明白崇拜中的音乐暂时性的角色。使徒们对犹太人或外邦人都没有吩咐他们要把乐器包括在早期教会的崇拜中。早期的基督徒论证反对者圣经的敬拜中使用乐器。「我们所使用的唯一平安的乐器是上帝的圣言，藉著它我们尊崇上帝。我们不再使用古代的弦乐器，号角，铃鼓，笛，这是那些善於挑起战争，并蔑视敬畏上帝的人所惯於使用的，也是在他们节庆聚会中的合唱队所使用的；藉著这样的滥用，他们可以拉抬他们沮丧的心思。」（亚歷山大的革利免，主后190年）
In New Testament times, believers understood the temporary role of instrumental
music in worship from the start. The Apostles gave no command to either Jew or Gentile
to include it in the worship of the early church. Early Christians argued against the use of
instruments in Biblical worship.“The one instrument of peace, the Word alone by
which we honour God, is what we employ. We no longer employ the ancient
psaltery, and trumpet, and timbrel, and flute, which those expert in war and
contemners of the fear of God were wont to make use of also in the choruses at
their festive assemblies; that by such strains they might raise their dejected
minds.” (Clement of Alexandria, 190 AD)
第四世纪的教父约翰•屈所多模在他对诗篇一四九篇的讲道中说到，「这[乐器]只对犹太人开放，和献祭一样，这是為了他们沉重和粗俗的灵魂。上帝俯就他们的软弱，因為他们才刚刚被救拔脱离偶像；但是如今，与其使用乐器，我们用我们自己的身体来敬拜祂……乐器是不属於基督徒的。」在基督升天后几百年，教会坚定不移的见证是断然地反对在公眾崇拜中使用任何乐器。The 4th century church
father John Chrysostom stated in his Homily on Psalm 149, “It was only permitted to the Jews as sacrifice
was, for the heaviness and grossness of their souls. God condescended to their
weakness, because they were lately drawn off from idols; but now, instead of
organs, we may use our own bodies to praise him withal….Instruments appertain
not to Christians.” The unwavering
testimony of Christians for several hundred years after the ascension of Christ
was decidedly against using any instruments in public worship.
歷史学家留言到，直到黑暗时代，乐器才出现，当七世纪时，圣维塔利安教皇才把风琴介绍给西方的欧洲教会。即使在当时，这也是很有争议的，一直到主后一千两百年，在崇拜中使用乐器才变得更為普遍。十九世纪的神学家John Girardeau指出，「儘管有这种反对的意见，在十四、十五世纪中，乐器才逐渐在罗马教会中崭露头角，并取得全面的胜利。然后宗教改革来临了。这时候问题来了，改教家该如何处理教会中的音乐呢？他们是否教导宗教改革应该接受把这类的音乐从崇拜服事中驱逐出去呢？」从他们的著作中清楚地看到，改教家如加尔文（John Calvin），慈运理（Ulrich Zwingle），和诺克斯（John Knox），都谴责在崇拜中使用器乐，把它们当作是偶像崇拜，是回到晦暗的旧约崇拜形式。 Historians have noted that instruments didn’t appear in Christian worship until the Dark
Ages, when in the 7th century Pope Vitalian introduced organs to Western European
churches. Even then it was
controversial, and it wasn’t until A.D. 1200 that instrumental use in worship
became more widespread. 19th Century theologian John Girardeau points out, “In
spite of this opposition, the organ, during the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, steadily made its way towards universal triumph in the Romish
church. Then came the Reformation; and the question arises, How did the
Reformers deal with instrumental music in the church? Did they teach that the
Reformation ought to embrace the explusion of that kind of music from its
services?” From the volume and clarity of their writings, Reformers such as
John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingle, and John Knox all denounced instrumental music in
worship as an idolatrous return to the shadowy Old Testament form of worship.
加尔文在他第三十三篇诗篇的註释裡说：「但是当他们常常到神圣聚会裡的时候，用来称颂讚美上帝的乐器，就不比烧香，点灯，以及恢復其他律法的影儿一样更為合适。因此，天主教徒乃是愚蠢地从犹太人借用了这个，还有许多其他的事情。」瑞士改教家Huldrych Zwingle虽然本身是个很有成就的音乐家，他却同意加尔文的说法，即在公眾崇拜中，乐器并没有被上帝所认可。 In his commentary on the 33rd Psalm, Calvin
states, “But when they
frequent their sacred assemblies, musical instruments in celebrating the
praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the
lighting up of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law. The
Papists, therefore, have foolishly borrowed this, as well as many other things,
from the Jews.” Though Huldrych Zwingle,
the Swiss Reformer, was an accomplished musician in his own right, he agreed
with Calvin that instruments were not approved by God in public worship.
乐器不仅在瑞士，在公眾崇拜中被禁止，法国和荷兰改革宗教会也坚决地反对在崇拜中使用乐器。在苏格兰，在公眾崇拜中是禁止乐器的，因此，今日有一些长老会和欧陆改革宗宗派，在崇拜中仍然不使用乐器。在英格兰，非教长制（non-prelatic）的独立教会和长老会反对在崇拜中使用乐器。后来，十九世纪伟大的牧师司布真，呼应了他清教徒的先祖们，反对器乐，有人说他曾这样说：「我如果用机器向上帝祷告，我就会用机器向上帝歌唱。」 Instruments were
not only prohibited from use in public worship in Switzerland, but the French
and Dutch Reformed Churches were decidedly against the use of instrumental
worship as well. In Scotland,
instruments were banned from public worship, and to this day several
Presbyterian and Reformed denominations there still worship without any
instrumental music. In England,
non-prelatic Independents and Presbyterians opposed the use of instruments in
worship. Later, the great 19th Century
Minister, Charles Spurgeon, echoed the thoughts of his puritan forefathers
against instrumental music when he was reported as saying, “I would as soon
pray to God with machinery as to sing to God with machinery.”
当苏格兰和英格兰的清教徒来到美洲时，他们继续这种没有乐器的习俗，这是至今一些宗派仍然在持守的传统，如：北美改革宗长老会（Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America；或译為约老会），以及长老改革宗教会（Presbyterian
Reformed Church）。When Scottish and English
Puritans came to America, they continued their practice of non-instrumental worship,
a tradition some denominations, such as the Reformed Presbyterian Church in
North America, along with the Presbyterian Reformed Church continue to
practice.
五、回答一个常见的理由V. A Common
Reason Answered
有不少人认為使用乐器仅仅是帮助歌唱。倘若基督徒受命要在崇拜中歌唱，使用乐器来帮助歌声不要走调有什麼错呢？他们论证说，毕竟，没有乐器的帮忙，许多人就无法把歌曲的曲调唱好。换言之，乐器就变成一种必要的辅助品，来实践崇拜的元素，有如是说，如果没有机器的帮助，会眾的歌唱就是不可能的，或者是不实际的。让我们这样看：有些人认為乐器只是崇拜的「处境」（circumstance），不是圣经所限定的「元素」（element），就像建筑物，要使用哪一种讲台，和任何其他聚会都有的一些事情。There are many who consider the use of instruments as
merely an aid to singing. If Christians are
commanded to sing in worship, what is wrong with using an instrument to assist
the voice in carrying the tune? After all, it is argued, without an instrument
to assist, many would not be able to sing the tunes properly. In other words, instruments have become a
necessary aid to the practice of a Scriptural element of worship, as if
congregational singing is impossible or impractical without mechanical
help. Looking at it this way, some argue
that instruments are a circumstance to worship, not an element regulated by
Scripture, much like the building, what pulpit is used, and other things common
to any kind of meeting.
即使器乐可以被视為崇拜的辅助品，主仍然严格地掌管在祂的崇拜中哪些辅助品是容许的。当以色列人热心地向耶和华献上真正的崇拜，仍然触犯了偶像崇拜的罪，他们在西奈山製作金牛犊，来彰显上帝伟大的能力。他们不是盲目的异教徒；他们是想要敬拜以色列的上帝，不是某种异教的神明。但是当他们渴望用一个辅助品来敬拜时，他们就犯了罪，惹动了上帝的怒气。对他们来说，金牛犊只是崇拜的辅助品，是他们以為耶和华会容许的，但是对耶和华来说，这是没有经过授权的辅助品，是祂所憎恶的。在崇拜的事情上，人的理性和意志都是致命的指引。我们应当牢记所罗门在箴言十六章25节所说的话：「有一条路，人以為正，至终成為死亡之路。」 Even if instrumental music could be
considered as an aid to worship, the Lord still strictly controls what aids are
allowed in His worship. The Israelites,
in their zeal to offer to the Lord true worship, nevertheless committed
idolatry when they forged the golden calf at Sinai to magnify the great power
of God. They weren’t blind pagans; they
intended to worship the God of Israel, not some pagan deity. But in their desire for an aid to worship,
they sinned and instead provoked the wrath of God. To them the golden calf was an aid to worship
that they thought the Lord would have allowed, but to the Lord it was an
unauthorized aid that He abhorred. In matters of worship, both reason and the
will of man is a fatal guide. We would
do well to remember the words of Solomon in Prov. 16:25, “There is a way that
seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
就基督徒的良心来说，我们必须明白，使用乐器会践踏基督為祂所有的圣徒所买赎的良心的自由。另一方面，既然无法证明在崇拜中，上帝明确命令要使用乐器，当我们禁止使用乐器，就不会伤害任何人的良心，圣灵的合一就可以在平安之约裡维持。 In relation to
Christian conscience, we must realize that employing instruments treads on the
liberty of conscience Christ purchased for all His saints. On the other hand, since it can’t be
demonstrated that instruments are expressly commanded in worship, no harm is
done to any conscience where instruments are prohibited and the unity of the
Spirit can be maintained in the bond of peace.