Making Music In The Psalms

Some of the Psalms contain superscriptions that give musical instructions. The superscriptions can refer to what instruments are to accompany the psalm, how the psalm is to be sung, or what tune is to be used with the psalm. Psalm 4 was to be accompanied by stringed instruments, Psalm 5 by a flute, and Psalm 6 by an eight-stringed instrument. Psalm 8 was to be accompanied probably by a Gittite lyre.

Here is a list of the instruments referred to in the superscriptions, along with a verse from the Psalms that mentions the instrument:

STRINGED INSTRUMENTS

• The ten-stringed harp or Phoenician zither. “Make music for him on the ten-stringed harp” (Psalm 33:2).
• David’s harp, probably more of a lyre, with strings made of sheep tripe and a sounding box at the bottom of the instrument. “Play the sweet lyre” (Psalm 81:2).
• Harp (nebel), larger and louder than David’s harp. It was shaped something like a bottle with a belly-shaped sounding box underneath it. “Wake up, O harp and lyre! I will waken the dawn with my song” (Psalm 57:8).

WIND INSTRUMENTS

• Trumpet, made of silver or gold, about three feet long with a pronounced bell, and played exclusively by priests. “Sing your praise to the LORD . . . with trumpets. . . . Make a joyful symphony before the LORD, the King!” (Psalm 98:5-6).
• Ram’s horn. Later horns were straighter and made from other materials. It was used not so much for music as for signals. “Sing your praise to the LORD with . . . the sound of the ram’s horn” (Psalm 98:5-6).
• Flute, a pipe used commonly in Egypt. Double flutes were played at King Solomon’s coronation but are not referred to in the Psalms. “Praise him with stringed instruments and flutes!” (Psalm 150:4).

PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS

• Cymbals. These were the only percussion instruments included in Temple music. Two different kinds are mentioned in Psalm 150, perhaps indicating different sizes or materials. “Praise him with a clash of cymbals” (Psalm 150:5).
• Tambourine. This was a hand drum used mainly by women. It was similar to modern tambourines but perhaps without the jangles. “Sing! Beat the tambourine” (Psalm 81:2).
• Castanets and rattles. David was also familiar with these (2 Samuel 6:5), but they are not referred to in the Psalms.

As we mentioned above, some of the Psalms contain instructions about how they were to be sung. The superscription for Psalm 46 uses the Hebrew word alamoth, probably indicating that it was to be sung by young women. Psalm 53 is called a meditation, which may mean it should be sung slowly or quietly. Psalm 9 says that it is to be sung to the tune of “Death of the Son.” Other tunes mentioned include “Doe of the Dawn” (Psalm 22), “Lilies” (Psalm 45), “Dove on Distant Oaks” (Psalm 56), and “Do Not Destroy!” (Psalm 57). These were probably popular melodies of the day that the psalmists used to help the people sing praises to God.

There are more “probably’s” in translating the superscriptions than in any other part of the Bible. But there is no “probably” in how the psalmists viewed the Lord. The Lord is a rock, a fortress, a shield. And we can count on him today as much as David did three thousand years ago, even though we don’t know what the tune “Do Not Destroy!” sounds like or what a Gittite lyre, if there was such a thing, looks like. Our faith rests on something far more secure than Gittite lyres.

I know not why God’s wondrous grace to me he hath made known,

Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love redeemed me for his own.

But “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able

To keep that which I’ve committed unto him against that day.”

DANIEL W. WHITTLE