TAKE AWAY FROM ME THE NOISE OF YOUR SONGS

Amos 5:23

There are certain types of worship songs that if you sing them can pull you away from God's presence? I am not talking about secular music I am talking about songs which Christians have been singing even in church; in fact many Christians don't realize that music is spiritual and some of the songs they sing in church have been pulling them away from God's presence without them knowing it. In Amos 5:23 God said "Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs for I will not hear the melody of thy vials." God actually rejected some of Israel's worship songs calling them noise. This wasn't an isolated incident it's still happening in our churches. Just because a song mentions Jesus or uses biblical language doesn't automatically sanctify its origin. The spiritual DNA of music transcends its lyrical content and carries the imprint of its original purpose and creation. We must be vigilant about both the message and the medium.

SONGS NOT INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

There are certain songs we should never sing in church. Songs not inspired by the Holy Spirit but by man should never be song in church. Many believers assume that if a lyric mention Jesus or contain one or two biblical phrases the song must be inspired by God. This dangerous assumption has led to countless Christians singing music that carries no divine anointing. In Ephesians 5:18 -19 Paul instructs believers to be filled with the spirit speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, notice the prerequisite being filled with the spirit before engaging in spiritual songs. The original Greek word used here for spiritual is “pneumaticos” which specifically means that which belongs to or is determined by the Holy Spirit. It doesn't simply mean religious or sacred in a general sense but specifically that which flows directly from the spirit of God.

Not every song written by a Christian is necessarily inspired by the Holy Spirit, in fact many popular worship songs today sound worldly. They are crafted using the same formulas and techniques used in secular music production designed to evoke emotional responses rather than facilitate genuine spiritual encounters. These songs may make you feel good but they carry no spiritual power or anointing this is why you hear many Christians talking about how a song made them feel rather than the encounter they had with the Lord.

Throughout scripture divinely inspired music always had profound spiritual effects, when David played his harp evil spirits fled from Saul (I Samuel 16:23). When Paul and Silas sang praises in prison the foundations shook and chains were broken (Acts 16:25- 26). True spirit inspired worship carries tangible spiritual authority. How can we discern if a song is inspired by the Holy Spirit, first examine the fruit, does the song merely stir emotions or does it facilitate an actual encounter with God's presence, does it align perfectly with scripture not just in isolated phrases but in its entire message and theology. Was it birthed from genuine prayer and communion with God or manufactured to achieve commercial success. Many songs used in churches today were created in studios using the same techniques and formulas as secular songs designed primarily to be catchy and emotionally stirring rather than spiritually potent. Some artists have even admitted to writing songs based on what will be popular rather than what came through prayer and seeking God. True worship is an act of spiritual surrender

Worship songs that aren't inspired by the Holy Spirit may entertain us and even make us feel spiritual emotions but they cannot facilitate genuine worship that God receives (John 4:4).

SONGS WITH NO BIBLICAL FOUNDATION

Another form of detrimental church music includes songs that sound spiritual but have no solid biblical foundation. These songs often contain vague spiritual language, popular Christian catchphrases or emotional declarations that aren't grounded in scripture. In Colossians 3:16, Paul instructs us to “let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Notice how Paul connects proper worship directly to the Word of Christ dwelling richly within us. Biblical worship is an extension and expression of biblical truth. The Psalms provide our clearest model for divinely approved worship; if you study them carefully you'll notice they are thoroughly scriptural addressing the nature of God.

Many popular church songs today contain problematic theology that subtly shifts our understanding of God away from biblical truth. Some songs emphasize God's love while completely ignoring his holiness, justice and the fear of the Lord; others focus exclusively on personal blessing while neglecting sacrifice and the cost of discipleship that Jesus emphasized. Some worship songs even include mystical chants or phrases from unknown tongues without interpretation that means they start chanting or repeating words no one knows what they mean, it is very dangerous to sing something you don't know the meaning of. If a worship leader wants to lead a song in another language or tongue they must interpret or explain what the song means you shouldn't simply repeat words without knowing what they mean especially things like chanting, they might be singing to some other spirit and so it is important to know what the lyrics mean before you sing.

In some religions chanting is a way of entering into another realm and so when the worship leader begin to introduce new songs which you don't know what they mean it is important to know what they mean, don't simply accept them ask what they mean. If it's in tongues ask for the interpretation and not simply sing what you don't know in 1 Corinthians 14:15 Paul writes "What is it then I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the understanding also."

While tongues are biblical Paul emphasizes the importance of understanding what we're declaring in worship in fact he said in 1 Corinthians 14:9 "So likewise except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood how shall it be known what is spoken for ye shall speak into the air”. Notice that he emphasizes the importance of understanding what you hear or engage in. In verse 11 he says "Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me."

The ancient Hebrews were very careful about what they sang in worship because they understood that declaring something in God's presence carried spiritual weight. The Hebrew word “zama” often translated as sing or praise literally means to touch the strings to make music accompanied by the voice specifically with lyrics that celebrate and proclaim truth about God's character and actions. Some modern worship includes mantras or repetitive phrases that have more in common with Eastern meditation techniques than biblical worship song.

SONGS WITH WORLDLY MELODIES AND BEATS

Some contemporary worship songs might have biblical lyrics but are set to music that carries worldly spiritual influences. In the spiritual realm sound carries power beyond the lyrics attached to it this is why God was very specific about which instruments and musical forms were acceptable in temple worship. In Amos 5:23 God says to Israel "Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs for I will not hear the melody of thy vials." God wasn't rejecting their worship because the lyrics were wrong but because the spiritual condition behind the music and the musical form itself had become corrupted. The Hebrew word for noise here is “hammon” which implies a tumultuous or confusing sound, music that had lost its sacred distinctiveness.

Many church songs today simply baptize worldly musical styles with Christian lyrics naively assuming this transforms the music's spiritual essence but certain rhythms chord, progressions and vocal techniques were specifically developed in secular or even occultic contexts. The ancient Hebrews understood that certain musical style and patterns were appropriate for worship while others were not.

King David, who established worship in Israel, appointed musicians who were not just skilled performers but also prophetically sensitive, in 1Chronicles 25:1-3 we read that David set apart those who prophesied with harps with sultteries and with symbols. Certain beat patterns and rhythms were developed specifically to stimulate sensual feelings simply adding Jesus themed lyrics to these musical forms, doesn't purify their spiritual effect. Consider how God instructed Israel to be distinct from surrounding nations in everything from diet to clothing to worship practices. This principle of separation wasn't arbitrary but reflected spiritual realities about influence and contamination. In II Corinthians 6:17 Paul echoes this divine principle “wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate sayaeth the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you.”

When church music becomes indistinguishable from worldly music except for its lyrics it has lost the set art quality that characterizes true worship. The Hebrew concept of *kadosh or holiness literally means to be set apart distinct and different.

SONGS THAT ELEVATE HUMAN EMOTION OVER DIVINE TRUTH

Church music that include songs that prioritize emotional experience over divine truth are crafted primarily to generate powerful feelings rather than to facilitate genuine spiritual communion with God. In John 4:4 Jesus teaches that “true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him” notice that Jesus places equal emphasis on both spirit and truth. Many modern worship songs excel at stirring the emotions which is often mistaken for stirring the spirit but are severely lacking in theological truth. The danger here is that emotional experiences can be manufactured through musical techniques lighting and crowd psychology with or without the Holy Spirit's involvement.

Satan understands this and has weaponized it against the church creating worship experiences that feel spiritual but lack divine substance. True worship must engage with God as he actually is not as we emotionally wish him to be. Songs that simply make us feel good about ourselves that constantly affirm without ever challenging that promise blessing without obedience. These manipulate emotions without conveying truth. Many worshippers today judge the quality of worship by how it made them feel rather than whether it accurately represented God and facilitated genuine communion with him. This is spiritually dangerous territory as our emotions are the most easily manipulated aspect of our being.

David the Bible's worship prototype composed Psalms that covered the full range of human experience and emotion but always anchored those emotions in divine truth even when expressing deep sorrow or questioning. He always returned to the solid ground of God's character covenant and commands. Many modern worship songs focus almost exclusively on what God does for us rather than who God is in himself, this subtle shift creates a self-centered worship culture where believers evaluate worship by what they received emotionally rather than what God received spiritually.

 SONGS THAT GLORIFY THE PERFORMER RATHER THAN GOD

Some songs are designed to showcase the performer's talents rather than direct attention to God. These songs may contain correct theology and appropriate musical styles but their arrangement complexity and presentation serve to highlight human ability rather than divine glory. In John 3:30 John the Baptist articulated the correct attitude for anyone in spiritual ministry, “he must increase but I must decrease” this principle applies to worship leading any musical element that draws attention to the performer rather than directing hearts toward God. This fundamental principle is violated when worship shifts glory from God to human performers; it becomes spiritually lightweight lacking the substance and power that characterizes genuine worship.

In many churches today worship has evolved into a performance model where congregations like worship songs simply because of the way the leader sings it and not because of the meaning of the song. Isaiah 42:8 records God's declaration “I am the Lord that is my name and my glory will I not give to another neither my praise to graven images.” God is jealous for his glory in worship when performers use worship as a platform for self-promotion or to advance their music careers they tread on dangerous spiritual ground.

The ancient temple worship described in scripture involved skilled musicians but their skill was specifically dedicated to facilitating corporate worship not to displaying individual talent. In I Chronicles 15:22 we read about Shannoniah the leader of the Levites in music who instructed about song because he was skillful. His skill was used to help others worship better not to draw attention to himself. Today's worship industry often promotes personality cults around worship leaders, popular worship artists develop signature vocal styles and their followers attempt to imitate these styles rather than developing their own authentic communion with God. This creates a dangerous spiritual dependency where believers associate certain emotional experiences with particular human performers rather than learning to enter God's presence for themselves.

SONGS WHICH WERE ORIGINALLY WORLDLY

There are songs that were originally created for worldly purposes but have been converted into church songs. When a song that was originally created as a love song, to a romantic partner or as entertainment for the world, its spiritual DNA remains encoded in its musical structure. Simply changing the lyrics doesn't alter the spiritual essence that was embedded in its creation, in II Corinthians 6:14 -15 Paul asks "What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness and what concord hath Christ with bile?" These principles apply directly to music that was originally created for worldly purposes.

The Hebrew concept of dedication *kadesh involves setting something apart exclusively for divine use in temple worship. Objects that were dedicated to God could not have previously been used for common purposes previous use creates spiritual connections that aren't easily broken by mere intention, in Ephesians 5:19 Paul instructs believers to make melody in your heart to the Lord the Greek word used here for making melody is “salo” which literally means to pluck or strike the strings this refers not just to external music but to the internal spiritual origin and intention behind the sound the source and origin of worship music matters profoundly in the spiritual realm.

Many worship leaders take popular secular melodies or song structures and simply overlay them with Christian lyrics assuming this transforms them into legitimate worship, but in the spiritual realm origins matter. A song originally written to evoke romantic or sensual feelings toward another person carries that intention in its very musical DNA regardless of the new lyrics attached to it in I Samuel 16:14-23 we see that when David played his harp for Saul the evil spirit would depart, notice that David didn't adapt popular Philistine tunes with new lyrics about Jehovah he played music that was originally created for worship. The power was in both the players’ anointing and the music's original spiritual purpose. The ancient Israelites were strictly forbidden from adopting the worship practices of pagan nations even if they directed those practices toward God. When the Israelites created the golden calf (Exodus 32:5) they claimed they were holding a feast to the Lord, but they were using Egyptian inspired worship methods to do so. God rejected this synretatistic approach outright in Exodus chapter 32 we see how quickly the Israelites fell into idolatry when they created a worship experience based on what felt good to them rather than what God had prescribed. Their golden calf worship included music and dancing that they sincerely believed honored God, but Moses recognized it immediately as corrupt in verse 18 Moses says "It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome but the noise of them that sing do I hear." Notice Moses didn't call it worship or praise he called it noise this perfectly parallels God's statement in Amos 5:23 where he calls compromised worship noise.

Spiritually corrupt worship even if sincere becomes mere noise in the spiritual realm rather than a sweet smelling offering to God. Jesus taught in Matthew 9:17 "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles else the bottles break and the wine runth out and the bottles perish but they put new wine into new bottles and both are preserved.” This principle applies to worship; the new wine of the Holy Spirit's inspiration requires new wine skins of original music created specifically for him not recycled vessels originally designed for the world.

When examining worship songs research their origins, was this melody originally created as a love song, party anthem or pop hit that has been repurposed with Christian lyrics, if so spiritual discernment suggests finding worship that was born from prayer and communion with God rather than imported from secular sources. Just because a song mentions Jesus or uses biblical language doesn't automatically sanctify its origin. The spiritual DNA of music transcends its lyrical content and carries the imprint of its original purpose and creation. We must be vigilant about both the message and the medium.

* The Kaddish ('holy' or 'sanctification') is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God’s name.