Early Christian Views on Musical Instruments
Early Christian writings give a mixed picture: some writers used instruments as symbols for the body, voice, or harmony, while others quoted temple praise passages that include real instruments. Clement of Alexandria, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus, and the Apostolic Constitutions are key witnesses. The main evidence is stronger for symbolic teaching and biblical praise language than for one clear church-wide rule.
116 early-church witnesses · 194 source quotations · compared with Scripture
What did early Christians believe about musical Instruments?
Early Christian writings do not give one simple rule about musical instruments. Clement of Alexandria and some others use instruments as pictures for the human body, voice, or the harmony of worship, while Apostolic Constitutions and some Bible passages keep real instruments in temple and praise settings.
Justin Martyr, Apostolic Constitutions, and Hippolytus also cite passages that reject God being pleased by noise or sacrifice without obedience, so instruments are often treated as symbols rather than the heart of worship. The evidence is broad for symbolic and scriptural use, but thin for a single universal early Christian ban or command. Many more early Christian quotations, Bible passages, and source links are gathered below so you can study the evidence for yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Clement of Alexandria often treats instruments as pictures for the human body and worship.
- Justin Martyr and the Apostolic Constitutions quote passages that reject empty noise and stress obedience.
- Hippolytus explains psalms and songs in ways that connect worship language with instruments and melody.
- The evidence is mixed: early Christians used instruments in Scripture-based examples, but often moved toward spiritual meaning in worship teaching.
Questions Answered by the Sources
Did early Christians use musical instruments as symbols?
Yes. Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus, and Justin Martyr often use musical instruments as pictures for the body, the voice, the Spirit, or harmony in worship. Their focus is less on playing instruments and more on what the image teaches about ordered, spiritual praise.
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Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Heathen Direct teaching
... zeal of David. And He who is of David, and yet before him, the Word of God, despising the lyre and harp, which are only lifeless instruments, and having tuned by the Holy Spirit the universe, and especially man, who, being composed of body and soul, is a universe in miniature, makes melody to God on this instrument of many tones. And to this instrument, I mean man, He sings in harmony: “For you are my harp, and pipe, and temple.” A harp because of harmony, a pipe because of the Spirit, a temple because of the word, so that the first may sound, the second breathe, the third contain the Lord. And David the king, the harper whom we mentioned a little above, who urged men to the truth and turned them away from idols, was so far from celebrating demons in song that in fact they were driven away by his music. Thus, when Saul was plagued with a demon, he cured him simply by playing. The Lord made man a beautiful breathing instrument of music, after His own image. And He Himself also, surely, who is the wisdom above the world, the heavenly Word, is the all-harmonious, melodious, holy instrument of God. What, then, does this instrument, the Word of God, the Lord, the New Song, desire? T
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Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Direct teaching
...ets divine worship apart from that kind of wild partying and sings, "Praise Him with the sound of a trumpet," because with the sound of a trumpet He will raise the dead. "Praise Him on the psaltery," because the tongue is the Lord's psaltery. And, "Praise Him on the lyre." By the lyre, he means the mouth, struck by the Spirit as if by a plectrum. "Praise Him with the timbrel and the dance" refers to the Church thinking deeply about the resurrection of the dead in the sounding skin. "Praise Him on the chords and organ." He calls our body an organ, and its nerves are the strings. By them it has received harmonious tension, and when it is struck by the Spirit, it sends out human voices. "Praise Him on the clashing cymbals." He calls the tongue the cymbal of the mouth, which rings out with the movement of the lips. Therefore He cried out to humanity, "Let every breath praise the Lord," because He cares for every breathing thing He has made. For man is truly an instrument of peace. But if you examine other instruments, you will find that they are instruments of war, stirring up lusts, or awakening sexual loves, or arousing anger.
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Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Direct teaching
...asonable for us to stop believing in the Spirit from God, who moved the mouths of the prophets like musical instruments, and to listen instead to merely human opinions.
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Justin Martyr, Hortatory Address to the Greeks Direct teaching
...Thus, the divine influence itself, coming from heaven and using righteous men as instruments like a harp or lyre, revealed to us the knowledge of divine and heavenly things. Therefore, as if with one mouth and one tongue, they have successively and harmoniously taught us about God, the creation of the world, the formation of man, the immortality of the human soul, the judgment after this life, and all things necessary for us to know, providing us with divine instruction at different times and places.
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Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Direct teaching
Since there are psalms, and songs, and psalms of song, and songs of psalmody, we still need to explain the difference between them. We think, then, that psalms are pieces played simply on an instrument, without the voice, and composed for the musical melody of the instrument. Songs are those performed by the voice together with the music. They are called psalms of song when the voice takes the lead, while the proper sound also accompanies it, made in harmony by the instruments. They are called songs of psalmody when the instrument takes the lead, while the voice has second place and accompanies the music of the strings. So much, then, for the literal meaning of these terms. But as for the mystical interpretation, it would be a psalm when, by striking the instrument, that is, the body, with good deeds, we succeed in good action, though we are not yet fully skilled in contemplation. And it would be a song when, by turning over the mysteries of the truth apart from practice, and fully agreeing with them, we have the highest thoughts of God and His oracles, while knowledge gives us light and wisdom shines brightly in our souls. And it would be a song of psalmody when good action takes
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Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Supporting witness
... with an instrument called by the Greeks the psaltery, and by the Hebrews the nabla. It is the only musical instrument that is completely straight and has no curve. Its sound does not come from the lower parts, as it does with the lute and some other instruments, but from the upper parts. In the lute and the lyre, when the brass is struck, the sound answers back from below. But this psaltery has the source of its musical notes above, so that we too may practice seeking the things above, and may not let ourselves be dragged down by the pleasure of melody into the passions of the flesh. And I think that this truth also was deeply and clearly shown to us in a prophetic way in the construction of the instrument, namely, that those whose souls are well ordered and trained have the way prepared to the things above. Again, an instrument that has the source of its melodious sound in its upper parts may be understood as like the body of Christ and His saints—the only instrument that remains straight. For He did no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. This truly is an instrument that is harmonious, melodious, and well ordered. It admitted no human discord and did nothing out of mea
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Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Supporting witness
And I think that this truth, too, was signified deeply and clearly to us in a prophetic way in the construction of the instrument, viz., that those who have souls well ordered and trained, have the way ready to things above.
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Origen, Commentary on Matthew Supporting witness
Genesis 31:27 But akin to the symphony of this nature is that which is written in the second Book of Kings when the brethren of Aminadab went before the ark, and David and his son played before the Lord on instruments artistically fitted with might and with songs;
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Origen, Commentary on Matthew Background
And there are indeed among musical sounds some accordant and others discordant.
Did early Christians quote Bible passages that allow instruments?
Yes. The Bible cards here include many worship passages with harps, lyres, cymbals, trumpets, and other instruments. These are strongest as background for how early Christians read the Psalms, temple worship, and Davidic praise.
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2 Samuel 6:5 Background
Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.
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1 Chronicles 13:8 Background
Then David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets.
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1 Chronicles 15:16 Background
And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.
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2 Chronicles 7:6 Background
And the priests were standing at their watches, and the Levites with instruments of music of the Lord, belonging to King David, to give thanks before the Lord, for his mercy endures forever, with the hymns of David, by their ministry: and the priests were blowing the trumpets before them, and all Israel standing.
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Psalms 150:4 Background
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
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1 Chronicles 16:42 Background
Heman and Jeduthun had trumpets and cymbals for the music and instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were appointed to the gate.
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2 Chronicles 29:26 Background
And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
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1 Esdras 5:59 Background
And the priests stood arrayed in their vestments with musical instruments and trumpets; and the Levites the sons of Asaph had cymbals,
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1 Chronicles 6:17 Background
And they ministered in front of the tabernacle of witness playing on instruments, until Solomon built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem; and they stood according to their order for their services.
Did early Christians think worship should be spiritual, not just loud?
Yes. Justin Martyr, Apostolic Constitutions, and Hippolytus quote Scripture to stress that God wants obedience, praise, and spiritual meaning, not just sound. That does not create one simple rule about instruments, but it does show why some writers treated music as secondary to inward worship.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching
...d He says through another prophet: "Depart from me; the sound of your hymns, and the psalms of your musical instruments, I will not hear." And Samuel says to Saul, when he thought to sacrifice: "Obedience is better than sacrifice, and listening than the fat of rams." For behold, the Lord does not delight so much in sacrifice as in obeying Him. And He says through David: "I will take no calves out of your house, nor male goats out of your flock. If I should be hungry, I would not tell you; for the whole world is mine, and its fullness. Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice to God the sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High." And in the same way throughout all the Scriptures, He refuses their sacrifices because they sinned against Him. For the sacrifices of the ungodly are an abomination to the Lord, since they offer them unlawfully. And again: "Their sacrifices are to them as bread of lamentation; all that eat of them shall be defiled." If, therefore, before His coming He desired a clean heart and a contrite spirit more than sacrifices, much more would He abolish those sacrifices, I mean the bloody ones, when He came. Yet He abolis
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Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Direct teaching
...them, nor will I regard the peace offerings from you. Take away from Me the noise of your songs and psalms; I will not listen to your instruments. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an unfailing stream. Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness, O house of Israel?' says the Lord. 'You carried the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Raphan, the images you made for yourselves. Therefore, I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,' says the Lord, whose name is the Almighty God. Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, those notable persons who have taken the lead among the nations to whom the house of Israel comes. Pass over to Calneh and see, and from there go to Hamath the great, then down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory greater than your territory? You who put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror, who lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches, who eat lambs from the flock and calves from the stall, who sing frivolous songs to the sound of the harp and like David compose songs for yourselves, who drink win
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Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Supporting witness
The book of Psalms contains new doctrine after the law that was given by Moses. And so it is the second book of doctrine after the Scripture of Moses. After the death of Moses and Joshua, and after the judges, David arose, one considered worthy to be called the father of the Savior. He was the first to give the Hebrews a new style of psalmody. By this he did away with the ordinances established by Moses concerning sacrifice, and introduced a new way of worshiping God by hymns and acclamations. Through his whole ministry, he also taught many other things beyond the law of Moses. This is the sacredness of the book, and its usefulness. And the account to be given of its inscription is this. For since most of the brothers who believe in Christ think that this book is David's, and inscribe it as Psalms of David, we must state what has come down to us about it. The Hebrews give the book the title Sephra Thelim. And in the Acts of the Apostles it is called the Book of Psalms. The words are these: "as it is written in the Book of Psalms." But the name of the author in the inscription of the book is not found there. And the reason for that is that the words written there are not the words o
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
...at home, singing, praying, reading, watching, and fasting, speaking to God continually in songs and hymns. And let her work with wool, and rather help others than be in need of help from them. Let her remember that widow who is honored in the Gospel by the Lord's testimony, who came into the temple and cast two mites into the treasury, which make a farthing. And Christ our Lord and Master, and Searcher of hearts, saw her and said, "Truly I say to you, this widow has cast into the treasury more than they all. For all they have cast in out of their abundance, but this woman out of her poverty has cast in all the living that she had."
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Background
...n the priests and the Levites and the singers stood toward the east, praising and thanking God with cymbals and psalteries, and saying, "Praise the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endures forever." 2 Chronicles 5:13
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Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Background
For the apostle adds again, Teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to God.
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Ephesians 5:19 Background
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
Common Questions
Did early Christians use musical instruments in worship?
Some early Christian writings describe praise with instruments, especially when quoting the Psalms and temple worship. Other writers use the same language in a symbolic way, so the picture is mixed.
Did early Christians reject musical instruments?
Not in a single, universal way. Some writers stress inward praise, obedience, and spiritual worship more than the instrument itself.
Which early Christian writers talk about musical instruments?
Clement of Alexandria, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus, Origen, and the Apostolic Constitutions all mention them in different ways.
Source Index for Musical Instruments
The guided sections above show the strongest quotations. This compact index highlights 158 ranked source links from 194 compiled sources for deeper study.
Source index 158 ranked links shown
Early Christian Writings 80 shown of 116
Primary-source quotations from early Christian writers and church documents.
Bible Passages 78 included
Related Bible passages saved for comparison with the early Christian quotations.
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