Monday, September 9, 2013

Sons of Korah: A Recommended Resource

Posted by Christine Pack

Anyone who knows me know that I am slightly obsessed with music (as witnessed by one of my articles a few years back entitled A Few Thoughts On Christian Music). Even before I became a Christian, I've thought that there was something so interesting and mysterious about music. For instance, why is it that things are easier to memorize when set to music? Can everyone think back to first grade, where they learned the alphabet by singing the ABC's song? Even today, my feeble brain remembers all sorts of ditties and silly camp songs I sang as a kid, from Zacchaeus Was A Wee Little Man to Over The River and Through The Woods to Row, Row, Row Your Boat.


So is it any wonder that when I was introduced to Sons of Korah as a believer that I would love-love-love-LOVE them? If you're not familiar with the Sons of Korah, please allow me the honor of introducing them to you. Sons of Korah are a Christian music group based in Australia, and their musical focus is the Psalms. All Psalms. Nothing but Psalms. From their website:
"The Psalms were originally song lyrics intended to be performed to the accompaniment of musical instruments..... Essentially they are the prayers, reflections and praise declarations of God’s people, and yet they no less authoritative and inspired than the rest of scripture...... There were several different uses for the psalms and perhaps many more than we know of. Corporate praise, celebration, lament, and prayer was obviously the dominant use.... Certainly a dominant use for the psalms was for instruction. Music is a great tool for memorizing things. The importance of knowing the Word of God is a dominant theme in both testaments, not least of all in the psalms. The psalms themselves contain, in condensed form, all the fundamental truths of the faith. Salvation history, the attributes of God, the way of salvation, the law of God, principles of wisdom, the nature of man and many more points of theology are powerfully encapsulated in the psalms. In this way the people learned about these things and passed them on. This is precisely what Paul has in mind when he exhorts the Colossians to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs in worship to God so that the word of Christ would dwell in them richly (Col. 3:16)."
I've downloaded every Sons of Korah album available through iTunes, and have now memorized almost 50 Psalms. I'm also using this wonderful resource with my sons to teach them, in a beautiful and artistic and musical way, the beauties and excellencies of God's character and nature, and to show them that we can cry out to the Lord, and He promises to hear and respond to those who are His.

The Sons of Korah albums are also available through Exodus Books and Amazon, and include:
Light of Life 
Redemption Songs 
Shelter 
Resurrection 
Rain 
Wait

 Additional Resources 

Psalm 35 - Sons of Korah

Thoughts on Christian Music