Worship: Clement of Alexandria on Singing to God

Clement of Alexandria (d. c. 215) wrote passionately about the role of music in Christian worship. In the "Exhortation to the Greeks," he contrasted the destructive music of pagan mythology (Orpheus, the Sirens) with the "new song" of Christ: "He who is from David and yet before him, the Word of God, despising the lyre and harp -- lifeless instruments -- and having tuned by the Holy Spirit the whole world, and especially man, uses this many-voiced instrument to praise God."…