WHO IS MASKIL?
Maskil is the musical outreach of WORD Center Ministries. Our goal is simple: to bless those who are sons and daughters of God, and to proclaim His excellencies to any who would listen, believers and unbelievers alike, through the Psalms put to music (we also have biblically based songs that we will be doing in the future.)
WHAT DOES MASKIL MEAN?
We took the name Maskil from the Psalms. Some of the Psalms were called "a maskil" normally in the phrase "a maskil of David." In the NASB it said a maskil was a "Skillful, Poetic, or Didactic Psalm." We thought that sounded like a fitting name because that's what we wanted to be (skillful, and poetic), and that's what we wanted to do (teach the Psalms with music, didactic). Upon further inquiry into the word "maskil" we discovered it literally meant "enlightenment." At first we were a little bit surprised at its literal definition, but then we saw the connection. When King David wrote "a maskil" it was to teach the people a truth of God or a truth about God. It was to illumine the eyes and open the ears of those listening to give greater understanding (in other words to enlighten them.) In Psalm 119 the Psalmist asks over and over that God would open his eye to behold wonderful things from His Word, and to write them on his heart! That's our desire for everyone who listens to our songs, that they would understand God's Word better than before, that the music would give a better understanding of the Psalm's message, and that it would serve to help them remember the very Words of God. Jesus said we were to be a light unto the world. We pray our music is as well.
WHAT DO YOU SOUND LIKE?
Our sounds and styles range greatly. At the end of the day, we are not trying to replicate any one style or genre, we are simply trying to accurately portray the Word of God, and bring greater understanding to the listener of what His Words mean. Therefore there was much changing and shifting of dynamics and feelings as some of these songs were re-recorded multiple times until we had the feeling that best fit what was being spoken in the Word. We hope that the listener would not focus on the music but the Words of God and allow the music to exalt these Psalms.
We have many more songs (Psalms, other Scripture, and solid doctrine) that we have written, so we will try to have the next album out by this winter. This will be a continual project, so any support will be greatly appreciated. obviously the easiest way to help us is to promote our CD(s) to those around you, if possible even your local Christian radio stations and bookstores.
We really think we have some special songs here so please help us if you can.