Why Sing?
For the Lord, your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17.
We are created by the same Lord God, who rejoices over each of us with joyful songs! We sing before we can talk! When I first read this statement, I remembered when our toddler-aged son said something to me, I didn’t understand. I asked his older brother what he said. He looked at me quizzically and repeated the exact same garbled utterance. I thought, so much for an instant interpreter.
We sing for many reasons. Celebrating a joyous occasion. We sing to underline the unity of a group. Music begins by listening to a lullaby sung by Mother with love. Happy Birthday is next! A brief melody with the joy of growing older! It is a song of looking forward to ‘many more’! Jesus Loves Me was next. This song is the foundation of our faith and trust in Jesus. One day I sang this song to my dear husband, and the words pierced my heart with truth. Jesus loves me! He who died, Heaven’s gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in, Yes, Jesus loves me!…I saw the wonder of the love Jesus has for children. Is it any wonder that Jesus wants us to become as little children? But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” Matthew 19:14.
Through the wonder of technology, I attended the celebration of life for my little brother. I listened to the hymns sung, Great is Thy Faithfulness, How Great Thou Art, and Blessed Assurance. Such comfort and joy praising God for Who our Jesus is. In my heart, I heard my brother singing with joy the lyrics, across the veil that separates us.
Why do we sing? God commands it! Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Psalm 100:1-2. I like these verses — Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Ephesians 6:5-6. The consistency of our behavior is being faithful. In everything – be faithful to God. Sing to the Lord with all our hearts.
What would a wedding be without the Wedding March? What would Graduation be without Pomp and Circumstance? What would Christmas be without Silent Night, Away in a Manger, O Holy Night, Joy to the World, and Noel? There are many more songs to sing in praising God with a singing heart!
Singing on key or making a joyful noise, we are commanded to praise Him Who gives us reasons to sing with joy. The harmony of voices comes from one purpose and one love. This is the harmony that touches our hearts and our faith grows. Jesus brings us the depth of His love.
What is a song? Ask Moses who sang a song celebrating the freedom from slavery in Egypt – Exodus 15:1. Ask Deborah and Abinoam who sang praise to God for avenging Israel. Judges 5:1-4. Ask Paul and Silas who sang praises to God while imprisoned. Acts 16:25. Ask the stars of heaven who sang together for joy. Job 38:7. And there are many who sang praises to God the Father through the ages.
In life or death, a song is always the expression of our hearts. Our prayers become the songs of praise of His greatness and goodness. Without the Lord God in our lives, we would not be here on earth. We depend on Him for every breath we take. We depend on Him for Sustenance. We depend on Him for Forgiveness.
Preparing for singing is more than keys, notes, and enunciation – they come from the Heart. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray –Malotte put words to music. Singing these words comforts us as we hear the words of Jesus in music.
Our Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
It is always delightful to sing the Words of the Bible. A song helps us remember God’s words written in The Holy Bible. How often I recall words in a song that draws me back into His Word. Scripture is healing balm to the hurting heart, in celebration of joy in Christ Jesus, and spiritual food to renew our lives in Him. Singing Praise to Jesus has a way of shutting out the distracting noise of the world.
We have so many instruments to create music as we worship. God has blessed us in worship here with the sound of the harp in our services. As the fingers glide over the strings, the sounds pull our hearts into worship. David sang praises to God on a hillside watching his sheep. So many songs are recorded in Psalms, from the writers. I see into the heart of David. He truly was a man of God’s heart. As the crescendo of the Lord’s Prayer is sung, Jesus draws my heart to the foot of the cross. There are times I long to write a hymn of joy to the Lord. Our lives and the way we live them are our songs of praise dedicated to our Lord. I praise you, Lord!
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16
Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! Psalm 47:6-7
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…Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:19-21
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