❦ Introduction:
David, the great psalmist of Israel, in meditating on the wonder of the growth and development of a baby in the womb, declares, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made”. The marvelous works of Almighty God in the creation of a new life astound us! Consider the wisdom of God displayed in the creation of mankind: the beauty and harmony of how the different systems of our physical bodies work together, the God-given abilities to think and reason, and much more.
And God gave us all that is necessary to give glory, praise and honor to Him, Who is worthy of our worship. Christians have the motivation and the equipment to praise God:
1. We are motivated to praise God for all things in life, but especially our being saved from sin by the work of Jesus Christ. Considering all the spiritual blessings we have been given, who could remain silent?
2. We have the praise equipment, designed by God: voices to vocalize God’s praise with hearts and minds. Furthermore, we not only speak of God’s marvelous works which He has done, but we sing of them. “Oh come let us sing to the Lord”, “ Oh, sing a new song to the Lord”, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever”; the glory of music and lyrics designed for the praises of Almighty God should be our highest joy.
❦ With Joy:
What is joy? Galatians 5:22 tells us that joy is a fruit identified with the work of the Holy Spirit within us. Joy is a dynamic emotion that demands expression, and seems to be stronger than mere happiness. David expresses “fullness of joy” in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11). Nehemiah urged the people to rejoice before the Lord with a feast, “for the joy of the Lord is your strength”. In Psalm 30 we see the great contrast between weeping and joy, mourning and dancing, and singing is foundational (verse 4): “Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name”.
There are many examples of joy and rejoicing in the Bible, and those times of joyful celebration are never silent. Think of the music that attended the defeat of the Egyptian armies in the Red Sea. Moses sang this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
The Israelites were not merely relieved that Pharaoh’s charioteers were no longer pursuing them, they were overjoyed! And their joy burst out in song.
Earth is not the only place were singing is found, joy in song resounds in heaven as well. (Revelation 5:9-13):
And they sang a new song, saying:
“ You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures,
and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands
of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
“ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in
the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“ Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
Now, it is true that not all our times in this life are joy and peace. We experience sadness, we stumble in sin, we struggle with discouragement, and so on. Even those emotions are subjects of song in the psalms. Nonetheless, because of Christ’s promise to hold us firmly in His grip and never let us go, we can “count it all joy” no matter what our situation. That is the hope we have and that is why we can still sing with joy!
❦ With Skill:
Because God has given the gift of singing to us, it ought to be obvious that we should offer that gift back to Him in our worship. When we read of the Old Testament system of offerings and sacrifices that God instituted for His people, we should immediately notice that those offerings were to be “without blemish”; they were to be of the best of their flocks. Although we live in the New Covenant through Jesus Christ, the principle of giving God our best still stands. The Apostle Paul says this:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1
And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. Colossians 3:23
We still have something to offer: ourselves! We offer back to the Lord the gifts and talents that He has graciously bestowed on us, not grudgingly, but “heartily”. It is God Who gives gifts to His people, and we are to use them for His service. Yet some say that God has not given them the gift of singing. This must not become an excuse for not singing in worship, however. Singing the praises of the Lord is commanded, we all must sing.
Do some sing better than others? Of course, but we should reasonably expect all Christians to have a desire to improve the talents we have, however meagre they may be. Would the Master be pleased if we buried what He has entrusted to us, or should we work with diligence in order to make a profit? A profit in skillful singing in this instance.
Listen to Psalm 33:1-3
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the LORD with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
If we have in our hearts a desire to offer our best, to do everything heartily as to the Lord; if we recognize our singing deficiencies, and there is an opportunity to learn how to sing with more skill, who would turn from such an opportunity? We ought to consider that our growth in godliness, our sanctification, includes becoming better singers! Realistically, that does not mean that all will become professional level vocalists, but rather that we would all seek to worship the Lord in song at a higher skill level than we have before.
Singing with joy and skill ought to be considered a normal part of the Christian life. In fact, it ought to be a prominent part of our daily walk. Notice how the Apostle Paul ties singing with “letting the word of Christ dwell in your richly” and being “filled with the Spirit”:
Colossians 3:16-17
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Ephesians 5:17-20
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Here then, is the purpose of Heart & Voice: to help you become the best singer you can with the gifts God has given you, in order that you may lift up your voice to Him with joy and skill, in glorious praise. This is especially the case when God's people are gathered on the Lord's Day to offer themselves as "living sacrifices" in congregational worship.
So let’s Sing to the Lord!
David, the great psalmist of Israel, in meditating on the wonder of the growth and development of a baby in the womb, declares, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made”. The marvelous works of Almighty God in the creation of a new life astound us! Consider the wisdom of God displayed in the creation of mankind: the beauty and harmony of how the different systems of our physical bodies work together, the God-given abilities to think and reason, and much more.
And God gave us all that is necessary to give glory, praise and honor to Him, Who is worthy of our worship. Christians have the motivation and the equipment to praise God:
1. We are motivated to praise God for all things in life, but especially our being saved from sin by the work of Jesus Christ. Considering all the spiritual blessings we have been given, who could remain silent?
2. We have the praise equipment, designed by God: voices to vocalize God’s praise with hearts and minds. Furthermore, we not only speak of God’s marvelous works which He has done, but we sing of them. “Oh come let us sing to the Lord”, “ Oh, sing a new song to the Lord”, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever”; the glory of music and lyrics designed for the praises of Almighty God should be our highest joy.
❦ With Joy:
What is joy? Galatians 5:22 tells us that joy is a fruit identified with the work of the Holy Spirit within us. Joy is a dynamic emotion that demands expression, and seems to be stronger than mere happiness. David expresses “fullness of joy” in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11). Nehemiah urged the people to rejoice before the Lord with a feast, “for the joy of the Lord is your strength”. In Psalm 30 we see the great contrast between weeping and joy, mourning and dancing, and singing is foundational (verse 4): “Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name”.
There are many examples of joy and rejoicing in the Bible, and those times of joyful celebration are never silent. Think of the music that attended the defeat of the Egyptian armies in the Red Sea. Moses sang this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
The Israelites were not merely relieved that Pharaoh’s charioteers were no longer pursuing them, they were overjoyed! And their joy burst out in song.
Earth is not the only place were singing is found, joy in song resounds in heaven as well. (Revelation 5:9-13):
And they sang a new song, saying:
“ You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures,
and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands
of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
“ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in
the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“ Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
Now, it is true that not all our times in this life are joy and peace. We experience sadness, we stumble in sin, we struggle with discouragement, and so on. Even those emotions are subjects of song in the psalms. Nonetheless, because of Christ’s promise to hold us firmly in His grip and never let us go, we can “count it all joy” no matter what our situation. That is the hope we have and that is why we can still sing with joy!
❦ With Skill:
Because God has given the gift of singing to us, it ought to be obvious that we should offer that gift back to Him in our worship. When we read of the Old Testament system of offerings and sacrifices that God instituted for His people, we should immediately notice that those offerings were to be “without blemish”; they were to be of the best of their flocks. Although we live in the New Covenant through Jesus Christ, the principle of giving God our best still stands. The Apostle Paul says this:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1
And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. Colossians 3:23
We still have something to offer: ourselves! We offer back to the Lord the gifts and talents that He has graciously bestowed on us, not grudgingly, but “heartily”. It is God Who gives gifts to His people, and we are to use them for His service. Yet some say that God has not given them the gift of singing. This must not become an excuse for not singing in worship, however. Singing the praises of the Lord is commanded, we all must sing.
Do some sing better than others? Of course, but we should reasonably expect all Christians to have a desire to improve the talents we have, however meagre they may be. Would the Master be pleased if we buried what He has entrusted to us, or should we work with diligence in order to make a profit? A profit in skillful singing in this instance.
Listen to Psalm 33:1-3
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the LORD with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
If we have in our hearts a desire to offer our best, to do everything heartily as to the Lord; if we recognize our singing deficiencies, and there is an opportunity to learn how to sing with more skill, who would turn from such an opportunity? We ought to consider that our growth in godliness, our sanctification, includes becoming better singers! Realistically, that does not mean that all will become professional level vocalists, but rather that we would all seek to worship the Lord in song at a higher skill level than we have before.
Singing with joy and skill ought to be considered a normal part of the Christian life. In fact, it ought to be a prominent part of our daily walk. Notice how the Apostle Paul ties singing with “letting the word of Christ dwell in your richly” and being “filled with the Spirit”:
Colossians 3:16-17
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Ephesians 5:17-20
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Here then, is the purpose of Heart & Voice: to help you become the best singer you can with the gifts God has given you, in order that you may lift up your voice to Him with joy and skill, in glorious praise. This is especially the case when God's people are gathered on the Lord's Day to offer themselves as "living sacrifices" in congregational worship.
So let’s Sing to the Lord!