After fingers of the rain reach down
Pulling frost out from the ground
And the cold relentless wind grows still
And I hear the gentle sound
Of a robin singing at my door
And distant thunder in the sky
Then I look out of my window
And watch children splashing by
Then I wonder at the changing world
As snowdrifts melt in Spring
And my sleeping faith sits up in bed
To hear the church bells ring
To Hear the Church Bells Ring
By Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2024
All rights reserved
Yesterday we looked at the blessings of worship songs that come directly from scripture and some ways that God promises to bless us as we grow in our understanding and practice of worship. But as we concluded yesterday, worship is not something we do alone in a corner, just us and Jesus. Today we are looking a little deeper into how God has designed us to sing and worship not only with His people, but also together with Him. We sing together because when we do so we support one another, both on a spiritual and a practical level. If one person forgets the words, the others help carry them along. Singing together unifies us because we are sharing a common experience of worship that is precious to God.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1 ESV
And when God’s heart is moved by His people, something even better happens: He comes and joins in!
But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3 NKJV
Though it is hard for us to imagine, the Bible says that God comes down to join in with our songs. In fact, one of the last things that Jesus did before He was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane was to sing along with His friends.
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Matthew 26:30 NKJV
Imagine how special that moment must have been to those disciples later in their lives when they were suffering persecution, imprisonment or even facing death. Each of them could look back and say, “O, I remember when Jesus sang with us!” In the same way, God’s Word that has been planted in our hearts in worship can be our greatest treasure, when we are going through hard times. Those songs that are straight from His Word can be used by the Holy Spirit to refresh our minds, lift our spirits and give courage to our hearts. And in those rare moments when we are worshiping together in unity with our brothers and sisters, He promises to come alongside. If we sing the harmony part He has given us, we just might hear Him sing a melody that will carry us to the end! I hope you will be blessed as we close this study by this wonderful rendition of Psalm 23 from Keith Green and that it will help you think and pray about a deeper worship. This is the worship in both Spirit and truth that Jesus talked about and that we will have in Heaven as we sing not only for Jesus, but you also with Him to His honor and glory, forever and forever. Amen!
One thing that makes me sad is how in church, we often come to the lyrics of the greatest song book in the world and all we do is read it together in unison with a monotone voice. Yes, God’s word is perfect but forgive me when I say that maybe even God gets bored with the way we use it. We seem to have forgotten that this was not the way it was intended to be presented. Instead, why not think of the Psalms as songs whose melody has fallen asleep, and listen to every new melody as if it were a Psalm knocking on our door and asking for words to sing it? While singing scripture, may seem to be somewhat whimsical or arbitrary, if you try it you will soon find some wonderful benefits just waiting to be discovered. But why would God want to communicate with us this way? Maybe the answer is the same as the reason why young people pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to listen to their favorite pop star. Back when we were teenagers, the preferred medium for us was the local AM radio station. Our favorite songs would make us laugh, cry, or feel romantic (Oh! They’re playing our song!)
The Psalms are no different. For just a few examples of happy or sad, how about
“Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;.” Psalm 126:2
And what can be sadder than:
“I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.”
Psalm 6:6.
God knows that when we laugh, cry, get discouraged or even complain to Him, that we connect with Him and with His word on a whole different level. Secondly, singing scripture helps us remember the words. If we could go back in time a few centuries, we would discover that the printed word as we know it didn’t exist. The only copies of the scriptures were handwritten. Every copy in today’s dollars, would cost the equivalent of hundreds or even thousands of dollars. So, God found a way for His people to remember His words without books. I think of it a little like when we listened to the radio and the DJ announced a new song, someone would inevitably shout, “Hey be quiet man! You got to hear this one!” Then we would crank up the volume and sing along, while someone kept beat on the glove compartment or steering wheel. By the end of the week most of us knew every word, though much to our teacher’s chagrin, we couldn’t recall the date of the battle of Bull Run or the names of past presidents! God wants us to engage with His word in the same way. First, He calls us to engage with our hearts, then with our lips, and also with the people around us. Back in the Old Testament days, songs were written to be sung by everyone. Think of how when Moses finished bringing the people through the Red Sea, the first thing he did was to sing. But he wasn’t alone. No! As soon as he started up his sister Miriam lead all the women out onto the beach where they played tambourines, danced, and sang along. Now that was some kind of celebration! (Keep your radios tuned tomorrow for part 2) Here are a couple of scripture songs, one in English and the other Hebrew, just to give you some ideas.
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