“Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and glorified Himself in Israel.” Isaiah 44:23
There is great power and blessing in singing, especially when it is to the Lord, the result of what He had declared or what He has done. Singing is a God-given means to express joyfully and thankfully, the manifest blessing of God, whether it be spiritual or material. It is the testimony of the believing heart that he has received by faith the promise of God, or the fulfillment of that blessing. It is also the joyful expression of faith’s grasp of the eternal truth of God’s word, leading the believer to know deeper fellowship with Him. The power of the song, or singing, resides in the fact that it is God-given, God-inspired, and God-enabled. Perhaps the greatest, and most worthy act and attitude of singing is that it reflects something of the loveliness, and goodness of God, whose abounding joy is infinitely pure and good, a joy imparted to the believer in a certain measure, even in times of difficulty and trial. What a wonderful, and beautiful, testimony to the tender lovingkindness of God that sometimes in the night the Lord gives a song, one that rises in the quietness unto His throne, accepted and blessed, as it comes from the heart of the thankful soul. It is a song that is sung, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “…with the Spirit, …and with the understanding.” (1 Cor. 14:15) It is a song that encourages the believer to believe God concerning His nearness, and presence. It also encourages the believer, according to the great and wonderful truths found in it, to have faith in God, and to express one’s trust in Him according to the truth. It is in the act of worshipping by song, by singing, in faith by the Spirit, that Christ reveals Himself to the heart and soul. Singing is a gift of God by which the believer draws near to God, and God draws near to him.
When David was King of Israel, there came the time when the Ark of the Covenant, “…of the Lord God of Israel,” was to be brought up to Jerusalem to a place which David had prepared for it. David, to prepare for this occasion, spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint brethren to be singers accompanied by instruments of music.”…stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, by raising the voice with resounding joy.” (1 Chr.15:16) One important thing to grasp here is that this occasion was to be heralded by singing, with the voice of resounding joy. The song, the singing, was to be a testimony of the joy of the Lord in the fulfillment of His will in bringing the Ark into Jerusalem to rest. This was to be its resting place, after hundreds of years, from the days of Moses to the conquering of Canaan, to the rise and fall of the people of Israel in the times of the Judges and the Kings, until David came on the scene of history. Now, to commemorate this most extraordinary occasion, singing was to be an integral part of it, the very music given by God to His servants. The great testimony was that of the people in praise and blessing of God, who had been faithful and good, to bring them to that point. David would even compose a Psalm to be read, and perhaps sung, at that occasion, on that day.
Just before Jesus was crucified, while He and His disciples were still gathered together in the upper room before going out into the night towards Gethsemane, they sang a hymn. Why? And how could they sing, especially the Lord Jesus, while the dark clouds of opposition and death announced the coming Cross? It was primarily because of a joy that Christ had for His disciples, which no man could take from Him. The hymn expressed His saving faith.
Dear Father, Fill us with songs. In Jesus’ name, Amen.