Colum Cille (26)

And this too we ought not to pass over in silence that has been told us without question by certain men who knew of it, concerning the voice of the blessed man in singing psalms. This voice of the venerable man, when he sang in the church with the brothers, was raised in an incomparable manner, and was heard at a distance sometimes of four furlongs, that is, five hundred paces, sometimes even of eight, that is, a thousand paces. Strange to say, in the ears of those that stood with him in the church, his voice did not exceed the volume of a human voice in magnitude of sound; and yet at the same time those that stood at a distance of more than mile heard the same voice so clearly that they could distinguish every syllable in the verses that he sang. This too should not remain untold, which, as an instance of this incomparable uplifting of his voice, is said to have happened once beside the fortress of king Brude. While the saint himself with a few key brothers was celebrating according to custom the praises of God, at vespers, outside the king’s fortress, certain magicians came close to them, and tried to prohibit it to the best of their power, lest the sound of divine praise from their lips should be heard among the heathen peoples. Understand this, the saint began to sing the forty-fourth [forty-fifth] psalm. And in the same moment his voice was, in a marvellous manner, so raised in the air like a terrible peal of thunder, that both the king and the people were filled with intolerable dread…[Y]et it could not have happened at all, without the grace of the Divine Spirit.

  - Adomnán, Life of Columba[1]

But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

 - Psalm 22.3

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord…

 - Ephesians 5.18, 19

I am convinced that one of the devil’s subtlest and most effective stratagems is to discourage Christians from singing, and especially from singing the psalms.

Ask yourself: When do you sing praises to the Lord? Or when do you sing any of the psalms? We might do so in church on the Lord’s Day. But do we sing praise and psalms to God at any other times?

Given that the Lord is “enthroned” in the praises of His people—that He rules the world with truth and grace from amid our praises!—and that the filling of the Spirit overflows in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”, it may well be that we’re missing an important component of our spiritual lives by not singing any more than we do.

Colum understood the importance of singing, and God blessed his voice to encourage others to sing as well. It is well known that 18^th-century revival preacher George Whitefield could be heard clearly as he preached in the open air by as many as 30,000 people at a time, covering spaces larger than a football field. Thus, it’s not difficult to believe that God blessed Colum with a strong singing voice. Like Whitefield’s preaching voice, Colum’s voice carried far and clear. And when it carried certain words, it could have powerful effects.

Imagine being king Brude with his smarmy magicians gathered around him, smugly thinking they’d put an end to all that Jesus noise outside the gates. Then the voice of Colum and his brothers comes seeping through into the throne room with the lyrics of Psalm 45 (44 in the Vulgate). Take a moment and read this glorious psalm, which celebrates the enthronement of Christ and the beauty of His rule as He goes forth in the white horse of His Church and the power of His Spirit, conquering and to conquer day by day.

Yeah, that might hit us like a thunderclap as we hear our flimsy effort unraveling in the ears of our puny monarch.

Everyone knows that music has power. It moves us. Arrests us. Sinks into our subconscious and sometimes lingers in our ears. Add to such power the living and active power of God’s Word—which you do when you sing a psalm—and you, as you sing, can unleash spiritual power to bring the rule of grace and truth to bear on anyone who hears you.

Say you can’t sing? Then make a joyful noise to the Lord (Pss. 66.1, 95.1, 98.1 NASB)! God can use your cacophonous praises as well as if you had perfect pitch.

Singing in church is all well and good. But it’s not enough. Listening to Christian music is good, too. But it’s not enough. Christians are called—indeed, commanded—to sing, and specifically to sing the songs God has prepared for us in the book of Psalms. We might not think this to be all that important. But the devil does, and like those groveling magicians, gloating before Brude, I’m sure the devil reinforces his authority over his minions day by day by reminding them of his continuing victory over the Christian world—over you and me—by convincing us we don’t need to sing more, and in particular that we don’t need to sing the psalms.

Wouldn’t you love to have a part, every day, of seeping the thunderclap of psalms into the devil’s lair, annoying the hell in him and causing him to cower before the power of the sung Word of God? We can, just as Colum did. And our singing can do more than just irritate the devil. It can bring comfort, encouragement, and simple delight to those who hear us, and make us the aroma of Jesus wherever we sing.

For Reflection
1. Do you sing the praises of God throughout the day? Explain.

2. What could you do to begin singing more of the psalms?

Psalm 95.1, 2, 6 (Tidings: O Zion, Haste, Thy Mission High Fulfilling)
Come, let us sing with joy to God, our Savior!
Let us with joy to Him, our Rock, bow down!
Come now before Him, grateful for His favor;
let joyful psalms break forth from all around.
Refrain v. 6
Come let us worship, kneel to our LORD;
worship our Maker: Father, Holy Spirit, Word.

Cue me to sing Your praises today, O Lord! Call me to sing to You, and I will…

T. M. Moore

Bring some joy to your world
We are appointed, like Colum, to bring the joy of the Gospel to our world. Our book, Joy to Your World!, can help you understand how to fulfill this calling day by day. Order your free copy by clicking here.

Support for Crosfigell comes from our faithful and generous God, who moves our readers to share financially in our work. If this article was helpful, please give Him thanks and praise.

And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 103 Reynolds Lane, West Grove, PA 19390.

All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[1] Adomnán, p. 71.