These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.

   - Psalm 42.4

The melodious chant of the believers is as food to me.

  - The Rule of Cormac mac Ciolionáin, Irish, 9th century

Have you ever wondered why the depictions of heaven in the psalms and Revelation always mention singing?

Obviously, singing is a primary component of life in heaven, as, I expect, it will be in the new heavens and new earth. The Lord loves the singing of His people. In singing we echo the delight of the Lord, which delight we enter as we sing because praise resonates with the being and worthiness of our King.

The Trinity itself is a perpetual hymn of mutual praise, and when the saints of God intone their praises to the Lord, they enter into the very being of God and participate in Him.

Singing in churches has fallen on hard times, and that for a couple of reasons. First, who ever teaches singing any more? We certainly don’t teach hymnody in the churches, or help those who “can’t sing” learn to do so with gusto and joy. In an entertainment culture such as ours, which puts such a gigantic premium on singing well, if one doesn’t sing well and knows it, he isn’t likely to be too enthused about singing in church.

Further, in many churches the worship leader or team is so loud that the congregation can’t hear itself singing, so why bother? Just mouth the words and enjoy (or not) the entertainment.

We are commanded to sing, and to sing robustly; but delighting in the music of Zion does not come naturally. We have to learn to “feed” on the great hymns of the church – how to read the lyrics, to know why the music does what it does, to understand how different keys affect us, and so forth. The more attention we pay to such dynamics, the more the music we sing will bring us into the joy of the Lord.

If a church loses the capacity to sing, and to sing the great hymns of the Christian tradition as well as the new songs composers are offering today, it loses an important means of participating in the presence of God.

Does your church teach you to sing, and to engage music for all it’s worth?

There can be no denying the high priority placed on singing to the Lord in Scripture. So why should we deny that priority in our own lives with Him?

Psalm 96.1-4 (Mit Freuden Zart: “All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above”)
Sing to the Lord! O, bless His Name! All nations tell His glory!
Salvation’s tidings loud proclaim; let earth rehearse His story!
For God is greatly to be praised; His throne above all gods is raised –
Fear Him, and sing His glory!

Let my singing be pleasing to You, O Lord, and let me sing more joyously day by day.