The holy spirit and singing

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SINGING
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Holy Spirit, come to me,
rest right here, inside of me
guard my heart, keep my mind
let it be Your peace, that I find.
Holy Spirit, come be with me,
continually support, all of me
lead my soul, direct my ways
hear the words, my heart prays.
Holy Spirit, come anoint me,
place your seal, right here in me
Spirit of Life, Spirit of Grace
may Your wisdom, I embrace.
Holy Spirit, come comfort me,
release and deliver, unto me
all Your might, all Your power
counsel me, every waking hour.

Holy Spirit, my Father’s gift to me,
Spirit of Christ, living inside me
Spirit of God, Spirit of holy Fear
come whisper truth, in my ear!
LORD NOW FILL ME WITH YOUR SPIRIT by glenn pease
Lord now fill me with your Spirit, And His fruit, love, joy and
peace. This my prayer now Lord Oh hear it, Let this fruit in
me increase.
May your patience and your kindness Be by all now seen in
me, And your everlasting goodness In my life Lord may they
see.
Let me bear Lord such faithfulness Like that faithfulnessyou
show. By this one way let my life bless Everyone I come to
know.
Let gentleness and self-control Guide in each relationship.
Lord help me reach this Christ-like goal, And with all nine
fruits equip.
LORD, I'M MISSING YOUR INVOLVEMENT
By Glenn Pease

Sung to Love Divine All Love Excelling
Lord, I'm missingyour involvement, In the life of everyday,
But I'm longing for evolvement, And that's why this prayer I
pray.
Let me see you in the morning As I wait to face the day, As
my body I'm adorning Help me my soul to survey.
Help me sense that you are present, If I'll only be aware.
Help me focus on the pleasant, And rejoice in all that's fair.
In the hustle and the bustle Of my day at work and play,
Lord I'm hoping, and I'll trust you'll Through my life your joy
convey.
Help me see the needs around me As a chance to show your
love. When life's problems do confound me, Turn my eyes to
you above.
When my day reaches an ending, And the sun of light has
set, May I sense your great befriending, And lie down
without regret.
Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads
to debauchery. Instead, be filledwith the Spirit.

Amplified: And do not get drunk with wine, for that is
debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulatedwith the
[Holy] Spirit.
Ephesians 5:19
19speakingto one anotherwith psalms, hymns, and
songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your
heart to the LORD,
Amplified: Speak out to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritualsongs, offering praisewith voices
[and instruments]and making melody with all your
heart to the Lord,
Colossians3:16
16Let the message of Christdwell among you richly as
you teach and admonishone anotherwith all wisdom
through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit,
singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
Amplified: Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the
Messiah)have its home [in your hearts and minds]
and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and
admonishand train one another in all insightand

intelligenceand wisdom [in spiritual things, and as
you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritualsongs,
making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.
The astute observerwill note that the "effects"of
being filledwith the Spirit and being filled with the
Wordof Christ are virtuallyidentical (see table
below). Does this give you any clue as to how a believer
might be continuallyfilledwith the Holy Spirit?
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation,
but be filledwith the Spirit, speakingto one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritualsongs, singing and
making melody with your heart to the Lord; always
giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;and be subject
to one anotherin the fear of Christ
Noticethat the first evidence Paul records that
identifies a person who is filledwith the Spiritis the
characterof the WORDSthat come out of their
mouth! In other words, our speech is a good
"barometer"of whether we are filledwith (controlled
by) the Spirit.

He is the breath of God and his will is that our breath
be used to praiseall three persons of the Godhead in
song of one kind or another.
Frank Gaebeleinwas also correct when he wrote "We
may take it as a rule of the Christianlife that the more
we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the more we shall
glorify the Lord Jesus."
John MacArthur (The MacArthur New Testament
Commentary, Ephesians [Moody Press], p. 256)
writes, “The first consequenceof the Spirit-filledlife
that Paul mentioned was not mountain-movingfaith,
an ecstaticspiritualexperience, dynamic speaking
ability, or any other such thing. It was simply a heart
that sings.” Joyful, exuberant, heart-feltsinging is one
evidencethat a church is Spirit-filled. Lifeless, listless,
apathetic“worship”is not worship at all. It is a sinful
disregardof the majesty and grace of our great God
and it shows that we are not under the control of His
Spirit, who produces overflowingjoy in His people
(Rom. 14:17;15:13;Gal. 5:22). It reveals that we are
not captured by God’s abundant grace and we are not
thankful for His many blessings to us.

Song and thanksgivinggo together all through the
Bible. The more thankful you are, the more you will be
praisingGod in song.
I have occasions when I am so greatful to God that I
say it over and over, but I do not sing it in praiseto
God, and most all Christiansare in the same boat.
This is not a matter of having a bubbly personality;
many of us don’t have and never will have bubbly
personalities.But joy is promisedto every believer
who walks by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 22). As the
Spirit of God reveals to you the unfathomableriches
of Jesus Christ that have been poured out on you by
grace alone, you cannot help but be filled with praise
and thankfulnessto God, and that praiseoverflows in
singing.
Our life is to be like the old time musicals where
singing was liableto burts out at any time.

ONE PASTOR WROTE, "As I grow older, I find
myself bursting with song. The sad thing about it is, I
am woefully lacking when it comes to singing! When I
sing, Davidputs down his harp, Asaph resigns the
choir of Heaven, and angels weep and Heaven's flag is
flown at half-mast. In spite of this fact, when I am
preaching I find myself unable to restraina song. One
day in a church servicewhile I was preaching I just
started to sing. Linda, our middle daughter who is
married and a mother, leaned over to our youngest
daughter, Cindy, who is likewisemarried and a
mother, and said, "I just loveto hear Daddy sing. His
voiceis so...so...so...sincere."I am afraidthat she
voicedthe only good qualitythat my voice possesses!
So many times my song or chorus for the day has been
used by the Holy Spirit in a wonderful way. I had just
boarded a planein Knoxville, Tennessee. I was
humming, whistling and singing, "I am so glad that
My Father in Heaventells of His love in the Book He
has given. Wonderful things in the Bible I see, this is
the dearest that Jesus loves me. I am so glad that Jesus
loves me, Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, I am so glad

that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves even me." The
stewardess approachedme and said, "Mister, you
sound happy." I replied, "I certainlyam." She said,
"Whatkind of music is that that you are singing?"
Withouta thought, I replied, "Rock music." She said,
"That doesn't soundlike rock music. Sing some of it to
me." I sang, "ROCKof ages, cleft for me, let me hide
myself in Thee," I also said, "It is rock and ROLL."
She said, "Whereis the roll?"I sang, "When the
ROLL is calledup yonder, I'll be there." She laughed
and laughed, and in a few minutes I was tellingher the
wonderful story of Jesus. Standing in the aisleof the
plane she unashamedlybowed her head and prayed
with tears moisteningher eyes.
Recently I was on an airplaneflying west. I was not
aware of it, but I was humming some old songs of the
faith. A well-to-do,middle-aged man sittingbeside me
lookedover and said, "Those are the songs my mother
used to sing." I said, "Sir, do you have the faith your
mother used to have?"Through tears he said, "No, I
do not." I told him of that faith, and he received
Christon the airplane. Whata ministry music can be
if we sing spiritual songs and sing then in the power of
the Holy Spirit!

Hovero’erme,Holy Spirit,
Bathe my tremblingheartandbrow;
Fill me withThyhallowedpresence,
Come,O come and fill me now.
Refrain
Fill me now,fill me now,
Jesus,come andfill me now.
Fill me withThyhallowedpresence,
Come,O come and fill me now.
Notice the three types of singing here. First, THE
PSALM. There is not doubt but that the Christian
shouldsing the Psalms. Many of them have been put
to music. "In Shady Green Pastures So Rich and So
Sweet, God Leads His Dear ChildrenAlong," "Surely
Goodness and Mercy Shall FollowMe All the Days of
My Life," and one of the verses in t he song, "The Joy
of the Lord is My Strength" would be a few examples.
A music director, or for that matter, a layman, could
collectall of the psalms that he can find which have
been put to music. They shouldbe used.

I have found that it is easy to make up my own tune as
I sing a psalm. I just make it up as I go along.
Now also notice that HYMNS are mentioned. These
are songs of praiseaddressedto God. Songs such as
"Saviour,More Than Life to Me," "Come Thou Fount
of Every Blessing,"etc. These also shouldbe a part of
our musical repertoire.
We also find in Ephesians 5:19 the mention of
SPIRITUAL SONGS. Songs like "BlessedAssurance,"
"At the Cross,""At Calvary,"which are neither
hymns nor psalms, can certainlybe use with great
blessing.
We have mentioned five types of songs: (1) songs that
teach, (2) songs that admonish, (3) psalms, (4) hymns,
(5) spiritualsongs. All of these shouldbe included as
the Christiansings to himself and as we sing to one
another in the services of the church.
Psalms (5568)(psalmosfrom psállo = to sing, chant -
see TDNT note below) refers to a set piece of music,
sacred ode (accompaniedwith voice, harp or other

instrument; a "psalm"). Psalmosoriginallymeant a
touching, and then a touching of the harp or other
stringed instruments with the finger or with the
plectrum. Later it referred to the instrument itself,
and finallypsalmos became known as the song sung
with musical accompaniment.
Hymns (5215)(humnos/hymnos)refers to a song of
praise, a song in honor of God or generally to a song
with religious content. It also came to mean praise to
men. Whereas a psalm is the story of man's
deliveranceor a commemorationof mercies received,
a hymn is a magnificat, a declarationof how great
someoneor something is (Lu 1:46-55, 67-79;Acts 4:24;
16:25). It is a direct address of praise and glory to
God.
Eadie writes that hymns "are also sacred poetical
compositions, the primary purpose of which is to
praise, as may be seen in those instances in which the
verb occurs, Acts 16:25;Heb 2:12. (Ephesians 5
Commentary)

According to Augustine a hymn has three
characteristics:It must be sung; it must be praise;it
must be to God.
Spiritual (4152)(pneumatikosfrom pneúma = spirit. +
suffix = "-ikos"on the end of an adjectivesignifies “-
like”)means somethinglike pertainingto the (divine)
spirit, “belongingto the spirit", "of the nature of the
spirit", and thus "pertainingto that which is
spiritual".
There are 26 uses of pneumatikos in the NT -
Ro 1:11 (referring to spiritualgift); Ro 7:14 (referring
to the law); Ro 15:27 (referring to blessings);1Co.
2:13, 15; 3:1; 9:11;10:3, 4; 12:1; 14:1, 37; 15:44, 46;
Gal. 6:1; Eph. 1:3; 5:19;6:12; Col. 1:9; 3:16; 1Pe 2:5
Eadie comments that "in all other passages where (
pneumatikos)is used to qualify Christianmen, or
Christianblessings,its ruling reference is plainlyto
the Holy Spirit. Thus—spiritualgifts, Ro 1:11; a
special endowment of the Spirit, 1Cor. 12:1, 14:1, etc.;
spiritualmen, that is, men enjoying in an eminent
degree the Spirit, 1Cor. 2:15, 14:37;and also in Gal.

6:1; Ro 7:14; Ep 5:19; Col. 3:16;and in 1Cor. 2:13,
“spiritual”means produced by or belongingto the
Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5 Commentary)
Songs (5603)(oide from aido = to sing, always
signifying praiseto God) is a generic term for any
words sung or for songs in general, thus needing
modificationby "spiritual"in this context. The
qualifierof "spiritual"was importantbecause of the
fact that the original use of singing among both
believers and idolaterswas in the confessionsand
praises of the respectivegods.
Ode by itselfmight mean any kind of song, as of
battle, harvest, festal, whereas psalm, from its Hebrew
use, and hymn, from its Gr. use, did not require any
such qualification.
Eadie writes that song or "ode is a general term, and
denotes the natural outburst of an excited bosom—the
language of the sudden impulses of an Oriental
temperament. Such odes as were allowedto Christians
are termed “spiritual,” that is, prompted by the Spirit
which filledthem. But the psalms and hymns are
already marked out as consecrated, and needed no
such additionalepithet. For the prevailingmeaning of

the adjective. Odes of this nature are found in
Scripture, as that of Hannah (1Sa 2:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10) at her boy's consecration,that of the Mary, and
that of Zachariah on the birth of his son. (Ephesians 5
Commentary)
John MacArthur has an interestingcomment noting
that "For over a thousanddark years of its history(c.
500–1500)the church in general did not sing. From
shortly after New Testament times until the
Reformation, what music the church had was usually
performed by professional musicians. The music they
presented could not be understoodor appreciatedby
the average church member. In any case, they could
only sit and listen, unable to participate. But when the
Bible came back into the church during the
Reformation, singing came with it. Martin Luther and
some of the other Reformationleaders are among the
greatest hymn writers of church history. Where the
true gospel is known and believed, music is loved and
sung. God’s Spirit in the heart puts music in the
heart…

In his great allegoryPilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan
pictured the pilgrim, Christian, fallinginto the slough
of despond, straying into doubting castle, and
enduring many other hardships, frustrations, and
failures. And though the expression“filledwith the
Spirit” is not used in the story, each time Christianis
deliveredwe see him going on his way singing. Every
time he came back under the Spirit’s control he had a
song in his heart. (MacArthur, J: Ephesians.Chicago:
Moody Press)
"We will sing of the Shepherd that died,
That died for the sake of the flock,
His love to the utmost was tried,
But firmly endured as a rock;
We will sing of such subjects alone,
None others our tongues shall employ,
Till fully His love becomes known,
In yonder bright regions of joy."

Wiersbe - Joy is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal
5:22). Christianjoy is not a shallowemotion that, like
a thermometer, rises and falls with the changing
atmosphereof the home. Rather, Christianjoy is a
deep experience of adequacy and confidencein spite of
the circumstances aroundus. The Christiancan be
joyful even in the midst of pain and suffering. This
kind of joy is not a thermometer but a thermostat.
Instead of rising and fallingwith the circumstances,it
determines the spiritualtemperature of the
circumstances.Paul put it beautifullywhen he wrote,
“I have learned in whatsoeverstate I am, therewith to
be content”
MacArthur adds that "In most modern cultures, the
heart is thought of as the seat of emotions and feelings.
But most ancients—Hebrews,Greeks, and many
others—consideredthe heart to be the center of
knowledge, understanding, thinking, and wisdom. The
New Testament also uses it in that way. The heart was
consideredto be the seat of the mind and will, and it
could be taught what the brain could never know.

Emotions and feelings were associatedwith the
intestines,or bowels."
JohannSebastianBach said it well "The aim of all
music is the glory of God."
John MacArthur rightly states that "The words of
every Christiansong should be biblical—distinctly,
clearly, and accuratelyreflecting the teaching of God’s
Word. It is tragic that much music that goes under the
name of Christianis a theologicalmishmash, often
reflecting as much of the world’s philosophyas of
God’s truth. Much is little more than personal
sentimentalitycoloredwith Christianwords.
Wayne Barber writes that…
singing is a result of being filled with the Spirit of
God… That’s a Spirit-filledlife. Whatdoes that
mean? That means a life where every room of the
heart, where the Spirit lives, has been opened up.
Jesus in His light and loveand life has permeated
those rooms. Out of that heart, that has been cleansed
by His blood and filled with His presence, comes a

song to the lips and to the mind. It is always there.
Singing is just something that erupts in a person’s life
who is filledwith the Spirit of God. Something about
the Holy Spirit produces that music in a person’s
heart. That doesn’tmean you can carry a tune, it
simply means that you can make a joyful noise. There
is a song in your heart.
fact, the longest book in the Bible is its song book—
Psalms.
Psalms accounts for over 7 percent of the Old
Testament. In additionto the Psalms are other song-
and poetry-focusedbooks such as Song of Solomon,
Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs. In the New Testament, we
have song lyrics recordedin Revelation5, 7, and 15;
PSALM 100
A plaintranslation. Praiseto our Creator.

Ye nations round the earth, rejoice
Before the Lord, your sovereignKing;
Serve him with cheerful heart and voice,
Withall your tongues his glory sing.
The Lord is God; 'tis he alone
Doth life, and breath, and being give;
We are his work, and not our own,
The sheep that on his pastures live.
Enter his gates with songs of joy,
Withpraises to his courts repair;
And make it your divineemploy
To pay your thanks and honors there.
The Lord is good, the Lord is kind,
Great is his grace, his mercy sure;
And the whole race of man shall find

His truth from age to age endure.
Isaac Watts
SINGING THE PSALMS
There are ten reasons I believe congregations should begin to sing
psalms once again:
First, Psalm-singing is an explicit biblical command (Ps. 27:6). The
Scriptures encourage us to sing "psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Col. 3:16). To have
the word of Christ dwell in you richly means to invest in the rich
beauty of the Psalter. How can we sing what we do not know? Is
there a better way to internalize the word is to sing it?
Second, Psalm-singing was the ancient practice of the Church and it
continued for 1,800 years. We honor our forefathers and our history
when we sing their songs.
Third, Calvin observed that the psalms are "An Anatomy of all
Parts of the Soul; for there is not an emotion of which any one can
be conscious that it is not represented here as a mirror." The psalms
are satisfying to the human being. We are homos adorans; worship
beings. God is not against emotions, he is against emotionalism. The
Psalter is an emotional book. It provides comfort for the people of
God at different stages of life. As a minister I have never once
walked into a hospital room and been asked to read a text from
Leviticus or Romans, but rather every time I have been asked to
read a psalm (most often Psalm 23). The psalms reach deep inside
our humanity in time of pain.

Fourth, singing the psalms builds our Christian piety. It is nurturing
to our souls. It is God's devotional book; God's hymnal. Singing the
psalms restores the joy of our salvation. Ask me what book of the
Bible I would take to a desert island, and I will not hesitate to say
"The Psalms."
Fifth, the psalms are ultimately made for the body. You may sing
the psalms on your own, but they reach their culmination when sung
together. They are meant to be roared (Ps. 47:1), because they were
written by the Lion of Judah. When we sing together we are both
being edified and edifying one another. "We sing because in singing
we join together in common breath and melody in a manner that no
other medium can duplicate...We become an assembly unified in
purpose and thought. And by our singing, we hear God's Word for
us, and the world hears it loud and clear."
Sixth, we should sing the Psalms because they re-shape us; they re-
orient our attention. We are a people constantly being sanctified by
the Spirit of God, and the Spirit has specifically inspired 150 psalms
for our sanctification. How should we pray? How should we ask?
How should we lament? The Psalms helps us to answer these
questions, and thus shapes us more and more after the image of
Christ.
Seventh, by singing the Psalms we are worshiping the Spirit. The
Spirit hovers, shapes, re-makes in the Bible. He is the music of God
in the world. In an age when the Third Person of the Trinity has
become the source of theological confusion, the Psalms keeps us
focused on His role and purposes in history.
Eighth, we should sing the psalms because our current songs are
often cheap and shallow. The Psalms are rich and full of substance.

If we wonder why the evangelical community is so powerless, the
answer is because of its trivialized worship. Modern worship is often
a pietistic exercise, which is manifested in poorly constructed and
pessimistic theology. But the Psalms teaches us that God is full of
mercy and powerful over all His enemies (Ps. 2). The Psalms are
political statements. They are direct attacks on those who challenge
the supremacy of King Jesus.
Ninth, the psalms should be sung because our children need them.
Our little ones need to know the God they worship in profound ways
from their earliest days. We become what we worship, and so our
children will become what we sing.
Tenth, you should sing the psalms because the world needs them.
The world does not need a weak Gospel. She sees plenty of it
already. She needs to hear a Gospel of a God who delights in praise,
who will not allow evil to go unpunished, and who prepares a table
for us.
JESUSAND the disciplessinging in Matthew 26:30;
Matthew 26:26-30 New International Version(NIV)
26 Whilethey were eating, Jesus took bread, and when
he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his
disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks,
he gave it to them, saying, “Drinkfrom it, all of you.
28 This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is
poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I
tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine
from now on until that day when I drink it new with
you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the
Mount of Olives.
Very likely this song was some portionof Psalm114–
118, and very likely it was sung antiphonally, meaning
Jesus led the men by singing a line, and the disciples
respondedby singing a “Hallelujah.” Back and forth
they responsivelymarched through a psalm in song.
IT WAS NOT UNUSUALFOR JESUS TO SING.
GEOFF THOMAS
I can examine that from a number of perspectives. For
example, the Passoverfeast always ended with singing.

Tens of thousands of Passovermeals were being
celebratedthat night in Jerusalemand the city was
full of praisefrom one street to another – like Baxter’s
Kidderminsteror Charles’Bala – as the prescribed
hymns were sung at the closeof the meal. These
hymns were numbers 115, 116, 117 and 118 in the Old
Testament hymnal, the book of psalms. That group of
psalms are calledthe ‘Hallel’and the Passoverritual
had come to require not only the provisionof lamb,
bitter herbs and outdoor dress but that these four
psalms be sung – actuallyin two tempos. All the Jews
subscribedto that. In fact for about thirty Passovers
Jesus the son of Mary had sung these psalms with his
family at their annual celebrations.He had first sung
it as a boy with the voiceof a child, initially
remembering some of the phrases at the beginning of
the psalms and aping his Dad. Then as his mother and
father had more childrenhe heard them join in
singing these psalms;his own voice deepened and he
learned more of those psalms by heart. His father was
the precentor at the family Passoverfeast, and his
mother’s voicejoined with Josephand the children in
bringing the happy meal to a close. When Jesus was
twelve and sitting in the temple in Jerusalemperhaps

he asked the teachers the meaning of those words. He
grew up by the psalms, and then he grew towards the
psalms, and grew with the psalms, and all the time he
was growing in favourwith God. He increasingly
realisedwhat the psalms were saying about him, and
he took on board their job descriptionof the servantof
the Lord. He vindicatedthe psalms by doing what they
said. He came to do their will. “The time is at hand . . .
the time is coming . . . the time has come!” Jesus
consciouslymade these psalms come true.
And the example of the apostles’singing in Acts 16:25.
Many people also considerMary’s Magnificatin Luke
1:46–55and the angels’announcementin Luke 2:14 to
be songs. The church is commanded to communicate
with each other “with psalms, hymns, and songs from
the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to
the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19).
Other early references to music include Exodus 15,
which records Moses and the Israelites singing a song
of victory after the overthrowof the Egyptian army in
the Red Sea. At that time, Moses’ sister, Miriam, led

the Israelitewomen “with tambourines and dancing”
as she sang. When Jephthah returned from battle,
Jephthah’s daughter met him with timbrels and dance
in Judges 11:34. David’svictorieswere also celebrated
in song in 1 Samuel 18:6–7.
Two of the Old Testament’s most important figures
wrote songs: Moses and David. Moses has three songs
recorded in the Bible: the song sung after the
destructionof Pharaoh’s army (Exodus 15:1–18);a
song recountingthe faithfulnessof God and the
rebelliousness of Israel, which he sang before all the
people just before his death (Deuteronomy 32:1–43);
and a prayer recorded in Psalm 90.
David, “the sweet psalmistof Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1),
is credited with writing about half of the 150 songs
recorded in Psalms, alongwith some in the historical
books. He was the official musicianin Saul’s court (1
Samuel 16:14–23). During David’sown reign, he
organized the Levitical musicians, and 1 Chronicles
15:16 and 23:5 record that more than one in ten
Levites in temple servicewere musicians.

Other musicians includeAsaph (twelve psalms), the
sons of Korah(ten psalms), Solomon(two psalms and
1,005 other songs [1 Kings 4:32] and the Song of
Solomon), Heman (one psalm), and Ethan (one psalm).
Music was used in conjunctionwith all manner of
activities (Genesis 31:27;Exodus 32:17–18;Numbers
27:17;Judges 11:34, 35; Isaiah16:10;Jeremiah
48:33). Music was used at coronations(1 Kings 1:39–
40; 2 Kings 11:14;2 Chronicles13:14;20:28), events
in the royal court (2 Samuel 19:35;Ecclesiastes 2:8),
and feasts (Isaiah5:12; 24:8–9). It is interestingto note
the connectionbetween music and the supernatural:
trumpets sounded when the walls of Jericho fell down
(Joshua 6:1–20);and Davidplayed his harp to soothe
Saul during demonic attacks (1 Samuel 16:14–23).
In James 5:13 we have this command: “Is anyone
cheerful? Let him sing praise.”

Macarthur, "Although I have not personally
confirmed it, I have heard that the most frequent
command in the Bible is, “Sing!” And so I ask, “Do
you sing?” You may say, “I can’t carry a tune in a
bucket!” I can relate to that remark! I can’t hit the
notes of many songs. I get frustratedwhen I try to
sing, because it sounds so bad. But, I can’t dodge the
repeated command, “Sing to the Lord!” Let’s lookat a
few:
Psalm100:1-2 ESV
A Psalmfor giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the
Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Psalm95:1-2 ESV
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful
noiseto the rock of our salvation!Let us come into his
presence with thanksgiving;let us make a joyful noise
to him with songs of praise!
Colossians3:16 ESV

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching
and admonishingone anotherin all wisdom, singing
psalms and hymns and spiritualsongs, with
thankfulnessin your hearts to God.
Psalm147:1
Praisethe Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our
God; for it is pleasant,and a song of praiseis fitting.
Psalm150:1-6
Praisethe Lord! PraiseGod in his sanctuary;praise
him in his mighty heavens!Praisehim for his mighty
deeds; praise him accordingto his excellent greatness!
Praisehim with trumpet sound; praisehim with lute
and harp! Praisehim with tambourineand dance;
praisehim with strings and pipe! Praisehim with
soundingcymbals; praise him with loud clashing
cymbals! ...
Psalm95:1
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful
noiseto the rock of our salvation!
1 Corinthians14:15

Whatam I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will
pray with my mind also;I will sing praise with my
spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.
Psalm104:33
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;I will sing
praiseto my God while I have being.
Psalm13:6
I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully
with me.
Acts 16:25
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and
singing hymns to God, and the prisonerswere
listeningto them,
Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a
mighty one who will save;he will rejoiceover you with
gladness;he will quiet you by his love; he will exult
over you with loud singing.
“Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad
and rejoicewith all the heart…theking of Israel, even
the LORD, is in the midst of thee…The LORD thy

God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He
will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love,
He will joy over thee with singing” (Zeph. 3:14-17).
Two importantobservationsregarding this passage:
first, singing represents God’s joy. The Hebrew phrase
translated“he will rejoice over you with singing” can
also be translatedliterallyas “he rejoices over you
with a shout of joy.”
Second, God’s singing parallels the singing of His
people in Jerusalem.“Sing aloud, O daughter of
Zion!” (verse 14). This unit of poetry begins with the
people of Jerusalemsinging praiseto God and ends
with God singing over His people. God rejoices with
His people, and He expresses joy when His people
praiseHim.
Ty Gibson

According to the prophet Zephaniah, God does, in
fact, sing over you, and over me as well: “ ‘The Lord
your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take
great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he
will rejoice over you with singing’ ” (Zephaniah 3:17).
This is the Bible’s poetic way of telling us that God is
very aware of us, very sensitivetoward us, and that He
is trying to get ideas about His love for us into our
heads. So God sings. From just the other side of the
thin wall that separates the seen from the unseen, He
serenades our hearts, constantlywhisperingthe truth
of His love into our consciousness.
There is some real but inaudiblesensein which God’s
thoughts and feelings, like a song, are floatingsweetly
into our hearts. And as He sings over us, He is hoping
we will hear His song and come to know His heart.
The very idea that God sings at all is actuallyquite an
astoundingrevelationaboutthe kind of Being this
Almighty Creatormust be. What kind of person sings
anyway? Well, first of all, a very personal kind of
person, someone with thoughts they want to express
and feelings they want others to feel.
That’s the sort of God we’re dealing with here.

Not the “UnmovedMover” kind of God Aristotle
would have us imagine. Not the “impassible”and
“deterministic”God of classical theism, which is
merely a Christianizedversionof Aristotle’sGod. Not
the “impersonalforce” or the “collectivesoul” of
pantheismand Star Wars (“May the Force be with
you!”). None of these match up with the character
profileof the God revealedin Scripture.
A God who sings must be a God who feels, a God of
deep, stirringpassions. If God sings—andthe Bible
says He does—then we find ourselveslivingin the
presence of a Supreme Being whose heart pulsates
with supreme emotion. The implicationsare huge.
Some ancient Greek hippies calledthe Pythagoreans
observedthat all of creationis mathematical. Then
they noticedthat music is math. They realized that
music is mathematicallycomposedin such a manner
that it creates new thoughts and feelings in the human
soul. So they came up with a hypothesis that the
Creatormust be a singer, and He must have sung the
universeinto existence. The entire cosmos must
operate on a musical scoreof some kind!

Who knows, maybe the Pythagoreans were right.
Music is emotionalmath, after all, and the lyrics that
attend music are simply emotionallyrendered
thoughts. The great composers believedthey were
giving musical voice to the beauties of creation
through their art. Some of them claimedthat music
occurred to their imaginationsas they observedthe
wonders of the world aroundthem, as if they were
hearing something that was already there. They
thought they were engaged more in a process of
discoveringmusic than in a process of creating it.
The God of the Bible is the omnipotentCreatorof all
things. The sheer magnitude and gravity of the idea
that there is such a DivineBeing can be rather
overwhelmingand intimidating. Even terrifying. But if
God sings . . . well, that changes everything. It opens
our minds to the realizationthat within all this
enormous power there beats a tender heart.
If God sings, we find ourselves standingin awe before
the union of absolutemight housed within infinite
sensitivity. And it means even more. Because if God is
a composerand singer of love songs, as Scripture says
He is, that means He must be deeply in lovewith us,

because only those who are in lovesing love songs.
And it must also mean that He wants us to hear Him,
because singers who sing love songs sing to be heard
by the ones they love.
STEPHEN FREEMAN, Went on a search to answer
the questionWhy do we sing? After much research he
concluded, " We sing because God sings. We sing
because the angels sing. We sing becauseall of
creationsings. We are not always able to hear the song
– usuallybecause we do not sing enough. I will put
forward that singing is the natural mode of worship
(particularlyif we followthe model of the angels)and
that there is much that can enter the heart as we sing
that is stopped dead in its tracks by the spoken word."
GOD LOVES TO SING Based on Zeph. 3:14-20
Music and song are as timeless as the nature of
God. If you considerGod's singing as sacred music,
then sacred music has no beginning, for it is just as
eternal as God is. It was a surpriseto me when I first

discoveredthis text in Zeph. 3:17 which tells us clearly
that God delights and rejoices over His people with
singing. I guess I never thought about it before. Man
made in God's image could hardly live without music.
It is so basicto His joy and happiness. But I never
consideredwhether or not God has delight in singing.
When I found this text and gave it some thought, it
seemed a very logical thing to assume that God would
love music. He is the source of all music, for He
created man with the gift of creating it, enjoying it,
and using it to praise Him. If He did not enjoy music,
it would be a strange thing to want it used in the
worship of His people.
This text about God singing led me to search the Bible
to see if there is any other evidencethat God enjoys
the same things that we do. WhatI discoveredis that
all three persons of the Godheadare very happy
persons, and they delight in singing, and in all that is
joyful.
We have a terriblemisconceptionabout Jesus
because of the great suffering He had to endure to
atone for our sin. He was calledthe man of sorrows
and one acquaintedwith grief. This label stuck to

Jesus, and most of the artists of the ages pictured
Jesus in His agony, and this has been the image people
have had of Him. The larger portraitof the Bible has
been ignored, which is the portraitof Jesus as the
happiestman whoever lived. The Lord of laughter;
the life of the party, and the lover of singing. Joy was
the dominent emotion of His life, and it was the joy of
eternity that kept Him going to the cross. Jesus was
spirit-filled, and joy is a fruit of the Spirit, which He
displayedconstantly.
Hebrews 12:2
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of
faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the
cross, despisingthe shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God.
We are blinded to the bright side of His joyful life
by a focus on His tears and blood, which is truly a vital
focus. Wecan never forget the bloodHe sweat in
Gethsemane, and that which He shed on Calvary. Our
salvation depends on that shed blood. But let's not
lose the life He died to give us-the life of joy and
abundantliving-thelife He livedHimself. The book of
Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus was histories

happinestman. Heb. 1:9 says, "You have loved
righteousnessand hated wickedness, therefore God,
your God, has set you above your companionsby
anointingyou with the oil of joy." Jesus was anointed
with the oil of joy, and was set aboveall others by this
unique anointing. In plain language, Jesus was the
most joy filledperson to ever walk this planet.
Spurgeon said, "I supposethere never lived a
happier man than the Lord Jesus. He was rightly
calledthe man of sorrows, but He might with
unimpeachabletruth, have been calledthe man of
joys." It would seem to follow, that if singing is one of
the key ways by which joy is expressed, that Jesus
would, like His heavenly Father, be a singer. And sure
enough, the book of Hebrews reveals Jesus to be just
that; like Father, like Son. Justas God rejoiced over
His temple in the Old Testament, and sang songs of
joy, so Jesus in the New Testament sings the praises of
His heavenly Fatherto His bride the church. Wesee
this revealedin Heb. 2:11-12. So Jesus is not ashamed
to call them brothers. He says, "I will declare your
name to my brothers in the presence of the
congregationI will sing your praises." Just before
Jesus went into the garden of GethesmaneHe sang a

song with His disciples, but this text tells us He sang
the praises of God on a regular basis.
James makes an interestingdistinctionbetween
praying and praising. Praying tends to be for the
negatives of life, and praisingfor the positivesof life.
Listen to James 5:13-14. "Is anyone of you in trouble?
He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs
of praise." Singing songs of praiseis a sign of a happy
heart, and thus, we know God the Fatherand God the
Son are happy, for they both sing songs of praise. But
what about the Holy Spirit? There is no question
about the joy of the Holy Spirit, for He is the spirit of
joy, and the one who produces the fruit of joy in our
lives. He is the one who inspiredall the joyful songs of
praisein the Bible, and to be filled with the Spirit is to
be filled with joy.
Paul wrote in I Thess. 1:6, "You welcome the
message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." In
Rom. 14:17 he wrote, for the kingdom of God is not a
matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness,
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Joy is actually
another name for the Holy Spirit. In Acts 13:52 we

read, "And the discipleswere filled with joy and with
the Holy Spirit." All the songs of praiseand joy
through historyare songs inspiredby the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was a man of joy becauseHe was filled with
the Spirit. In Isa. 61 we see the passageJesus quoted
and fulfilledin His life when the Spirit of God came
upon Him to preach good news to the poor; to bind up
the broken hearted, and to set the captives free. Then
it says in verse 3 what He came to do for those who
grieve: "To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead
of ashes, the oil of gladness insteadof morning, and a
garment of praiseinsteadof despair." The work of
the Holy Spirit was to, through Jesus, eliminatethe
negative and accentuatethe positive, that God's people
might be clothedin a garment of praise. The Trinity
is a trio of praisesingers. All three persons of the
Godheadare happy, delighted, and joyous singers.
Joy is the emotionthat leads to singing, and this is
an emotionthat we see in Jesus who was filledwith the
spiritof joy. When the 72 came back to Jesus all
excited about their power in His name to cast out
demons, Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning
from heaven,"but He urged them not to rejoice that

the demons submitted to their power, but that their
names were written in heaven. Then Luke 10:21
follows immediately:"At that time Jesus, full of joy
through the Holy Spirit, said, 'I praiseyou, Father,
Lord of Heaven and
earth, because you have hidden these things from the
wise and learned, and revealedthem to little
children.'"
We get a picture here of the discipleshere like little
children finding a room full of new toys. They are so
excited and full of joy at the victoryof good over evil,
and Jesus is feeling like you and I feel when we see our
children tickledwith delight when they receivethe gift
of new games. Jesus knows the joy of the parent and
grandparent, and He praisedGod for that joy. Jesus
is a joyful praiserof God. When you have the joy of
Jesus you have the ultimatejoy. All other joy is
partial, but His is complete. Jesus said in John 15:11,
"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and
that your joy may be complete." There can be no joy
higher than that of Jesus, for He was the most joyful
man whoever lived.

The Shepherd who finds the lost sheep calls his
friends and neighbors and says, "Rejoicewith me, I
have found my sheep." Jesus saidthere is rejoicingin
heaven over every sinnerwho repents, but He was
doing plenty of rejoicing on earth as well. It is the
same story with the woman who finds her lost coin and
is rejoicing. The Prodigal'sfather threw a great party
with a feast, music, and dancing becausehe was so full
of joy that his son was restored. Jesus is joyful beyond
words over every person who is savedand restoredto
fellowshipwith God, and this happens hundreds of
times everyday. This means Jesus is in almost
perpetual praise inspiteof a fallenworld. But we must
get back to the first person of the Trinity-the Father.
Our text tells us He is also full of joy, and in that joy
He sings over His people.
God is a happy God. He is a God in love, and He sings
as a lover, and He rejoices in His bride. I studied all
the words for happy and joyful emotions in the Old
Testament, and I discoveredthat all of them apply to
God. God has a great deal of pleasureand enjoyment
as He interacts with peopleand His creation. It can be
a lot of fun being God. Listento some of the evidence.
God is always promisingIsrael He will make them

prosper if they obey Him, and in Duet. 30:9 He says,
"The Lord will again delight in you and make you
prosperousjust as He delighted in your fathers." The
Hebrew word for delight is the same word for
rejoicing, being glad, making mirth, and being joyful.
It is used again in Isa. 62:5, "As a bridegroomrejoices
over his bride, so will your God rejoiceover you."
God has the same emotionas the groom who feels he
has the girl of his dreams for his own. The word is
used again in Isa. 65:19, "I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people."
Maclaren, the great English preacher, wrote in his
Expositionsof Holy Scripture, "Zion is calledto
rejoice in God because God rejoices in her. She is to
shout for joy and sing because God's joy too has a
voice, and breaks out into singing. For every throb of
joy in man's heart, there is a wave of gladness in
God's." God loves to sing, and we give Him reason to
do so when we sing and make our life a cause for
praise. The Living Bible makes this text come alive.
"Is that a joyous choir I hear? No, it is the Lord
Himself exalting over you in happy song." The

questions this raises are many, and we will have to
wait till heaven to have our answers. 1. Does God write
His own songs? 2. Does He sing solo, or always as a
trio of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? 3. Does He have
the angels sing backup? 4. Is it recorded so we will be
able to listento God's lovesongs for His bride?
It is so hard to imagine God singing that most never
try for they never see this text in Zeph. and never
explore the joy of God in His people. Spurgeon,
however, usuallydiscovers the gems of the Bible that
others pass by. Listento his excited comments on this
text. "Think of the great Jehovahsinging! Can you
imagine it? Is it possibleto conceiveof the Deity
breaking into song: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
together singing over the redeemed? God is so happy
in the love which He bears to His people that He
breaks the eternal silence, and the sun and moon and
stars with astonishmenthear God chanting a hymn of
joy." It is interesting that Spurgeon would say the
sun, moon and stars hear God's song. The Bible and
hymnology are full of this idea that the whole universe
listens to God's song, as if all of its orderly and beauty
of movement is its dance to God's tune. Psa. 148 says
the whole universepraises God, and other Psalms

have the trees clappingand the mountains skipping to
God's tune. Jesus even saidon Palm Sunday, if the
people had not praisedHim, the very rocks would
have cried out. That would have really been Christian
rock music had the literal rocks broken into songs of
praisefor their Creator
Don Mcminh, in his book Entering His Presence
writes, "God sings! Whata delightful thought! When
God thinks about His lovefor us, it impels Him to
sing. When God wants to rejoice, when He wants to
praise, He choses music to express Himself. Music is a
part of the eternal existence of God; how wonderful
that He has given us the joy of music as a tool to
express godliness in our lives." One of the major
questions we need to ask of ourselvesis, Does God see
a song in my heart? God loves to see a song there
because He is ever lookingfor partners to sing, for
God loves to sing."
GOD IS SINGING OVER ME
God Is Singing Over Me by TaRandaGreene
Around the throne of heaven, a sea of the redeemed

Are bowing and proclaiming, the praises of the King
Yet his word has promised, there’s a song of love
That God himself has written for each of us
-Chorus-
God is singing over me
My soul can hear the beauty of his melody
I feel the glory carried on the breeze
It lifts my spiritup
When my heart is broken, heavy with despair
I wonder does he love me, or why he even cares
But suddenly there’s something like a sweet perfume
Music from above me is in the room
-Chorus-
My God rejoices with a song of love
I’m overwhelmedthat I’m the one He’s singing ov’r
God is singing over me (He’s singing over me)

My soul can hear the beauty of his melody (My soul
can hear it)
It lifts my spiritup, oh its lifts my spirit up, it lifts my
spiritup, yeah
It lifts my spiritup, oh it lifts my spiritup
(Oh yes, God is)
The Love of God
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled
And pardonedfrom his sin.
Refrain...
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measurelessand strong!
It shall forevermoreendure—
The saints’and angels’song.
When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measurelessand strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’and angels’song.
Couldwe with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;

Were every stalkon earth a quill,
And every man a scribeby trade;
To write the love of God above
Woulddrain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll containthe whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
Psalm105:2
Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his
wondrous works!
Hebrews 2:12
Saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the
midst of the congregationI will sing your praise.”
Isaiah12:5
“Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
Romans 15:9

And in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for
his mercy. As it is written, “ThereforeI will praiseyou
among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
Psalm59:16
But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of
your steadfastlovein the morning. For you have been
to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
Matthew 26:30
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the
Mount of Olives.
Psalm33:3
Sing to him a new song; play skillfullyon the strings,
with loud shouts.
Exodus 15:1
Then Moses and the peopleof Israel sang this song to
the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has
triumphed gloriously;the horse and his rider he has
thrown into the sea.
Psalm144:9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringedharp I will play to you,

Isaiah42:10Singto the Lord a new song, his praise
from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea,
and all that fills it, the coastlands and their
inhabitants.
Mark 14:26 And when they had sung a hymn, they
went out to the Mount of Olives.
Psalm40:3
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praiseto
our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in
the Lord.
Psalm149:1
Praisethe Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his
praisein the assembly of the godly!
Psalm71:8
My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your
glory all the day.
Psalm96:1
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all
the earth!

Hebrews 13:15 Through him then let us continually
offer up a sacrificeof praise to God, that is, the fruit of
lips that acknowledge his name.
Psalm100:1-5 A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a
joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord
with gladness!Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us,
and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his
pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his
courts with praise!Give thanks to him; bless his
name! For the Lord is good; his steadfastloveendures
forever, and his faithfulnessto all generations.
Psalm30:4
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give
thanks to his holy name.
1 Chronicles16:9 Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell
of all his wondrous works!
Exodus 15:2
The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has
become my salvation;this is my God, and I will praise
him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Psalm149:3 Let them praisehis name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
Psalm98:1
A Psalm. Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has
done marvelousthings! His right hand and his holy
arm have worked salvationfor him.
Psalm100:2
Serve the Lord with gladness!Come into his presence
with singing!
Psalm150:6 Let everything that has breath praisethe
Lord! Praisethe Lord!
Psalm47:6
Sing praises to God, sing praises!Sing praises to our
King, sing praises!
Psalm101:1 A Psalm of David. I will sing of steadfast
love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music.
Psalm96:1-13
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all
the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his
salvationfrom day to day. Declarehis glory among the

nations, his marvelousworks among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;he is
to be feared aboveall gods. For all the gods of the
peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the
heavens. ...
Psalm149:5
Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on
their beds.
Psalm92:1
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. It is good to give
thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O
Most High;
Isaiah44:23
Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it; shout, O
depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O
mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord
has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorifiedin Israel.
Psalm71:23
My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have redeemed.
Psalm9:11

Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
1 Chronicles16:23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell
of his salvationfrom day to day.
Revelation5:9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthyare you to take the scroll and to open its
seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you
ransomedpeople for God from every tribe and
language and peopleand nation,
Psalm135:3
Praisethe Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to his name,
for it is pleasant!
Psalm9:2
I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praiseto
your name, O Most High.
Psalm98:1-9
A Psalm. Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has
done marvelousthings! His right hand and his holy
arm have worked salvationfor him. The Lord has
made known his salvation;he has revealedhis
righteousnessin the sight of the nations.He has

remembered his steadfastloveand faithfulness to the
house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvationof our God. Make a joyful noise to the Lord,
all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing
praises!Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with
the lyre and the sound of melody! ...
Psalm47:1-9 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons
of Korah. Clap your hands, all peoples!Shout to God
with loud songs of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, is
to be feared, a great king over all the earth. He
subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacobwhom
he loves. Selah God has gone up with a shout, the Lord
with the sound of a trumpet. ...
CLAP YOUR HANDS BASED ON PSALM 47 Sung to Ode To Joy
CLAP YOUR, CLAP YOUR, CLAP YOUR TWO HANDS,
SHOUT TO GOD WITH CRIES OF JOY. AWESOME IS THE LORD
BEYOND MAN; HE INDEED IS LORD MOST HIGH. CLAP AND
SHOUT AND WITH GREAT JOY SING, LET YOUR SAVIOUR SEE
YOUR MIRTH. LET THE WHOLE WORLD KNOW HE'S YOUR
KING; KING OF ALL KINGS ON THE EARTH. CLAP YOUR HANDS
AND RAISE YOUR VOICES, DO NOT HIDE YOUR LOVE FOR HIM.

GOD HAS GIVEN MANY CHOICES TO PREVENT LOVES
GROWING DIM. WITH THE BODY NOW WE PRAISE YOU, WITH
THE TONGUE WE PRAISE YOUR NAME. HELP US NOW TO
LEAVE THIS CHURCH PEW LOVING MORE THAN WHEN WE
CAME.
Psalm81:1
To the choirmaster:accordingto The Gittith. Of
Asaph. Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy
to the God of Jacob!
Isaiah55:12 ESV / 24 helpful votes
“Foryou shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you shall break
forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall
clap their hands.
Psalm89:1
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the
steadfastloveof the Lord, forever; with my mouth I
will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm146:2

I will praise the Lord as long as I live;I will sing
praises to my God while I have my being.
Jeremiah20:13
Sing to the Lord; praisethe Lord! For he has
deliveredthe life of the needy from the hand of
evildoers.
watching a movie and the bad guy ends up wasted and
the innocent livehappily after. sing and praiseGod.
Or on the news as well. Let all good things lead you to
sing and praise God.
Isaiah49:13
Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break
forth, O mountains,into singing! For the Lord has
comforted his people and will have compassionon his
afflicted.
Psalm147:7
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;make melody to
our God on the lyre!
Psalm68:32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
Psalm57:7

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!I
will sing and make melody!
1 Samuel 18:6
As they were coming home, when Davidreturned
from striking down the Philistine, the women came out
of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet
King Saul, with tambourines,with songs of joy, and
with musical instruments.
Psalm30:12
That my glory may sing your praiseand not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
2 Samuel 19:35
I am this day eighty years old. Can I discernwhat is
pleasantand what is not? Can your servanttaste what
he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice
of singing men and singing women? Why then should
your servantbe an added burden to my lord the king?
Barzillai
Revelation15:3
And they sing the song of Moses, the servantof God,
and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing

are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and
true are your ways, O King of the nations!
Psalm7:17
I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his
righteousness, and I will sing praiseto the name of the
Lord, the Most High.
Psalm27:6
And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies
all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices
with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the
Lord.
Zechariah 2:10
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I
come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord.
Isaiah35:10
And the ransomedof the Lord shall return and come
to Zion with singing; everlastingjoy shall be upon
their heads; they shall obtaingladness and joy, and
sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Nehemiah12:27

And at the dedicationof the wall of Jerusalemthey
sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to
Jerusalemto celebratethe dedicationwith gladness,
with thanksgivingsand with singing, with cymbals,
harps, and lyres.
1 Chronicles15:16 Davidalso commanded the chiefs
of the Levites to appointtheir brothers as the singers
who shouldplay loudly on musical instruments, on
harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.
Judges 5:3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the
Lord I will sing; I will make melody to the Lord, the
God of Israel.
Psalm71:22-23I will also praise you with the harp for
your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you
with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout
for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which
you have redeemed.
Psalm67:4
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge
the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon
earth. Selah

Psalm33:2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Nehemiah12:46
For long ago in the days of Davidand Asaph there
were directors of the singers, and there were songs of
praiseand thanksgivingto God.
1 Chronicles13:8 And Davidand all Israel were
rejoicingbefore God with all their might, with song
and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals
and trumpets.
Revelation15:3-4
And they sing the song of Moses, the servantof God,
and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing
are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and
true are your ways, O King of the nations!Who will
not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you
aloneare holy. All nations will come and worshipyou,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
making melody 55 times in bible.

... Singing and making melody in your heart unto the
Lord; giving thanks always for
all things unto God and the Father, in the name our
Lord Jesus Christ. ...
A sweet or agreeablesuccessionof sounds.
2. (n.) A rhythmical successionof single tones, ranging
for the most part within a given key, and so related
together as to form a musical whole, having the unity
of what is technicallycalleda musical thought, at once
pleasingto the ear and characteristicin expression.
NoahWebster'sDictionary(a.) Containing, or
producing, melody; musical;agreeable
to the ear by a sweet successionof sounds;as, a
melodious voice. ...
Seven Biblical ReasonsWhy Singing Matters
The seven reasons below answer these questionsand
unpack more importanttruth about singing in the life
of an individualChristianand the church.

1. When you sing, you obey.
Singing isn’t an optionin Scripture. It’s a command:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching
and admonishingone anotherin all wisdom, singing
psalms and hymns and spiritualsongs, with
thankfulnessin your hearts to God. (Colossians3:16)
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is
debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing
one anotherin psalms and hymns and spiritualsongs,
singing and making melody to the Lord with your
heart… (Ephesians 5:18-19)
God’s people are more than just invited to sing; we are
commanded to sing. When we sing, we’re doing what
God asks of us!
2. When you sing, you dig deep roots in the Word.
Let the Word of Christdwell in you richly…singing
psalms and hymns and spiritualsongs… (Colossians
3:16)
The Apostle Paul lays out this exhortationto let God’s
Worddwell in us richly, and then, he tells us how to

live out that command. The first, of course, is
teaching. But the second, is singing!
Singing is one of the two chief ways in which God’s
Worddwells in us richly.
And, as we observedin the lastpoint, singing is a
command. But this command comes with a promise:
As we sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
together, we are promisedthat the Wordof Christwill
dwell in us richly, which is what we should crave as
believers!
Our singing is more than a warm-up for the sermon or
a fillerin the service. Colossians 3:16 is clearly laying
out for us that: Singing stands alongsideof preaching
as one of the two great ways that God has ordainedfor
his Word to dwell richly in each one of us!
C.J. Mahaney calls church singing “Take Home
Theology” because the best songs we sing together
serve as a 3-minute, easilymemorizable, deeply
biblical summary of importanttruths from Scripture.
Take for example, “In ChristAlone.” There, in an
easilymemorizable form, you’ve got a thorough
theology of the cross of Jesus Christwith clear and

practical applicationsthat you can use for your life
this week!
NATALIE GRANT
In ChristAlone Lyrics
In Christalone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solidground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
Whatheights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled,when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of ChristI stand
In Christalone, who took on flesh
Fullnessof God in helpless Babe

This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious bloodof Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of ChristI stand.
There is a Name, a wondrous Name,
Of infiniteand endless fame,
Of God beloved, by saints revered,
By angels and archangels feared,
Ordainedby God, 'ere the world began,
Revealedby angels unto man,
Proclaimedby men, believed, adored,

By hearts and prayer and praise outpoured.
The theme of prophets, priests, and kings,
The Wordof which sweet psalmistssing,
By pilgrims blessed, by suff'ers sung,
The last word breathed by martyr's tongue,
The Name most precious and sublime,
Supreme in faith, supreme in time,
Destinedto liveand conquer all,
'Til all knees everywhere shall fall
And tongue confess—whatGod proclaimed
This Name to be the Name of names,
The Name which in high heaven will be
The one Name of eternity:
Then, oh my soul, its praiseforth tell
Jesus—theName ineffable!
3. When you sing, you build up others.

First, you build up fellow believerswhen you sing:
Note specificallyhere in Ephesians5:19 that it says:
“Addressingone anotherin psalms and hymns and
spiritualsongs…”
We see the same thing in Colossians 3:13-16:the
exhortationto sing comes on the heels of bearing with
one another(v. 13a), forgiving one another (v. 13b),
putting on love(v. 14), being at peace as one united
body of Christ(v. 15), and teaching God’s Word to
one another(v. 16).
When we do what the Bible says and sing together as a
church family, we are hearing confessions of faith all
around! We are hearing hundreds join with us and
sing, “In Christalone, my hope is found!” We are
hearing hundreds of testimoniesof faith all around us!
Also know that as you sing, you’re helping
unbelievers. In Psalm105:1-2, the Lord is callingthe
Israelites to be a light unto the nations, and to do this
he tells them: “Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of
all his wondrous works!”
Think of the impact on someonewho doesn’t know
Christto hear those hundreds of testimonies, those

hundreds of confessionsof faith as we sing together!
This is why PastorTim Kellersays in his book
Worshipby the Book: “Goodcorporateworshipwill
naturallybe evangelistic”(219).
4. When you sing, you make war.
Chances are you didn’t connect singing and warfare
together, but it’s a theme visiblein Scripture. In
Colossians3, Paul is challenging the Colossiansto
literallyput sin to death in their lives, to kill sin. So all
the commands to loveand peace and forgiveness and
teaching and singing are attitudes and habits of the
believerthat will kill sin!
We see the same thing in Ephesians5, the command to
address one anotherin song comes right on the heels
of “[make] the best use of the time, because the days
are evil” (Ephesians5:16).
A singing heart is a heart at war with the work of the
evil one and the power of sin.

And the more you think about this, it makes total
sense: Whatposture must be more hated by the evil
one than the posture of a believerwho is singing? I
can’t think of many stances you can take that
identifies you with Christand againstSatan more than
eyes, heart, mind, and voice lifted to heaven in song!
It’s very hard to lie, be greedy or to look at something
inappropriatewhen, you’re “singing and making
melody to the Lord with your heart” (Ephesians 5:19).
Simply, a heart that’s doing that will not easilygive in
to temptation.
A singing heart is a heart at war with the work of the
evil one and the power of sin.
5. When you sing, you are spirituallystrengthened for
trial.
Often times, we think only of singing when we’re
happy and times are good, but singing bringing
strength for trial comes out in Acts 16. Paul and Silas
are unjustly imprisonedfor the sake of the Gospel,
and what do they do while they’re in prison? Sing!
(Acts 16:25)

And this truth is confirmed in the lives of persecuted
believers throughouthistory. Hear the words of one
pastorrecently imprisonedfor his faith:
…When we were in prisonwe sang almost every day
because Christwas alivein us…they put chains on our
hands and feet. They chainedus to add to our grief.
Yet we discoveredthat chains are splendidmusical
instruments!Whenwe clanged them together in
rhythm, we could sing, ‘This is the day (clink, clank),
this is the day (clink, clank), which the Lord has made
(clink, clank), which the Lord has made (clink, clank).
(persecutionblog.com)
Our persecuted brothers are showing us the truth we
see in Acts 16 with Paul and Silas. Singing strengthens
you and helps you perseverein the face of trial. If it
can strengthen them in the face of these trials, what
can it do for you?
Even in suffering, sing!
6. When you sing, you walk a God-designedpathway
to joy.
Here is a sample of what the Psalms say about singing:

Psalms 5:11:“Let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection
over them, that those who loveyour name may exult in
you.”
Psalms 9:2: “I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing
praiseto your name, O Most High.”
Psalms 51:14:“Deliverme from bloodguiltiness,O
God, O God of my salvation,and my tongue will sing
aloudof your righteousness.”
Psalms 59:16:“I will sing of your strength; I will sing
aloudof your steadfastlovein the morning. For you
have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of
my distress.”
Psalms 63:7:“For you have been my help, and in the
shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.”
If you still don’t believeme, here’s a clincherfrom
James 5:13:“Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”
As you study Scripture on this point, you’ll notice that
sometimes singing gives birth to joy and sometimes joy
gives birth to singing. But persistentlyin Scripture,
joy, and singing are bound together. You can’t study

one of those two biblicalthemes without encountering
the other.
If you struggle for joy…sing! If you are joyful…sing!
In God’s perfect design and understandingof the
human condition, he has bound joy and singing
together for his people.
The first six reasons get summed up with this:
7. When you sing, you glorify God.
True obedience, deep roots in the Word, buildingup
others, making war againstSatan and sin, persevering,
finding joy in God: All these things bring glory to
God, which is each person’s chief goal and purpose.
Colossians3 and Ephesians 5 bring this out simply but
powerfully, telling us to sing “to God” and “to the
Lord” becausehe is the object of our praise. Ephesians
5:19 says, “singing and making melody to the Lord
with your heart.” It is to him and about him that we
sing!
Singing has such a unique way of bringing your heart,
soul, mind, and strength together to focus entirely and
completely on God. In an age of distraction,singing

grabs the attentionof all our senses and focuses us on
God.
In Revelation7:9-10, the ApostleJohn describes a
glimpse of eternity with a great multitudeof people
from every tribe, peoples, and languages singing
before the Lamb, “Salvationbelongs to our God who
sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Eternity awaits.
On that day, will you be one of the great multitude
that no one can number, singing the song of the Lamb,
singing his praises?I hope you’ll be there, singing the
song of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Tom Olson
Speaking is the natural language of the understanding,
and singing is the natural language of the heart.
It must, first, be an expressionof joy having the heart
as its sourceof utterance.
"Teaching and admonishingone anotherin psalms
and hymns and spiritualsongs."Your singing must
always be designed to influenceothers.

And so divines observethat the first and second verses
of Psalm100 are prophetical:"Make a joyful noise
unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with
gladness:come before His presence with singing." To
which may be added that pregnant prophecy recorded
in Isaiah52:8.
The verb "to worship,"accordingly, signifies to
ascribeworth. John describes an act of worship, when
he represents the elders fallingdown before the throne
and saying, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive
glory, and honour, and power." Worshipessentially
consistsof holy emotions inspiredin the soul by the
contemplationof God. Worshipis complete when
these emotions are expressed in the most natural and
suitableform.
We have seen that worship is the expressionto God of
holy affections. Music is the highest form of emotional

utterance, and therefore becomes a necessary
instrument of worship.
Old Thomas Fuller, who was as noted for his
quaintness as for the wisdom of his remarks, had a
defectivevoice; but he did not refuse to praiseon this
account. "Lord," he said, "my voiceby nature is harsh
and untunable, and it is vainto lavishany art to better
it. Can my singing of psalms be pleasingto Thine ears,
which is unpleasantto my own? Yet, though I cannot
chant with the nightingale, or chirp with the
blackbird, I had rather chatter with the swallowthan
be altogether silent. Now what my music wants in
sweetness, let it have in sense. Yea, Lord, create in me
a new heart, therein to make melody, and I will be
contented with my old voice, until in due time, being
admitted into the choir of heaven, I shall have another
voicemore harmonious bestowedupon me." So let it

be with us. Let us ever sing in the same spiritand in
the same joy and hope.
This hymn is very ancient, having been written by
Rabanus Maurus (776-856). He was born over 12
centuries ago! America was founded about 2 centuries
ago, to give a comparison.
Come, Holy Ghost, Creatorblest,
and in our hearts take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heav'nlyaid,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O Comforter, to Thee we cry,
Thou heav'nly gift of God most high,
Thou Fount of life, and Fire of love,
and sweet anointingfrom above.
O Finger of the hand divine,
the sevenfoldgifts of grace are thine;

true promise of the Fatherthou,
who dost the tongue with power endow.
Thy light to every sense impart,
and shed thy love in every heart;
thine own unfailingmight supply
to strengthen our infirmity.
Drivefar away our ghostly foe,
and thine abiding peace bestow;
if thou be our preventingGuide,
no evil can our steps betide.
Praisewe the Father and the Son
and Holy Spirit with them One;
and may the Son on us bestow
the gifts that from the Spirit flow.

So, may we neither disobey the command to sing nor
underestimatethe power of singing. Not only does God
promise a special measureof the Holy Spirit’s filling
in our lives through singing, singing also uniquely
enables us to obey the greatest commandment: “Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind and with all your
strength” (Mark 12:30).When we sing, we use our
physical strength to pour out our hearts and souls to
the Lord as our minds contemplatetruths about Him,
His Word, and our lives. stevenr. guthrie
REV 15 1-8The good news is, we have every reason to
believe that all of God's people will be so gifted in their new
bodies in the eternal kingdom. God is a great lover of music,
and He will want nothing but the best for all eternity.
Everyone is expected to sing His praises, and so we can
expect to be given unique abilities to do so. The fact that the
Bible reveals there is so much singing in heaven implies that
all who are there will be able to sing well. The book of
Revelation has a host of happy hymns of harmony as part of
the heavenly scene. Poems of praise are part of paradise.
Joyful songs of jubilation to Jesus, and songs of salvation to
the Savior are a major part of this book. It tells us about the

adoration that is always an activity around the presence of
the Almighty.
It makes sense that there will be a lot of singing in heaven. If
there is plenty on earth, how much greater will be our desire
to praise God, when all His promises are fulfilled, and we
are enjoying the fullness of our salvation? It is also logical,
because song is the best way known to unite a large number
of people in a common activity. Hundreds and even
thousands can join in one accord, as they sing the praises of
the Lord. Singing is something a number of people can do
together, and produce what is beautiful sound to the glory of
God.
The interesting thing about the particular song in heaven,
we are focusing on in Rev.15 is, it is both old and new. It is
both the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb. The song
of the Lamb was fairly new, but the song of Moses was well
over 1200 years old when John wrote. We see ads all the
time for records and tapes of songs that were popular in the
50's and 60's. They bring back memories, and people buy
them by the thousands to relive the good old days.
A music program that is Biblical, will be just what Paul
urges that it be, in Eph.5:19, where he writes, "Speak to one
another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and
make music in your heart to the Lord." Again, he writes in

Col.3:16, " Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you
teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you
sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in
your hearts to God." The three Greek words Paul uses for
singing are salmos, hymnos, and ode. Ode is a word we do
not use much, and it is used only 7 times in the New
Testament. Two of them we just read by Paul, and the other
5 are in the book of Revelation. Two of these we have right
here in our text--the ode of Moses and ode of the Lamb. How
an ode differs from a psalm, or a hymn, is not easy to say,
but what it seems to mean is this--the ode appears to be more
like what we call a chorus. The odes of Revelation are all
very short, simple, and not repetitious like a hymn. The ode
is newer music, like the hymn, which are in contrast to the
age old psalms, but the ode is less formal than the hymn, and
thus, more like a chorus. The point is, singing that is
Biblically balanced will be a combination of all three. This
gives us the old and the new, the formal and informal, the
solemn and the joyful. All the emotions are to be touched by
songs.
Music is love, love is music if
you know what I mean.
People who believe in music are
the happiest people I ever seen.

So clap your hands, stomp your
feet, shake your tambourine,
Lift your voices to the sky. God
loves you when you sing.
God not only loves a cheerful giver, He loves a cheerful
singer, and often the chorus helps us be more cheerful in our
singing. D. L. Moody said, "Singing could do as much as
preaching to proclaim God's Word." Martin Luther said,
"Next to theology I give the first and highest honor to
music." Luther began to use secular music, for he was
convinced the devil should not have all the good tunes. Not
everyone agreed with Luther. John Calvin was worried
people would just have fun singing, and not really be
worshipping, he put the brakes on, and even melted down
organ pipes for other uses. John and Charles Wesley agreed
with Luther, however, and they promoted Christian singing
that would match anything the world had to offer. Listen to
their instructions--
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Beware of singing as if you are half
dead or half asleep, but lift up your
voice with strength. Be no more

afraid of your voice now, nor more
ashamed of it's being heard, than
when you sang the songs of Satan.
Music and singing have infinite potential for pleasing God
and benefiting man, and it is the obligation of every
Christian to work at making music important in their lives,
and in their worship. Balance is the key. Robert Shaw, who
was America's leading choral director, said years ago,
"Ninety per cent of the music written since Beethoven is not
worthy of being offered in praise to God." This is too high
brow an attitude. Excellence and quality are values to be
considered in praising the King of Kings, but we must also
remember God is not pleased with quality if the heart is not
right. Better a simple chorus of doubtful quality, from a
joyful heart that is truly grateful to God, than a Beethoven
song, from a cold and thankless spirit.
Lyrics for Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee (Ode to
Joy)Beethoven
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!
All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,

Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving, everblessing, ever blessed,
Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.
Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.
God made it clear to Israel, through His prophet Amos, that
quality of worship is worthless, without a heart that really
loves the Lord and His will. God says in Amos 5:21-23, "I
hate, I despise your religious feast; I cannot stand your
assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and
grain offerings, I will not accept them. Thou bring choice
fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away
with noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your
harps."
God who loves music so much, detested the music that came
from a people who did not care about His will. They had
become indifferent to His laws for justice. They trampled on
the poor, took bribes, and deprived people of justice. They

oppressed the righteous. Then they would come to church,
and sing quality songs to excellent music. If was just
meaningless noise to God, for songs that are pleasing to Him
are songs that come from the hearts of people who want to
please Him, not just in church, but in life. Beautiful songs
will not whitewash a life of disobedience. But the most
simple of songs will please God, when they come from hearts
that truly love Him.
Spurgeon's whole point is, singing in church is to be a
foretaste of the songs of heaven, and, therefore, they should
be joyful praises most often. For that is the kind of songs
that will characterize heaven. We have an obligation to teach
our children to sing praises to God, for that is education that
will prepare them, not just for time, but for eternity. Music
should not be an elective, but a required course for
Christians, for that is to be the language of heaven.
Jesus grew up with song and the Scripture, and this is the
path God expects all of His children to take. That is why the
Psalms are a major part of His Word. There is power in
music and song to guide and mold our values and character.
One of the greatest powers of all is music which gives us the
power to praise God. Music enables us to communicate our
love and joy in God. The power of praise is one aspect of the
power of music about which many have written. Music and

song are essential in the communication of love. Sister
Miriam wrote,
Give me the sun, a bird, a flower,
And I will sing you a song,
That will live an hour.
Give me a heart, a joy, a tear,
And I shall weave you a song,
That will live a year.
But give me a love death cannot sever,
And I will build you a song
To live forever.
There is power in music and song to lead, to lift, and to
express love. Yet we often fail to use this power. We let the
discords of life, which are very real and powerful, to drive
out the song and harmony, and we become a part of the
negatives of life without a song. We then sing the blues and
increase the world's discord. If a Christian rightly grasps the

power of music and song, they will never again be a
practicing pessimist. They may feel pessimistic and have
negative thoughts, but they will always act optimistic and
sing praise to God. Those who do not use the power of music
to aid them in being optimistic will become a burden to
themselves and to the body of Christ. They will be a weight
that drags down rather than wings that lift up.
Do not underestimate the power of music to help you fight
off the temptations of life to give in to the disappointing,
discouraging, and depressing realities that all have to face.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians and told them not to be foolish
but to be wise. He said they were not to let the world get to
them, and drive them to choose its way of escape through
wine. He said they were to be filled with the spirit instead,
and speak to one another with Psalms, hymns, and spiritual
songs. They were to sing and make music in their hearts to
the Lord. You are a powerful musical instrument is what
Paul was saying to them. Use that power to praise, rejoice,
and overcome the negatives of life that would defeat you and
lead you astray. You can gain the victory every time if you
recognize God's gift of the power of music.

The holy spirit and singing

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The holy spirit and singing