Lift up your voice!
Have you ever wondered why Christians sing so much? Think about it: every week we sing several psalms and hymns to the Lord. What other setting in life do we gather together weekly with people of different ages and backgrounds and sing songs.
The world sings too, of course, but not in the same way as the church or for the same reasons. Usually, however, the world just listens to singing. It serves the purpose of entertainment. I doubt any of us live in neighbourhoods where all the residents come together on a weekly basis and sing songs. Even though we live in a very noisy world, there simply isn’t that much singing.
Perhaps the world doesn’t sing that much because there is not very much to sing about. With the church, though, it is different. Christians have a lot to sing about. We sing to the Lord because He has rescued us from Satan and death. We sing to Him because Christ has been raised from the dead and so shall we. We sing to him because he is good and worthy of our praise. Singing, in one sense, comes very naturally to Christians. Because of what God has done for us in Christ, we cannot help but sing praises to the triune God.
We also sing because God commands us to. Psalm 95, for example, begins,
“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to 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!”
He commands us to sing because He delights in hearing the praises of His people.
We sing not merely to express our emotions (although it is indeed emotional), but to glorify our Creator and Redeemer. Our singing is directed God-ward, because He, not our own experience, is the object of our worship. Our God loves it when we worship Him in song.
This is why the church has always been a community of singing people. Singing is the proper response to God’s grace. In all ages, God’s people have lifted up their voices and sang His praises.
-Mike Brown (adapted)