But what if you don’t like to sing? Or maybe you do, but you aren’t much of a singer. Is congregational worship still for you? Does it matter if you stand silently in the pew (or chair) on Sunday morning because you simply don’t (or can’t) sing?
I think so.
I have been reading through the Psalms this week and been struck by the frequent references to musical praise. While the musical instruments may have changed over the years, musical worship has always been part of God’s economy. In fact, many of the psalms in the Bible were originally intended for musical worship. The psalmist meant for them to be sung congregationally.
Psalm 33:2-3 says:
Give thanks to the LORD with the
lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
Psalm 89:1 says:
I will sing of the steadfast love
of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all
generations.
It is good to give thanks to the
LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love
in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and
the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your
work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
So what does all of this have to do with us, in the 21st
century? Musical worship is not a new, modern idea invented by people who want
to get more young people in the doors of our churches. While the mode and style
of musical worship might influence why a person attends a particular church,
the act of musical worship is a universal privilege for all believers,
regardless of preferences or denomination.
The psalms are far more concerned with what we sing, not necessarily how we sing. Of course, what we sing has implications for how we sing, and often how we sing reveals what we believe about the One we are singing to. But for brevity’s sake, I want to encourage us to think primarily about why all of us, good and bad singers alike, should strive to be active worshipers when it comes to congregational singing.
Psalm 92 is a good place to start. Like I already said, it’s
a psalm for the Sabbath, which was the Jewish day of worship. The Sabbath was
our Sunday. So this psalm was meant for God’s people to use in worship of him.
Because he has authority over all things, including us, this means our musical
worship of him must be under his authority. He cares about how we worship him.
To say it another way, he wants us to worship him in the way he prescribes and
with our entire beings. Singing praises to God should be a delight to our soul.
Musical worship is God’s plan for his people. Music stirs our affections and
draws us out. Even secular music does this for us, right? Music causes us to
feel deeply. And this is a gift to us. When we sing our hearts should be
stirred to remember God and his ways. So if you are struggling with a desire to
sing on Sunday morning whether because of lack of talent or lack of interest,
remember this, dear Christian. Singing to God, as described in God’s word, is
the overflow of a joyful heart in God alone. We should delight in singing to
God because we delight in the truths of God. Congregational singing is not as
much about the talent of the one singing as much as it is about the object of
our singing—God. Our collective singing on Sunday morning should be a rich
reminder of the goodness of his ways, the power of the cross, and the treasure
that God is for us in Christ.
We sing because we love God, not because we are the next
Whitney Houston. Making a joyful noise is more about the One who makes us
joyful than the squeaky noise coming from our vocal chords.
So sing with all your might, my friend. Let the truths of
God’s word stir your heart to worship him in song as you praise him for all he
is for you in Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment