Praise You With A Song

Songs and singing in worship, another area that I’ve been watching.  Why is it that we have no problem singing with the radio or out having a good time with friends, but we don’t open our mouths and sing in church?  Sorry, I love to sing in church!  I don’t think I’m very good but when I’m in church I’m singing the Lords praises with all my power!  For those around me this could be a challenge, but sorry you’re going to hear me anyway.

I feel that song and praise are an escential part of the worship service.  My take is that if you don’t participate in the singing, you’re missing a very important part of the service.  Song and praise has been an very important part of worship going back to the Old Testament, and to top it off you see written that it was the men  who did most of the singing and made most of the worship songs!  Men where are you now?

We don’t need to look far to find examples of this.  Just go to the Psalms – the songs of David!  When you open your bible to the Psalms, often there are notes explaining how the instruments are to be played and how each is sung and lead.

Look at 1 Chronicles 6:31-32 These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the LORD after the ark came to rest there. They ministered with music before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem. They performed their duties according to the regulations laid down for them.

And, 1 Chronicles 15:16-24  David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals. So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his brothers, Asaph son of Berekiah; and from their brothers the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah;  and with them their brothers next in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.  The musicians Heman, Asaph and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals;  Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to “alamoth,” and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were to play the harps, directing according to “sheminith.” Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.  Berekiah and Elkanah were to be doorkeepers for the ark.  Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark.

Nehemiah 12:45-47 They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did also the singers and gatekeepers, according to the commands of David and his son Solomon. For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the singers and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.  So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers.

These were important duties!  Why do we shirk on them now!

And don’t think these were only “ancient” teachings of the Old Testament!

Let’s go forward to Ephesians 5:19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.

I want you to think about this the next time you’re in church.  Since we believe the Bible is divinely inspired, infallible, and all-sufficient, it is our sole authority for all that we do.  We believe we cannot add to or take away from the Scriptures, nor can we preach another gospel than that contained in the New Testament. We are to be singing and praising the Lord with all our might!  We shouldn’t feel ashamed, or self conscious about how we sing or how loud we sing.  We are to sing out with joy and thanksgiving, raising our hands in praise to the Lord.

So, here’s my warning! If you sit near me or stand near me when I am at a worship service, you are going to hear me!  And don’t be surprised to see my hands go up in praise either because I do love the Lord and I love Jesus Christ and I want Him to know how much I do love Him and thank Him for all He has done for me.

I pray that you think about this and that more so you pray about this, that the Lord will open your heart and fill you with so much joy that you cannot help but sing out His praises!

Sing to the Lord a new song!  Sing it from your heart!

God Bless you all!