| “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). |
| “Is any merry? Let him sing psalms” (James 5:13). |
| We do not read anything about musical instruments in the New Testament. They were part of the service in the tabernacle and temple in the Old Testament, but we do not read of them in Christian worship. However, we do read about singing, for that is the use of our own ability to praise and thank the Lord. |
| We all know that even naturally, songs and singing have a real effect on us. Someone has made a very good remark, saying that “words make you think a thought, and music makes you feel a feeling. But singing makes you feel a thought.” That is true, for music and words together make you feel the thoughts in the words, and this impresses them on our hearts. Our emotions become involved, as well as our minds. |
| It is sad that in North America today, many young people do not really sing much, and some think it is not “cool” to use their voices and really sing. But the Bible encourages us to sing, for not only does it speak to our own hearts, as our verses for today tell us, but it pleases the Lord. When we sing, we praise the Lord too, and He has said, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me” (Psalm 50:23). We give glory to God when we sing, and it is good for us to use our voices in doing this. |
| I knew a man who lived in Romania during the communist rule, and he was in prison for five years for his Christian faith. The Communists wanted everyone to believe that there is no God, and they hated the Christians. During his time in prison he composed hundreds of hymns with the tunes, although he had nothing on which to write down the music and words! He remembered them all in his head, and when he was eventually released, he wrote them all down. Many people today sing those hymns and enjoy them. It was a treat to visit him and hear him sing those hymns for us. He is with the Lord now, but “he being dead yet speaketh” (Hebrews 11:4). |
| If you do not sing much, I would encourage you to do it more, and especially when you are feeling good, as our second verse says. You will feel even better. |
