There is one area of music in which Scripture very much encourages us to participate, and that is in singing. The first mention of singing in the Bible is in Exodus 15, when the children of Israel stood on the opposite bank of the Red Sea, having seen the wonderful deliverance the Lord had given them from Pharaoh and his army. There they raised the song of praise to the Lord and celebrated their redemption. In the song of Moses, they not only rehearse their present deliverance, but anticipate future blessing as well. Later when Israel was established in the land, David ordered that some of the Levites were to “stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at even” (2 Chron. 23:30).
In the New Testament, any reference to instrumental music is notably absent, but we have abundant encouragement to use our voices in singing praises to the Lord. James reminds us, “Is any merry: let him sing psalms” (James 5:1313Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. (James 5:13)). When Paul and Silas were thrown into prison in Philippi, it was a testimony to their joy in Christ that they were able to sing under such circumstances. Paul tells the Ephesians, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:1919Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; (Ephesians 5:19)). This is connected with being “filled with the Spirit” (vs. 18), showing us that a heart filled with the enjoyment of Christ is one that will want to sing. In Colossians we have a similar exhortation, but here more connected with the “word of Christ” and “teaching and admonishing one another” (Col. 3:1616Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)).
The Influence of Songs
Before we are saved, Satan uses the songs of this world to mold our thoughts and influence our lives. Andrew Fletcher, the Scottish patriot, aptly said, “Give me the making of the songs of a nation, and I care not who writes its laws.” He well understood the strong influence that songs have over men’s souls and over their thinking. For this same reason, the Taliban banned singing in Afghanistan during its time in power. E. Y. Harburg, the American composer, said, “Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.” The lyrics of a song become connected with the emotion that music produces in us. Used in a wrong way, this can be a powerful force for evil, but in the believer, it enhances our enjoyment of Christ and our appreciation of the truth.
Praise in Song
We can see that, for the believer, singing has a special quality. Having new life in Christ, we have the capacity to enjoy heavenly things —“the things that are freely given to us of God” (1 Cor. 2:12). More than this, when we enjoy the things of Christ, we can offer those same things to God as a sacrifice. “Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name” (Heb. 13:1515By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Hebrews 13:15)). We can surely learn the things of Christ by reading the Word of God, and we can also offer the fruit of our lips in prayer. However, having given man the capacity to appreciate music, God now gives us the wonderful privilege of learning and expressing those things in song and offering them to Him in “psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.” This connects the things of Christ (in contrast to the things of this world) with the emotion that singing produces. If we are singing in the Spirit, our enjoyment of those precious things is heightened by the melody, and our hearts are lifted up. I appreciate what J. N. Darby writes in the introduction to the Little Flock Hymnbook, concerning what is needed in hymns — “that experimental acquaintance with truth in the affections which enables a person to make his hymn the vehicle, in sustained thought and language, of practical grace and truth which sets the soul in communion with Christ, and rises even to the Father.”
Singing to the Lord
In the New Testament, musical instruments are never connected with the assembly and with worship. Singing is different, however, because it is produced by the Spirit in the individual himself. The believer himself becomes the “instrument of ten strings” (Psa. 33:22Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. (Psalm 33:2)), to be used for the Lord. It is primarily for the Lord, and we must remember this. While our own enjoyment of singing is quite in order, let us bear in mind that we are “making melody” in our heart “to the Lord” and “singing with grace . . . to the Lord.” It is a “sacrifice of praise to God,” and for this reason we should seek to give Him our very best. If it is for His enjoyment and for His praise, we will be occupied with Him and lifted out of ourselves. However, we will undoubtedly find that, as in the case of Mary of Bethany and her pound of ointment, “the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.” So in thanking and praising the Lord, our own hearts will be encouraged and lifted up.
In these last days, there is much to burden our hearts, but if we are enjoying all that is ours in Christ, we will indeed be able to sing, whether individually or collectively, and give expression to that joy that the Spirit of God produces in us.
W. J. Prost