Don’t be afraid to Sing It Out

 

Well, I was reminded tonight of the declining state of my singing voice. I decided to sit at the piano and sing while no one was at home, and after a few minutes, I realised, that although in my younger days, I had a large vocal range and could carry a tune quite well, over the years, through bad technique, lack of practice or maybe just old age, I had become woefully inadequate in this department.

Now, if you come along to our church, you may well wish that I would realise this and sing a little quieter, but no, I don’t. I happily belt out the old hymns and praise God with my whole heart, not caring in the least what others may think of my warbling and sometimes slightly off key, voice.

Along the west bank of the River Nile, in Egypt, sit two massive statues. They are 18 metres tall and represent a Pharoah who lived almost 3500 years ago. These statues are known as the Colossi of Memnon and have been called the singing statues.

It is told, that back in 27 BC, a large earthquake shook the area, which resulted in one of the statues collapsing from the waist up and cracking the lower half. After this happened, that statue began to produce strange musical sounds, almost always at dawn and most likely due to the rising temperatures and the evaporation of the dew in the cracks of the statue.

It was given the name Memnon, by early Greek and Roman tourists, but that’s another story.

Why am I telling you this bit of interesting ancient history? Because as the morning light began to fall on the statue, as the sun rose overhead, and the dawn came, the statue began to sing. A strange musical sound was heard, some say like the sound of striking brass or the sound of whistling.

And as one devotional writer puts it so well, “Just so, when the light of the gospel falls upon a darkened heart, it begins to sing.”

If we have been saved from a life of eternal damnation, and God has washed our sins away in his precious blood, we have been rescued from an horrible pit, we have had our feet placed firmly on the rock, and it should give us cause to sing! The light of the gospel falling upon our hearts should be reason to sing.

Psalm 40:3 KJV - And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

We are reminded in Psalm 40 of where God brought us from and where we are headed. The Psalmist tells us that God put a new song in his mouth. A song of praise to his Saviour. His Redeemer.

And so, I believe, every Christian should be a singer! Now, I don’t mean that you have to have an amazing voice and be up front leading the time of worship in song, but I firmly believe that if you have the Lord Jesus living inside of you, you should sing about it. And you should have a desire to sing. And you should want to sing with feeling and meaning and sincerity.

There are too many verses in the Bible on the subject of singing and praise and worship, to list here, but please believe me when I say, singing is important to God.

If you really find it difficult to carry a tune, you can sing and make melody in your heart to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:19 KJV - Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

God wants to put a song of joy in the heart of every Christian, and nothing should be able to stop that song.

If Paul and Silas could sing, with their feet bound fast, while sitting in a dungeon-like prison cell, not knowing whether they would live to see the next morning, then what excuse do we have for not raising our voices in song and praise and worship to the Lord?

Nothing that comes into our lives, pain and trouble, should hush the song in our heart.

Can I encourage you to let go of your fears? Let go of the pressure that tells you that in order to sing you have to sing flawlessly and perfectly in order to sound wonderful. Free yourself from feeling inadequate and incapable. Let your heart sing. Let your soul rejoice.

If you are singing from a sincere heart, unto the Lord, with all your might, your song is beautiful in God’s eyes. And it is a sweet sound to his ears.

I know, that often in Christian circles, there is judgement when it comes to the way one sounds as he/she joins in the congregational singing in the time of worship. I have often had eyes rolled in my direction, and stares and whispers. But who is it I’m singing for? My song should not be for my glory, it should be as unto the Lord.

If you are singing unto the Lord, and for his glory, lifting your voice in praise unto him, then it really doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.

To say I’m a little passionate on this subject, is putting it very mildly. I really believe that if we, in our churches, really took notice of the words we were singing, we would sing them loudly, unashamedly, fervently, excitedly and with all our might.

Or maybe, at times, we would stand, head bowed in humility, in utter amazement at what God has done for us, unable to lift our heads, eyes filled with tears, mouthing the words through trembling lips, as we silently worshipped.

Whatever the case, we need to sing unto the Lord. We are commanded to sing unto the Lord.

Psalm 96:1-3 KJV - O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.

Psalm 100:1-2 KJV - [A Psalm of praise.] Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

And one of my favourite verses:

Psalm 33:3 KJV - Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

(I love to play the piano with all my heart. But that’s another topic altogether. The instruments mentioned and used in the Bible. Study it and be amazed!)

The word noise, at the end of the verse, has the idea of a shout for joy. Has anyone ever felt like you could shout for joy while singing to the Lord? Yes. It’s frowned upon in our churches, so sometimes I have to be content with sending up a silent shout of joy and at other times, I just add in a few extra words into the song that are slightly louder and emphasize the meaning of the words.

I encourage you, the next time you are singing praises to God, to really think about what you’re singing, and then let the words flow from your lips without fear and with all sincerity.

Sing with your whole heart. Close your eyes if it helps you focus. Sing with joy in your heart. Let your song be unto the Lord and lift up your voice in praise and adoration for God has redeemed you and you are his. What a reason to sing!

 

“But, when we sing psalms, we make no melody unless we sing with grace in our hearts, unless we are suitably affected with what we sing and go along in it with true devotion and understanding. Singing of psalms is a teaching ordinance as well as a praising ordinance; and we are not only to quicken and encourage ourselves, but to teach and admonish one another, mutually excite our affections, and convey instructions.” Matthew Henry

 

*Remember, God tells us to sing, but I want to let you in on a little secret, God sings too! He rejoices over you with singing. Think about that. Let it soak in. And see if it doesn’t put a spring in your step and a song on your lips!

Zephaniah 3:17 KJV - The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.