In today’s article we’re going to go down a little bit of a different road. This time we are going to discuss the question “Why do we sing?”. No matter the religion or denomination music is always incorporated. Some might have instruments, praise teams, clapping or beatboxing, while others only sing using the voices God gave us. The purpose of this article is to examine what the Bible commands of our worship, and what a great blessing God gave us to sing praises to His name.
In order to study the Bible we must establish one important principle. Let’s look at the example of Uzzah, in 2 Samuel 6. This example is not about worship, but about obeying God’s law. Although he probably meant well, Uzzah disobeyed the commandments of God. In this passage, they were transporting the ark of the covenant and put it on a cart pulled by oxen, which was not how God instructed for the ark to be moved! In Exodus 25:13-14, God gave specific instruction for transporting the ark, which Uzzah and his men ignored. In 2 Samuel 6:6 it says that the oxen stumbled while the ark was being pulled. In reaction, Uzzah reached to place his hand on the ark and stabilize it. He was no doubt sincere in his actions, but verse 7 states: “the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God”. Now, why would God kill this man instantly for merely trying to keep the Ark from falling? Well, the answer is obvious and displayed throughout scripture. God says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). We know that the Bible is the inspired word of God, and is our ultimate authority. So we will study with the attitude of Moses in Deuteronomy 4:2 which states, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you”.
The first question we must ask when discussing this topic is, whether there is a certain way we must worship to be acceptable? Knowing the importance of keeping God’s law, let’s take a look at what the idea of singing is in the New Testament, which is our authority since the gospel was put into place (Hebrews 8:13). Take a look at Christ’s own words in John 4:23-24, where he establishes the foundation of worship, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth”. What can we learn from this passage? Towards the end of the passage, he lays down a condition, “spirit and truth”. He says, “those who worship him MUST worship in spirit and truth”. So, we can conclude that there is a true way to worship, and we MUST worship in that truth.
So, regarding singing, what does the New Testament say about the topic? Let’s look together at Matthew 26:30, here we see an example of singing after the Lord’s supper was instituted, “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives”. In this example, Christ himself was there leading them and singing was an act he partook in himself.
Another verse, Colossians 3:16, is often quoted on this subject also, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God”. Singing praises to God is a blessing. It’s something that we do together as the body. Singing is a way that we can display our thankfulness to God in heaven and also build one another up.
Ephesians 5:19-20 also touches on the subject in a similar way, it says, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. This verse shows that the way to praise God is with our hearts and our voices are the instrument. We can see that this act of singing praises is not about us! We shouldn’t make it appeal to our own interests, but in accordance with what our God has asked of us.
James 5:13 shows that we should also desire to sing praises, “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise”. If our heart is diligently following Christ, then singing is an outward expression of our joy in him. It should express the love we feel inside for him.
When we sing, we are lifting our voices to heaven for the pleasure of our almighty creator. We sing for what he has done for us! We sing to let his name be known among us. We sing to build each other up and encourage one another. Singing is a beautiful gift, and we should be thankful for it. When we sing, we are in the presence of our God. Can you imagine God listening from heaven as together our voices blend in praise. God made singing a way of worship for a reason. He created us and knew that music is something that touches our souls. Singing is a way we can express our hearts to Heaven above. So, let’s not forsake this gift God has blessed us with. Let’s not add to or remove from this gift of God. Instead, let’s use our voices and the joy within our hearts to magnify the name of our Father in Heaven! Take these things into consideration when you worship. When you are gathered with the saints, focus on the words that you are singing. Singing isn’t just a step to cross off the list every Sunday, but something we should desire to do. God doesn’t care if you are a good singer, he doesn’t care if you sing off key, God cares about hearing his body come together praising his name. That is why we sing!
