March 18, 2007

Cawson St. Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia

Mural Worthey

The Value of Singing

 

Purpose: We often preach on the divisive issue of instrumental music, but seldom on the positive reasons for singing in worship. There is value in singing and something special about it that benefits everyone. The purpose of this message is to extol the value of singing with our lips and hearts the praises of God.

 

Story: Recently, in Lisa Smith’s preschool, one of her students (Ian Easton) asked her to sing “the Shark Song.” He remembered it from our VBS the past two years when Joseph taught it to the children. But Lisa replied, I don’t know the song; so I can’t sing it for you. Little Ian replied, Go get Mural, he knows it!

 

The Singers

God sent his singers upon earth
With songs of sadness and of mirth
That they might touch the hearts of men
And bring them back to heaven again

The first a youth, with soul of fire
Held in his hand the golden lyre
Through groves he wandered, and by streams
Playing the music of our dreams

The second, with a bearded face
Stood singing in the market place
And stirred with accents deep and loud
The hearts of all the listening crowd

A grey, old man, the third and last
Sang in cathedrals dim and vast
While the majestic organ rolled
Contrition from its mouths of gold

And those who heard the Singers three
Disputed which the best might be
For still their music seemed to start
Discordant echoes in each heart

But the great Master said, I see
No best in kind but in degree
I gave a various gift to each
To charm, to strengthen, and to teach

These are the three great chords of might
And he whose ear is tuned aright
Will hear no discord in the three
But the most perfect harmony

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Longfellow gave several good things that come from singing—to touch the hearts of men and bring them back to heaven again; to charm, to strengthen and to teach. The Bible also gives us the value of singing from our hearts to God.

Alton Howard, our brother and gifted musician who loved singing and writing hymns, died October 27, 2006. We have studied several video Bible lessons from the International Video Bible Series. These were published by Alton Howard. There are more than 940, 27-minute lessons on video. In 1969, he founded Howard Publishing Company which edited and published several hymnals. In a tribute to brother Howard by his daughter, Mary Howard Owen, she remembered listening while he composed the hymn, He Gave Me a Song, in 1977. In our hymnal, Praise for the Lord, we have 5 songs by brother Alton Howard.

1)      He Gave Me a Song, #213

2)    I Believe in Jesus, #267

3)    Washed in the Blood, #719

4)    What Will You Do With Jesus, #740

5)    I Am Mine No More, #924

What is the value in singing?

Proper way to approach God. The Psalmist of Israel, known as the sweet singer of Israel, wrote, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before his presence with singing.” (Psalm 100:1.) The imagery is that of a King on his throne and man enters into the Court of God. “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting and his truth endures to all generations.” (vs. 4, 5) How can we enter into the presence of God in a way that pleases Him? By singing praises to his name, we enter.

Paul wrote, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” (Eph. 5:19.) In a similar passage, he wrote, “Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Col. 3:16.)

Throughout the ages, men have come before God with singing. This is the proper way to enter into his presence, praising Him in song. I sometimes forget that Psalms is a collection of Old Testament songs. The first half of the Psalms is primarily given to lament, over sin and oppression by enemies. The last half gives way to praise. David wrote, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” (103:1.) Then, near the end, we have these words of Psalm 148.

“Praise ye the Lord; praise ye the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels; praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon; praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heaven, and ye waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. He hath also established them forever and ever; he hath made a decree which shall not pass. Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons and all deeps: fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormy winds fulfilling his word; mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars, beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl; kings of the earth, and all people; princes and all judges of the earth; both young men and maidens; old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord; for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. He also exalts the horn of his people, the praise of his saints; even the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord.”

We teach and admonish one another. (Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16.) We usually think about what we have learned from Bible classes and preaching, but we have learned much from the words of our songs. In addition, we have been admonished by them. It is right to sing and express ourselves directly to God, but it is equally right to sing to one another.

We ask one another, Why not obey the Gospel tonight? We also ask, Are you washed in the blood? We admonish one another to “Watch and pray for the Lord is Coming.” We sing, “Yield not to temptation; for yielding is sin.”

Several people have noted that the theology of our singing sometimes is better than the theology of our preaching. We rightfully sing, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.” (Song #438) Some preachers mistakenly think that they are saved by their own righteousness, not that of Jesus Christ. We sing “Grace that is greater than all our sin; marvelous grace of our loving Lord; grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt.” Yet one preacher said, The problems that we face in the church are because of so much teaching on grace! Yes, the theology of our singing often is better than the theology of our preaching. Our songs are void of hobby’s and current issues of the day; the old songs remain the same through the years while the preaching often changes. Protestant and Catholic churches alike sing many of the same songs, but the preachers arise and teach their distinctive sectarian views. At funerals we sing about our hope of the resurrection and heaven above. Then in our preaching, some get confused and teach that it is not necessary that the body arise.

The Psalmist wrote, “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, and is greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts, and I will declare thy greatness.” (Psalm 145:3-6.)

We express our faith and hope. There is great value in singing and praying. Individually, we express our faith. In doing so, our faith is strengthened and grows. Paul wrote, “For with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. . . For whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom. 10:10, 13.)

Examples of Singing in Scripture. There are several vivid scenes in the Bible where believers sang songs. They tell us much about the value of singing.

1)      Paul and Silas sang during the night in prison in Philippi. They had been beaten with many stripes. Yet they turned their thoughts to God in prayer and song. (Acts 16:25.) The prisoners and jailor heard them worshipping. God shook their bands loose by sending an earthquake. The jailor asked Paul and Silas what he should do to be saved. Paul told him to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. (16:30-31.) What is the value in singing? It provides a vocal, emotional means of expressing one’s faith. It probably is the most meaningful during times of adversity and difficulty. It teaches others who hear it. They know that you are a worshipper of God. Even this jailor wanted to know the Gospel after hearing them.

2)    After Jesus observed the last Passover with his disciples and He instituted the Lord’s Supper, they sang a hymn together and went out into the Mount of Olives. (Matt. 26:30.) This was a meaningful moment with Jesus just before his crucifixion. It was the custom of Jews to sing Psalms 113-118 during the Passover. Paul wrote that Jesus is our Passover. (1 Cor. 5:7.)

3)    John saw in a vision on Patmos a scene of the redeemed around the throne of God in heaven. The 144,000 are identified as those who have come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev. 7.) In Revelation 14, they are singing a new song of Moses and the Lamb. Remember that “the new song” is a song on any new occasion of deliverance (i.e. Moses and the Lamb delivered God’s people). These Christians had been slain for the Word of God and because they refused to worship the Caesar of Rome. Earlier they were under the altar crying out for God to take vengeance on those who had beheaded them.

4)    “For which cause, He (Jesus) is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.” (Heb. 2:11-12, quoted from Psalms 22:22.) This means that Jesus sings praises in the midst of our assemblies to God the Father. He partakes of the Communion spiritually with us and he sings with us. Should we not sing harmoniously along with Him? This is one of the most remarkable texts on singing in the NT.