| How does it make you feel when someone sings “Happy Birthday to You” or “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”? Perhaps a little embarrassed, but certainly good, for you are being honored. I feel a little embarrassed because I feel undeserving of that attention and honor. |  Listen here |
But there is One who deserves to be honored and sung to, and that’s our Lord God Almighty!
Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. (Ps 66:1-2)
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. (Ps 95:1-3)
I love to sing! But my singing is more like a joyful noise! But that’s okay because in God’s ears it is beautiful when I sing from my heart.
The Bible is jammed pack full of verses about singing. “Praise the Lord “is the most repeated command in all of Scripture, and there are numerous named songs, like the Song of Moses (Ex 15) or the Song of Deborah (Jdg 5). Many of the Psalms were songs of praise that David wrote and sang from his own heart to the Lord.
I’m so glad they are recorded in Scripture for you and me to enjoy and to help us express our own praises and thanksgiving to our God.
Were you also aware that creation itself sings praises to God?
The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy!
(Ps 65:13 NLT)
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
(Ps 19:1)
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
(Ps 96:11-12)
Even if we didn’t sing, the rocks would cry out in praise! (Luke 19)
So WHAT should we sing to the Lord about?
1. Who God is
We should sing praises for His attributes and character: that He is loving, good, faithful, merciful, gracious, all-powerful, eternal, great, longsuffering…. For His splendor, majesty and glory, for His righteousness, purity, and Holiness. I could keep going! There is no one like our God!!!
2. What God has done/His works
• His creation, His miracles throughout the ages
• All the blessings He has given us; the way He has provided for our needs
• We should sing of the AWESOME SACRIFICE of His one and only Son in order to save us.
• We should sing of the way He has transformed us by His Holy Spirit.
Oh, how He has transformed me!!!
3. What God is doing now and will do in the future
there are several places in Scripture that tell us to sing a new song unto the Lord. Listen to what God says in Isaiah 42:9…
“See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” (Is 42:9)
Then in the very next verse Isaiah writes…
Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth…. (Is 42:10)
That doesn’t mean we have to write a new song every time we see something new that the Lord has done (although we could). But it should be fresh, vivacious, and alive—not old and worn out!
The music and lyrics may be the same, but the specific reasons of why we sing in any given moment are different.
We have…
• New mercies every morning
• New grace for each and every moment
• New miracles (big and little)
• New experiences, new joys
• New insights about God and His ways
• New people to love and reach out to
• New people from whom to receive love
My friends, we have so much we can sing about! Even during hard times. As Chris Tomlin proclaims in his song, How can we keep from singing His praise?!
I can’t and we shouldn’t!
Chris Tomlin “How Can I Keep from Singing Your Praise“
Relevant Resources
10 Ways to Recognize God’s Little Miracles in Our Lives
365 Days of Gratitude
Except where indicated all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV. ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.(NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.