Worshiping in Song
Rusty Miller
What does the Bible have to say about singing?
As Christians, we have spent many hours in
debate, sermons and teaching sessions discussing
Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, and
rightly so, for they are the dominant passages
regarding God’s instruction for us to sing in worship.
Unfortunately, most of our discussion of
these passages has centered on what is not in the
passages, namely instrumental music. Because
of false religious practices, those discussions have
been necessary, but we should never let our
understanding of God’s word be limited simply to
what it does not say.
The focus of the two passages is on two
interrelated things: 1) our thankfulness to God,
which is in turn based on 2) our understanding of
His word.
Consider that Ephesians 5 discusses being
“filled with the Spirit,” and that phrase has also led
to much denominational error. But if we let the
scriptures interpret themselves, we see that
Colossians uses almost the same terminology
about singing, except that it discusses letting “the
word of Christ richly dwell within you.” Thus, being
filled with the Spirit is equivalent to the word
dwelling in us. Careful, determined Bible study will
fill us with God’s Spirit as we seek to do His will.
That leads us to the other focus of the passage.
Have you ever had someone do something for you
that caused you to want to sing? Maybe you did
sing for joy. Consider then what God has done for
us. Because He was willing to send Jesus to die
on the cross for our sins, we can be reunited with
Him. That should make us want to sing!
Think that is too simplistic? Look at the Psalms.
No one talks about wanting to sing more than
David. In Psalm 5, he praises God for His ability to
bring the wicked to justice, and he says, “Let all
who take refuge in You be glad,/Let them ever sing
for joy (v. 11).”
In Psalm 9, he says, “I will give thanks to the
Lord with all my heart;/I will tell of all Your wonders./
I will be glad and exult in You;/I will sing
praise to Your name, O Most High (vv. 1-2).” See
how singing is tied to thanksgiving for the things
God has done?
However, it should also be pointed out that this
is not a superficial joy. We are not zombified
“Jesus Freaks,” blissfully unaware that there are
problems in the world. In fact, we should sing
because we understand just how difficult are our
problems. For it is only then that we learn to lean
on God.
Again, consider David. At two of the lowest
points of his life, he speaks of his need to sing
praises to God. First, when he was being chased
by King Saul, who planned to put him to death, he
writes, “My soul is among lions;/I must lie among
those who breathe forth fire,/Even the sons of men,
whose teeth are spears and arrows/And their tongue
a sharp sword (Ps. 57:4).” Clearly, David is in
trouble, but after discussing God’s ability to deliver
him from his adversary, he finishes with, “I will give
thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;/I will
sing praises to You among the nations./For Your
lovingkindness is great to the heavens/And Your
truth to the clouds./Be exalted above the heavens,
O God;/Let Your glory be above the earth (Ps. 57:9-
11).”
Even worse, when David finds himself caught
up in the sins of adultery and murder, and he
agonizes over what that sin has done (“For I know
my transgressions,/And my sin is ever before me./
Against You, You only, I have sinned/And done
what is evil in your sight” Ps. 51:3-4a), he is again
brought to the point of singing by the goodness and
mercy of God. “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O
God, the God of my salvation;/Then my tongue will
joyfully sing of Your righteousness./O Lord, open
my lips,/That my mouth may declare Your praise
(Ps. 51:14-15).”
Now, consider your own life. Are there times
when you face obstacles that threaten to overwhelm
you? Of course, there are. Are there times
when, because of sin, your very soul is in jeopardy?
Of course there are.
But consider your God. A God for whom there
are no obstacles in this world too great to overcome,
for He is the Creator of this world. A God who
understands your deepest problems, even when
you cannot vocalize them (Rom. 8:26-27). A God
who has already overcome this world’s greatest
problem: sin (1 Cor. 15:55-57).
And when all has been considered, don’t you
want to praise God? Don’t you want to sing?
“I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m
free,/His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He
watches me.”