The Who and What of Singing Praises to God

Singing Praises to God

Singing praises to God is something that I think can all too easily become just a routine part of the service. Oh we know it is important and we enjoy doing it. But we don’t often stop and take time to think about it much. What is the who, what, when, where, why, and how of singing praises to God? Does the Bible have much to say on the subject? Is singing praises to God important enough to Him to give us the who, what, when, where, why, and how of singing?

Does He care or can we sing anything we want any way we want? I think that is a fair question.

So today we are going to look at what the Bible has to say about singing praises to God. And the Bible does indeed have much to say about the subject.

The Bible talks about singing in Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Judges, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, Job, Neh, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Romans, 1st Cor, Ephesians, Colossians, Hebrews, James, and Rev.

God does indeed have a lot to say about the subject.

Who can sing praises to God.

There is a principal of Bible study called the law of first mention. It is the principal that if you want to know about a subject, you go to the first place that it is found in the Bible and what you find there will carry throughout the whole Bible. The first mention sets the foundation for that topic. It will not tell you everything about that topic. It will be built upon as you progress thru the Word of God, but the foundational principal that is presented in the first mention will not be countered later on in God’s word. It will not be reversed.

A great example of the law of first mention is the Devil.

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.

The first thing that we learn in the Bible about him is that he is subtil. He is the great deceiver. The first time that we read of the devil he is deceiving Eve. And what do we read in

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations

It is the first thing we learn of Satan is that he is a deceiver, and he is busy at it now, and he will still be at it until the end.

He is first presented as a deceiver and that is never contradicted in the Bible.

That is an example of the law of first mention.

If you want to learn about marriage, a good place to start is the first time it is mentioned. One of the first things that you read on that topic is that it is not good for a man to be alone. And that has always been true. It has been true 1,000 years ago, a hundred years ago, and it will continue to be true until we are changed, at which time there will be no more marriage.

Gen 2:22 , made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

In the first marriage we learn that it is God that put them together. It is God that instituted the marriage. It is His institution so He has a right to determine the rules of marriage. And that foundational principal has never changed.

So lets apply the law of first mention to singing praises to God.

Singing Praises to God is first mentioned in Exodus. But not until after God had redeemed them. There is no mention of singing while they were still in Egypt, which is a type of the world. They are not singing Praises to God while they are under the cruel taskmaster of Pharaoh, which is a type of Satan.

It is only after they were redeemed by the blood of the lamb, and brought out from the dominion of pharaoh and saved from his wicked clutches that we see them Singing praises to God.

Being brought out of Egypt was a picture of salvation.

The first time singing praises to God is in the Bible it is a redeemed people doing the singing. And the last time Singing is mentioned, is in Rev., where a redeemed people are singing

Rev 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints.

The first song we see in scripture is sung by a redeemed people and the last song we see is sung by a redeemed people. And you see the same thing all in between.

Only a redeemed people can truly sing praises to God.

A lost person can sing the words, but that doesn’t count with God because it goes against the how, which we will get to next week.

What we are to sing about?

We can get a good indication by looking at the first song of praise in the Bible.

Exo 15:1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

The very first verse of the song is about The Lord and what He has done.

Exo 15:2 The LORD [is] my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he [is] my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

The second verse is about the Lord, what He has done, and their reaction.

Verse 3, 4 & 5 are about the Lord and what He has done.

Verse 6 mentions the Lord glorious in power.

Verse 7 mentions the greatness of His Excellency

Verse 8 speaks of God’s power

Verses 9 – 12 are also about the Lord.

Exo 15:13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people [which] thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided [them] in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

Verse 13 is about His mercy, His leading, His redemption, His guidance, His strength, and His holy habitation.

Is this song about entertainment?

Verses 14 – 16 is about the fear of the Lord

Exo 15:17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, [in] the place, O LORD, [which] thou hast made for thee to dwell in, [in] the Sanctuary, O Lord, [which] thy hands have established.

Exo 15:18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

We are to sing about the Lord. We are to sing about his attributes, His mercy, His guidance, His strength, His holy habitation, His power, His Excellency, His greatness, His glory, His salvation, and on and on the list could go.

And if we took the time to look at the song of Deborah, or the song of Samson, or any of the other songs in scripture we would see the same thing. Those songs are not about pleasing man or lifting man up. They are not about entertainment. They are all about God and praising Him for who He is and what He has done.

It seems kind of like common sense doesn’t it. If you are going to sing praises to God sing about God. But all too many of the new songs today are not really about God. In fact much of what goes by the name of Christian music today does not even mention the Lord Jesus Christ.

I will give you some examples.

Amy Grant says, “What we’re trying to do is take Christian principles and make them understandable. Even if it doesn’t say Jesus, it doesn’t matter.”

Rich Mullins says, “I’m really sick of all this heavy-handed Christianity. Musicians take themselves too seriously. They should have more FUN, and they should stop preaching unless that’s what God has called them to. If I want to hear a sermon, I’ll go to church, thank you.”

Michael W. Smith’s album Change Your World has 2819 words but the word Jesus occurs 0 times. His album I’ll lead you home has 2046 words but the name of Jesus occurs 0.

Jason Martin of a band called Starflyer 59 says, “A lot of bands, the reason they get so turned off, is because you have to put the word ‘Jesus’ in every line…That’s why so many bands get almost anti-Jesus in their lyrics, even through they’re Christians.”

A man did a survey of this Christian bands songs. And out of 25 songs, over 1,400 words, and 4 albums he could not find the word God, or the word Lord. Not once.

How does that compare to the first song in scripture that we just looked at. The song that sets God’s direction for praise music. A song that has the word Lord in it a dozen times and uses pronouns for him another two dozen times. And it is a short song.

To really be Christian music it must be all about the Lord.

And contemporary Christian music is not.

Ghoti Hook says, “Sometime people give us a hard time because we don’t mention God onstage… I know that a lot of other bands and people are called to talk about God onstage a lot more than we do, and that’s great, but we just feel that our calling is to get people interested in our Music, interested in us.”

That is the wrong focus. The very first song in scripture makes it clear that the focus is to be on God. And the rest of the Bible reinforces the same thing.

1Ch 16:9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

Psa 21:13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: [so] will we sing and praise thy power.

Psa 30:4 Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

Psa 59:16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.

Psa 66:2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.

Psa 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

Psa 101:1 <A Psalm of David.> I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.

And I could go on and on reading verses for there are many more of them that reinforce the same principal that Christian Praise music needs to have the Lord as the focus.

Real Christian music is not entertainment. It is to be spiritual food. Real Christian music will also have an element of admonishing while praising the Lord.

Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Col. Tells us that Christian songs are to have elements of teaching and admonishing. It also says that it is to be sung with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

David said he will sing of mercy and judgment.

And in the first song in scripture we also see singing about how God deals with the wicked.

Exo 15:14 The people shall hear, [and] be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

Exo 15:15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.

Exo 15:16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be [as] still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, [which] thou hast purchased.

Real Christian music will be full of Biblical truth.

So we have covered the what as far as words, but what about the music.

What type of Song are we to sing?

Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

The Bible tells us to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. The word I want to bring out in that is spiritual. Spiritual as opposed to fleshly.

There is a difference between the two. In fact they are at odds with each other. They are opposites.

Gal 5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

The flesh and the spirit are contrary to each other.

So how are you to know the difference between a fleshly tune and a spiritual tune.

We have already covered the word part. It needs to be about the Lord. But music has two components to it. The words are only half of it. You also have the music part.

God’s Word also tells us about the music part.

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

True songs of Praise to God will have melody.

Melody feeds the spirit. Beat feeds the flesh. And remember that the spirit and the flesh are contrary to each other.

If you take spiritual words and put them on fleshly music, then the result is not spiritual. The result is confusion. You cannot be walking in the spirit and feeding the flesh at the same time.

I like to use the illustration about a bottle of Jack Daniels Whiskey. The bottle of whiskey is also composed of two parts. The Devil’s brew on the inside and the words on the outside. Now if I take and change the label. And put God’s words on it. Say John 3:16 in big bold letters. And say I put the words Jesus saves on it. And say I change the name to Jesus’ Heavenly Drink.

Is it now ok to drink it?

No it’s still poison inside. The words on the outside are only one component. The words do not change the liquid component on the inside.

It is the same with music. I can take the Devil’s rock and roll music and put God’s words to it, but that does not change the character of the music side of it.

I was listening to a tape a while back of a Pastor’s testimony from Nebraska. He had started a Christian school without getting a license and was arrested while he was in his pulpit. They took him to jail and put him in a cell with a devil worshiper.

Can you imagine that? A Baptist preacher locked in a cell with a Devil worshiper.

Well the Baptist preacher started to witness to him. And the subject of church came up.

The Devil worshipper said this might surprise you but I go to church all the time. And he named one of those mega type church places.

The Preacher said you are a devil worshipper, why do you go to church.

He said I go because they play my father’s music better than any bar in town. Oh they put different words to it, but it is still my father’s music. I can sit in the back stoned and enjoy my father’s music and then not even listen to the short message that comes later.

Now if a devil worshiper can figure that out, why can’t God’s people.

Spirit Flesh

Melody Beat

Hymns CCM Rap – no melody at all.

Psalms

Spiritual Songs

I have a co-worker that goes to a rock music playing mega church. And I have told him about all of this. I even told him about the preacher and the devil worshiper.

He still holds to his position.

I then asked him if I had backed up what I hold to with scripture.

He said yes.

I then said show me your scripture to back up your position.

And he did not have any. Not one. He still holds his position but it is only backed up with feelings.

God’s word is clear on the who and the what of Singing praises to God.

God’s people are to Sing Praises to God with spiritual songs about the Lord with melody.