Why Christians Sing

I’ll be honest, there have been times when gathering with the church for worship that instead of focusing on what we’re doing, my mind wanders to other things. Not just Sunday lunch, the upcoming football game or work week ahead; sometimes my mind wanders to questions about what we’re doing. For example, why are we singing together? Why isn’t everyone singing? Why are some people singing with gusto and others are just going through the motions? Maybe you’ve never considered these questions or maybe you have; but either way, here are three Biblical reasons why all Christians should sing to God with gusto…

• Christians should sing to God because He sings over them

When God gathers His people, Zephaniah tells us that God Himself rejoices and exults over them with loud singing:

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. (Zephaniah 3:17-18)

Many Christians have never considered that the primary reason God created people to sing to Him is because He Himself is a singing God who has created them in His image. God delights in His image bearers and is devastated by their rebellion and sin and yet God is determined to redeem and gather for Himself a people in whom He is delighted. God sovereignly saves and gathers His chosen people into His midst and He starts the celebration by exulting and exclaiming His love for His people in song! He is not mute while the angels sing; he does not mumble through the song; He sings and according to Zephaniah, He sings loudly! Imagine that sound! If God sings loudly when He gathers His people, then we should too.

• Christians should sing to God because He has given them a new song

According to Psalm 40, not only has God rescued us from destruction and gathered us safely to Himself; He has actually put a new song in our mouths:

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40:2-3)

Here’s the picture. God reached down into the pit, grabbed hold of His people, pulled them away from destruction, placed them in a secure place, and filled their hearts and mouths with songs of praise! God responded to our plight with ready and eager salvation, therefore, we respond to God with ready and eager singing; the kind of singing that other people will not only hear but will “see.” What kind of singing do people see when they gather with our churches? What do they perceive about our God from the way we sing? Do we sing in a way that will lead them to “fear and put their trust in the LORD” or does our singing lead them to conclude God isn’t all that awesome and trustworthy? Christians sing to God because He has given them a new song.

• Christians should sing to God because He has filled them with His Spirit

What happens to a person when they are filled and controlled by the Spirit of God? Ephesians 5 tells us one of the things that happens…

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart (Ephesians 5:18-19)

Paul contrasts being filled with the Spirit of God and being filled with alcohol. Being filled with alcohol leads to drunkenness and debauchery. What does being filled with the Spirit lead to then? Verse 19 is clear: one of the things being filled with the Spirit leads to is singing. Simply put, Christians sing because they are full of the Holy Spirit. Notice that they don’t just go through the motions of moving their mouth and mumbling through the song, they make melody to the Lord with their heart. Notice too that “addressing one another in songs…” is an inevitable result of being full of the Spirit. Simply put, if you are filled with the Spirit, you will sing to God. On Sundays, God’s people fill the room with singing because God has filled them with His Spirit.

There are many other reasons why Christians should sing when they gather with the church. In summary, our God in heaven who sings has created a people who sing here on earth. We sing even though we might not feel like it. We sing even when we are suffering. We sing even though the world around us hates our song. One day, though, we will join the heavenly song; the song of the redeemed; the song we will sing for all eternity; 

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:12-13)