I. What Is Singing.
When God, in the New Testament, talks about singing, he does not talk about the requirement for sounding beautiful, but rather the emphasis is always on the heart, or thinking about the words that are being sung and meaning the words that you are singing. As we notice here in Ephesians, Paul, speaking by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, does not even use the Greek word for singing, but rather he uses the Greek word, laleoo, which is translated in the King James Version as Speaking. According to Thayer, the word laleoo means to utter a sound. In Psalms the writer uses the phrase, “a joyful noise” stressing again the fact that God is not concerned about how the words sound to the ears as men do, but rather God is concerned about how the words proceed forth from the heart.
In Ephesians 5:19, all three Greek words that are used to describe the songs being commanded, refer to songs that are sung acappella, or only using the voice. The Greek word translated here Psalms when used in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament used in Jesus day and time, does include songs that are sung with the accompaniment of instruments, but by Jesus day and time, the word, psalloo, Strong’s number 5568, had changed in meaning and according to Greek Scholar’s meant songs that were not accompanied by instruments only. There were Greek words in general use at the time that meant songs that were accompanied by the use of instruments. God did not see fit to use them, rather he chose words that indicated songs that were not accompanied by instruments.
Therefore when I use the term, singing, in this book, I am always referring to songs that are sung without the use of mechanical instruments of any type. But it is not enough to sing only without instruments of music in order to be pleasing to God, but the song has to be sung also with the spirit and understanding also. Every song that is sung, must be sung with words that the user understands and they must come from the heart.
Matthew 15:18-20"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."
The words that come forth from the lips come forth from the heart. Therefore, God is not pleased with a Christian just mouthing words that they have memorized. Do you want to please God or man? If we want a choir accompanied by instruments of music, we are concentrating on what is pleasing to men. Songs sung by trained singers with natural talent accompanied by various instruments of music are pleasing to men, but are they pleasing to God? No where does the Bible even hint that instruments of music are pleasing to God.
II. Why We Sing
When we understand how much we have received from God and we begin to appreciate the love that God has for us, then in natural response to that we begin to feel thankful which in turn leads to gratitude. A natural outcome of gratitude is a joy that is expressed through singing. Therefore any time we realize how great God is, how great a love He has shown for us, we will want to burst forth in songs which express our feeling.
Singing is one of the many ways that we as human beings have of showing our thanksgiving, our love, or feelings and emotions. If we want our singing to be pleasing to God, we need to know what is pleasing to God. So that is our purpose in this chapter, to see what the Bible, the word of God, says about singing, to please God.
A natural outgrowth of receiving blessings from God is that we should be thankful to him and a natural way of human expression of thanks is singing. When we recognize how much we have received from God, we sing and this pleases God. Singing is one way we show appreciation to God and God wants us to recognize what He has done for us and He wants us to appreciate the sacrifices that his son made for us and he is pleased when the human heart cannot be quiet, but must burst out in praise and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father.
I Chronicles 16:9 “Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all His wondrous works.”
The realization of the many works the Lord has done for us, causes us to want to sing. The more we realize how much we depend upon God, the more we desire to sing praises about God and his spectacular works. This is a natural response if we appreciate all that God has done for us, but only if we truly appreciate the love that God manifested towards us.
Exodus 15:1-2 “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 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.”
Here is a perfect example of how appreciation for what God has done causes people to sing. If you remember God has just delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, the children of Israel were trapped with the Egyptian behind them and the Red Sea before them and miraculously they were delivered. The Egyptian army, which was coming to take them back, had just been drowned in the Red Sea.
Moses and the Israelites make up a new song and go about camp singing and thanking God. “I will sing unto the Lord, the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, He is become my salvation.” Only when someone truly understands what God has saved them from, will they want to sing it out and tell others.
Romans 15:9-10 “And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name."
Another reason we sing is so that outsiders would know about God and sing praises unto His name also. We sing because we understand what God has done for us and so that others will know the mercy of God and will glorify God because of the greatness of His mercy.
Acts 16:23-25 “And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”
Here Paul and Silas, even after they have been beaten, are singing praises unto God. Singing praises to God, helps fill us with the Holy Spirit and helps see us through trying times. Singing praises to God also teaches outsiders about God and differentiates Christians from non-Christians.
III. How We Sing
Our songs should show forth thanksgiving to God for what he has done for us. Which means that we should be thinking about all that God has done for us, we should be remembering how Christ suffered and died in our place then we should have no trouble singing, knowing that our songs should be showing forth praise to God, telling others how we feel about God. Our songs should and do show unto others what we think about God, so we need to stop and think before we start singing and examine ourselves as to where our hearts are.
1 Corinthians 14:15 “What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”
Our songs should spring forth from the heart and should express our feelings for God. We should also understand the words we sing and think about what the words mean as we sing. So to sing with the spirit and understanding basically is saying to sing words that we understand and they should be thought about, so that we mean what we are singing. While singing with the spirit does not mean just singing with emotion, one cannot sing with the spirit without having emotions involved.
Ephesians 5:18-19 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”
Here being filled with the Spirit of God is being contrasted with being drunk. A person who is drunk has their inhibitions lowered so that basically they react emotionally without control, where being filled with the Holy Spirit while our emotions are involved, does not take away our will at all. A person who is filled with the Spirit of God, will be willing to express that feeling, but they have control over their thoughts and emotions. Here in Ephesians, God does not just tell us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but he goes on and tells us how to do this, the first thing he says is “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;” So we see that being filled with the Spirit of God is something that we as Christians have control over. Do you want to be filled with the Spirit of God? Then stop and start counting your blessing and as you realize how much God has done for you, just burst out singing praises to God, tell God in song how much he means to you, thinking about the words as you sing, make sure they are coming from your heart, make sure that you are “plucking the strings of your heart”, that you are putting your feelings into your heart. If we do our part, God will do his part, because he always keeps his promises. You will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Just remember that there is more involved in being filled with the Spirit than just singing, Paul, through the inspiration of God, goes onto say “ Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” So we see that we always are in control of our spirits, as the Bible says, “The Spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.”
But if you want to be a Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit, you need to be a person who first of all is in submission to God. Then secondly, you need to be a person who is in the habit of going about singing praises to God from the heart, understanding the words that you are singing, meditating on them. You need to be a person, who takes time to count their blessings and who takes the time to go to God in prayer, thanking him for the many blessings that you have received from him. You need also to be a servant to others, helping them to grow as Christians, and helping them in whatever things they have need of.
To sum it up, a Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit is a baptized believer, who is a singing, appreciative servant to God and to his or her fellow Christians. We should be teaching each other and the visitors to our assembly how we feel about God, Jesus Christ, and one another through our songs.
IV. The Blessings We Receive From Singing Properly
When we sing in the proper way, we grow in spiritual wisdom. When we sing in the scriptural manner, we are taught about spiritual things. When we sing as God would have us, we are admonished and encouraged. But for all of this to happen, we must sing with grace in our hearts to the Lord, or to put it simply, we need to be singing in such a way that our songs rise up before God as a sweet incense, as our gift back to God to show our appreciation for all that he has done for us.
Ephesians 5:18-21 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”
We, as Christians, are told not to be drunk with wine, wherein is excess, rather, we are told to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Bible then goes on to tell us how to be filled with the Holy Spirit: by speaking to ourselves in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, by teaching each other by the way we sing and with our singing, by teaching visitors about the love we have for each other, by being a prayerful, appreciative people, and by being submissive first to God and then because we are in submission to God, we are submissive to each other. These things, if done properly, cause us to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 2:11-12 “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he 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.”
If we sing in the scriptural manner, we declare unto everyone that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. If we sing in the scriptural way, we declare the name of Christ to everyone in attendance, especial our fellow Christians and if exalt the name of Christ, He exalts us.
1 Chronicles 16:23 “Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth from day to day His salvation.”
When we sing unto God in the way that he has instructed, we show that we are saved. When we sing unto God in the way we are commanded, on a daily basis, His salvation grows in us and is shown through us.
Exodus 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.”
When we sing unto the Lord God in the scriptural manner, we are preparing our hearts as a habitation for God. When we sing in the way God has intended, we lift up the name of God and we exalt Him. When we sing in the proper way, we show forth the salvation of God and we declare him to be God.
Isaiah 35:10 “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
When the ransomed of the Lord return to the house of God and sing spiritual songs with joy in our hearts, we obtain joy and gladness, all sorrows and sadness will vanish away When you are sad and depressed, sing unto the Lord as if you were happy and you will become happy and joyful.
V. How The World Has Changed The Singing Service
The world has changed and corrupted the singing service of the worship service probably more than any other part of the worship service. From the year 666, when the Catholic Church introduced the organ into their services until now, the changes that have been made to the singing service has proven once again the wisdom and truthfulness of God when He revealed to us through the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2:15-16 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul tells us to study in order that God will approve of the things that we do and so we can correctly understand the scriptures.
Paul continues in verse 26 and warns us to avoid profane and vain babblings for they are ungodly and once we start down that path, they will increase unto more ungodliness. Profane simply means anything not found in the Bible and vain babblings are talking about human wisdom or as the religious world loves to say, theology. Theology is simply trying to understand and comprehend about God and spiritual things from human reasoning which we know from many places in the Bible is impossible. In the Old Testament in Numbers 24:13 “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?”, the prophet Balaam lets us know how God looks at mankind’s additions. Even if I think that I have a good idea, I am not to be adding to what God commands.
The first major change was the addition of musical instruments under the guise of convenience and improvement. As if mankind can improve on anything that God has given. The next, as far as I can tell, is the addition of the choir. Both of these are supposedly justified by how they are an aid and not an addition, but I have visited at churches who have both and every time what I see tells me different. Every church that I have seen that has musical instruments has at times during their services played their instruments with no singing, but I have never seen them even for a moment have singing with no instruments playing, the same being true for a choir, I have never seen the congregation singing but always the congregation sits and listens while the choir sings. Which is more important to them? Clearly their instrumental music and choir has become their entertainment and is more important than the beauty and simplicity that the Bible pictures in the word of God. Otherwise if as they claim, these things are just conveniences, they would be having congregational singing by itself and the instruments of music and the choirs would be silent.
The religious world has gone so far astray that you can not in many cases tell the difference between the concerts that you can go to in the world and the abominations that the religious world refers to as their worship service. So far the only difference that I see is that I have not seen the insanity referred to as "The Mosh Pit” yet being justified as worshipping God, but I would not be surprised anymore by anything that people do and the extremes that they will go to in order to justify the things that they do. Anything that people do that works them up into a frenzy has become what the denominational world refers to as “worshipping God.”
VI. SUMMARY
1. Christians sing to show their appreciation and thankfulness for what God has done for us.
2. Christians sing to tell others about what God has done for us.
3. Christians sing to tell others about the Greatness of God.
4. Christians sing to tell God what they feel about him.
5. Christians sing to tell others about the Mercy of God.
6. Christians sing to tell others about the salvation enjoyed by Christians.
7. Christians sing to show our joy because of God's Grace.
8. Christians should sing from our hearts with feelings.
9. Christians should show forth the love of God when we sing.
10. Christians should understand the words they sing.
11. Christians should mean the words they sing.
12. Christians should sing and make melody in our hearts to God.
13. Christians should sing in such a way that we teach and admonish one another about:
13a. The love we have for God.
13b. The love we have for each other.
13c. The Greatness of God.
13d. The Mercy of God.
13e. The Glory of God.
13f. The Existence of God.
14. When we sing in the proper manner, for the right reasons, we receive:
14a. Spiritual Wisdom.
14b. We are filled with the Holy Spirit.
14c. We are taught and admonished by our fellow Christians.
14d. We are exalted by Christ.
14e. We grow in salvation.
14f. Our sorrows and sadness turns to Joy and Gladness.
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