Synod Emphasis
The Priority of What We Sing
‘shout’ and ‘make a joyful noise’. I wonder if you have also con-
sidered this great fact. God himself sings. Jesus, the second person of the Godhead, sang (Matt. 26:30). He isn’t alone. God further describes himself as singing as he exults over his peo- ple in mighty strength and joy (Zeph. 3:17). So we see, at least, that we are created in God’s image to sing because God himself sings.
Photo by Davey Morgan Photography By Philip Bunch I 6
don’t know if you have watched the acclaimed Apple+ series, Ted Lasso. It isn’t to be praised for its stance on many current ethical and moral issues. Also, it should not be viewed without discretion, particularly with younger (under 18) audiences. All that aside, I do want to highlight just one scene that occurs midway through the second season. An entire football (soccer) stadium full of Manchester City fans in perfect unison begin singing Blue Moon, the fa- mous standard sung by every generation of crooners since 1934. And this is not an isolated or uncommon occurrence in the sporting world. Now here is my punchline, upfront:
Every human being was created to sing.
That’s right. I said it. If you say you can’t sing, then you are claiming not to be a human being. Every person ever born has been created uniquely in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). I believe a core part of this image-bearing is sing- ing . . . and particularly, singing praise to God. Why do I believe that–on what basis, you may ask? At least this: have you ever considered that the command ‘to sing’ is the most used command in all the Bible. This is especially true if you widen the semantic domain to include words like ‘exult’ and ‘rejoice’ and
But I think it goes further than this. Have you ever considered why the command in the psalms is frequently ‘sing a new song’? The reason is not because God necessarily prizes nov- elty. And it isn’t because God is still in the business of creating new rev- elation (Gal. 4:4-7, cf. Jude 3). Rather, it is precisely because human beings are created uniquely in his image. This means that no other species on the planet has the distinct privilege of singing and bearing the Word of God on their lips. Many species ar- guably sing much more beautifully than humans. But NO other species has the great privilege of singing the very Word of God . . . feeble though the song or melody may be! (To be clear: I am in no way proposing that humans by their “new” song add to or change what God has revealed in his Word. The “newness” is easily comprehended when you consider how many different and beloved ver- sions of the 23rd Psalm exist in our liturgies. Same psalm: new song.) Well, now I hope you can agree that we all are created and command- ed to sing, but what about actually obeying this command? Maybe you grew up like me–a ter- rible singer with an even more ter- rible ear? How can untrained musi- cians with little-to-no natural giftings sing to an Almighty and holy God? Well, remember that he has com- manded you to do it, and God will never command what you cannot ful- - Rom. 8:4). Second, just get over your pride and ask someone to help you. I used to be a terrible singer, but now I’m
The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
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