Why Do We Sing? - 4/13/08am

Matthew 26:30 -Christ and the apostles sing a hymn
Acts 16:25 -Apostles sing in prison
We see the example of singing in the New Testament. And often we discuss why we don’t use instrumental music in our worship, and things like that. However, today I want to talk about the why of it. I want to talk about the reasons the Bible tells us to sing.

…To Praise and Glorify God
James 5:13
Hebrews 2:12
Romans 5:9-11
I Corinthians 1:5
We should be praising God in our singing. We should be extolling His greatness and giving Him the glory, as in all things. Our songs should be offered up for this reason.

We should praise Him for the things He has done
Exodus 14:15-31 -Parting of the Red Sea
Joshua 10:9-14 -Stopping the sun in the sky
Psalm 139 -His wisdom, knowledge, and power

We should praise Him for the things He has promised
Matthew 25:31-46 -Separating out evil from good in the last day
Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 -Lack of justice on earth will be exchanged for true justice

We should praise Him and glorify Him to avoid punishment
(Not our primary focus, of course, but it is useful to look at how God views lack of praise, or failing to give Him the proper credit. It gives us an idea of how important it is to God.)
Numbers 20:6-12 -Moses
Daniel 4:28-35 -Nebuchadnezzar
Acts 12:21-23 -Herod

Songs that we sing that praise and glorify God:
5 How Great Thou Art
9 Our God, He is Alive
21 Praise the Lord
35 O Worship the King
54 Praise Him! Praise Him!
…To Show our Gratitude
Colossians 3:16
Ephesians 5:19
Our songs should reflect the thanks we have for the things God has given us. They should reflect how much God has given us.

For what He has done (sacrifice, church, the word, blessings, etc.)
John 3:16 -God sent His son
Ephesians 1:3 -Jesus has blessed us spiritually

For what He has promised (salvation)
Hebrews 5:7-10 -Salvation for those who obey

Songs we sing that thank God for what He has done
392 Count Your Blessings
10 We Thanks Thee, Lord
420 O Thou Fount of Every Blessing

…To Teach Each Other
Colossians 3:16
Ephesians 5:19
We should be using our songs to speak to one another and teach each other. Our songs should be useful for teaching and learning from. It is worth noting that this is a form of teaching that is aimed primarily at those in the church, and not outside.

We must be careful of what we teach
II Peter 2:1 -False teachers bring destruction on themselves
Matthew 12:36-37 -Give an account of what we say

Songs we sing that Teach
460 The World’s Bible
416 Do All in the Name of the Lord
630 Watch and Pray
326 Trust and Obey

An Outcome of Singing is Emotion
Believe it or not, it is ok to have emotion. We should not be ruled by our emotions, and our emotions should not be the basis for our faith. But we should be touched to the heart by the Word, and I do not know many people who are not touched emotionally by singing. Emotion is an outcome of our faith. Emotion is based on faith, not our faith is based on emotion.
Awe -Luke 5:26 -The people are full of awe and glorify God
Joy -Philippians 4:4 -Rejoice always in the Lord
Sorrow -Matthew 25:69-75 -Peter weeps after denying Christ
Peace -Philippians 5:6-7 -The peace of God
Fear -II Corinthians 7:15 -Fear and trembling

We even have songs about the emotions that we find in the Lord
223 Peace, Perfect Peace
186 I Stand Amazed
251 I’m Happy Today