Psalms of praises I will ever give to Thee. . .

 

A son of our close friends wrote and sang to his bride on their wedding day, a special expression of his love for her. This touched the hearts of all who heard it.

Today I am reminded that music is important to God too. In the OT, He had people trained to sing to Him, and on special days, the “priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might to the Lord.” Psalm 100:2 says, “Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” Even the mountains, forests, and waste places were called to “break forth with singing” to express the joy of God’s goodness. But His creation isn’t all that sings . . .

Zephaniah 3:17. “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.”

The word PSALM literally means to make music. This verse says that making music begins with God. He rejoices over His people, calms us with His love and lifts us up with loud singing. This means that I must listen for God in the music — during worship services, when I play music at home or in my car, and even when I sing, for He may be speaking to me in the melodies.

He certainly speaks to His people in the book of Psalms — which is His song book. Many psalms are filled with joy. Some are sad. Some identify with my problems and sorrows. Others challenge my selfishness. Some praise God’s creation. Some describe Jesus, the coming Messiah. All of them point to the God who sings, who inspired His people to write psalms that reveal truth about His goodness and remind readers how we can live to honor Him.

Psalm 47:7. “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!”

Psalm 95:1–2. “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”

Psalm 34:11. “Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”

Psalm 90:12. “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

Psalm 94:12. “Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law.”

In the NT, the singing continues. Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

This is powerful. First, it makes me realize that singing this way is being like the Lord. He sings — I am to sing also. Besides, His singing has great power. Even the thought of God singing fills me with unspeakable joy. How could I be troubled when I could listen to my Creator’s voice making music!

Not only that, He shows me the power of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs in my own life. When I am kept awake by worries or a busy mind, singing “Jesus Loves Me” always calms those thoughts and lets me sleep. When I feel fearful, or am in physical pain, singing drives away all fears and stops me from grumbling and feeling sorry for myself. When working at a difficult or challenging or boring task, songs of praise change the chores to delightful duties. Music is powerful. God sings over me and when I sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs back to Him, I am blessed.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY . . . today this application should read LISTEN TO HIS VOICE. He whispers His presence and His love, and often His directions for the next step. He shouts when I am in danger or doing something stupid. He laughs when others challenge my faith, or when He hands me unexpected blessings. He hums when I need to hear a gentle thought. And sometimes He sings — reminding me that I need to just stop and listen.

 

God sings over me ? ! !

A few years ago, our friends invited us to their son’s wedding. It remains in my heart as special because this young man wrote a song and sang it to his new bride. Romantic, yes, but also emotional. I think of him reading this verse because what he did helps my efforts to imagine God rejoicing over me as He sings . . .

“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.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

Tozer says, “Here is emotion on as high a plane as it can ever be seen, emotion flowing out of the heart of God Himself.” Wow!

Tozer concludes that emotions are not part of our sinful unbelief as often taught by some Bible teachers. Rather, our ability to feel is a mark of our divine origin. Joy, love and even singing are from God.

Well, not all of it. Those who laugh at the faults of others are not showing godly emotion. Those who love their neighbor’s wife aren’t either. As for music, some of it is outrightly dedicated to the devil or has lyrics that distain all that God says, so that is not divine, but there are emotions that come from the heart of God, joy being only one of them.

I’ve often thought that some of my emotions are His. For instance, when I watch the news and see injustice or injury or tragic situations, I weep. I know that if Jesus was not in my life, I would not care about much of that. These are people I don’t know. Why should I cry over their pain? However, because Christ lives in me, I’m bound to think His thoughts and feel His emotions, at least some of the time.

For that reason, I should not struggle with tears or laughter. I need to watch out for sinful motivations, but never withhold emotions that demonstrate the way God is — sometimes grieving, sometimes angry, yet always rejoicing, loving and even singing.

This reminds me that that the human soul is intellect, emotions and will. The Bible is clear: I have the mind of Christ and can think His thoughts. I know the Holy Spirit and can live in harmony with the will of God. Nothing tells me to leave out my emotions. Rather I read verses like these:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)

“Rejoice always.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” (Hebrews 1:9)

^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, I’m still trying to imagine You singing over me. It is far too amazing to picture now, but someday I will clearly see Your smiling face and hear Your songs of joy. In the meantime, I’m delighted to be a vessel for You to express Your emotions. Help me know and discern — and always be glad that You love me.