Sing Out

He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord

(Psalm 40:3, NKJV).

There is something magical sitting in a concert where skilled performers deliver their pieces beautifully, carrying the audience into the world of their craft.  In such moments, the listener is lost in the musical performance and time quietly passes.  Music is a language by itself, one might not understand the words but the skill, the passion, the emotion and the spirit of the performance makes us appreciate the greatness presented.  Instrumental classical music with a blend of melody is often used for soothing or contemplative moments and the power of such, even without words cannot be denied. While all this is representative of great competence and prowess in the area of instruments played or the vocals presented, it is true that few individuals reach such levels of dexterity. Thankfully, like most things in life, it is possible for those inclined to learning music or instruments to grow and improve in their chosen area. 

Beloved, while we might not be celebrated musicians or instrumentalists, we all have God-given ability to sing.  We have heard friends and family sing when alone in the shower, others whistle around the house and yes, we have also heard of powerful songs written from a moment when one is alone.  You may not play any instruments but have you ever considered that your voice is a human instrument?  The Psalmist calls on everything that has breath to praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6).  We are meant to praise the Lord with what He has given us, even our untrained voices praise the Lord, our words and actions are called to praise the Lord.  None is exempt from this call, the qualification is that we have breath.

In our reference verse, king David was celebrating the goodness of God.  Upon reflection of what God had delivered him from, his heart was bursting into a song.  It would appear that the victory was not yet visible, as others were yet to see it but David had a song bubbling in his spirit.  It is like being excited about something that is yet to happen, the power of the emotion is what David calls a new song that God had put in his mouth.  It is not always what is happening in the physical, it is about what we know and what our expectation is.  Others might not understand the reason for the song that we sing but that does not take it away from our hearts.  It is possible that the physical situation looks dire and disturbing, but we sing in our hearts for we know the battle has been rigged in our favour, we are winners in Christ.  Beloved, it is about who we have believed in and the confidence that we have in His victory (2 Timothy 1:12).  We sing in our hearts for the faith that we carry within us.  It might look like it is the wrong time to sing, but the basis of our rejoicing is not what is happening around us but the hope that we possess.  May we be reminded that our God dwells in our praises, when we praise Him, He takes over the situation. 

David declared that he would praise the Lord at all times and his soul would boast in the Lord (Psalm 32:1-2).  In this praising the Lord,  David notes that others shall hear of his praises too.  We do not sing and praise the Lord in hiding, we do it also as a witness of our faith and confidence in Him, others around us become witnesses of this greatness.    In 1995, Ron Kenoly a gospel musician released an album “Sing out with one voice” and in the song, he encouraged believers to build a palace of praise and a throne of thanksgiving to the King of kings through their singing.  Brethren, we are not the only ones who rejoice singing, God too rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).  Let that sink in your spirit.  Can you imagine the melody of our singing to God while He is also singing over us joyously?  When we hold that picture in our hearts and minds, we shall stand singing in the truth and promise of God, regardless of our physical reality.

Thoughts:

When has your heart burst with joy/singing?

What has stolen your praise and why?

What is your reflection of Zephaniah 3:17?