When referring to our honouring of the Lord in various
ways, we must be careful not to narrow down the meaning of Biblical concepts,
by holding on to only one meaning and application it has and loosing many of
the other facets of such an idea in the Scriptures.
If we, for example, use the word “worship” as a
synonym for “singing to the Lord”, we may forget about all the other ways in
which we are to worship God, such as when we pray, when we bring offerings,
when we humbly listen to him and his word, yes, when we celebrate his greatness
and goodness in various ways. In the
Bible we find that also dancing, bringing sacrifices, and honouring Gods
commandments, amongst other things, are as much considered worship, as singing,
making music and prayer.
On the other hand, there also is a risk to narrow our
music and singing ministry down to a concept that may cause us to forget that
apart from expressing our reverence for God, singing to the Lord should also
express thanksgiving and the sheer joy of salvation and for being in his
presence. Singing is sometimes the only way in which we manage to petition God
for our deepest needs! Singing often is the only way in which we can express
our emotions borne of faith, gratitude, and dependence on God!
In serving God, worship, praise, thanksgiving, and
singing are but a few activities through which we acknowledge the LORD as the
only true God and express our complete and deep-seated dependence, love, and
respect for him.
Singing to the Lord often is worship but should be a
lot more than worship!
Worshipping God often entails singing, but is much,
much more than only prayerful singing!
What is Christian worship then?
It is our adoration for God that brings us to worship!
Revering, respecting, honouring, rendering homage to
God, are some of the words we use when we try to explain to others what we do
when we worship God.
Worshipping God is an integral part of prayer, it is
one of the reasons for our music ministry, it is the reason why we praise his
Name, it is the purpose for coming together when we meet on Sundays (and other
occasions) and the only purpose and goal for our lives as Christians.
What do we do when we praise God?
Praise is different from worship in the sense that gratitude
and thanksgiving for Gods goodness, mercies, and graceful gifts to us cause us
to bring him praise!
The Bible says…
"Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for
he is good! For his mercy endures forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of
the LORD? Who can declare all his praise?" Psalm 106:1-2
Faith and thanksgiving are close friends. If you have
faith in God, you will be thankful because you know his loving hand is upon
you, even though you are in a lion's den. That will give you a deep sense of
joy, and joy is the barometer of the depth of faith you have in God.
We have so much to be thankful for. God has given us
"exceeding great and precious promises" that are "more to be
desired than gold." Do yourself a favour and believe those promises, thank
God continually for them, and "let your joy be full." Praise God for all his great gifts that come
from his kindness, mercy, grace, love, goodness, salvation, and
deliverance. Praise him through words of
prayer, songs of joy, acts of obedience, with a life submitted to his
authority, seeking the coming of his kingdom and acknowledging his dominion overall.
Why should we be singing to the Lord?
Singing can be worshipping God, it can be praise and
thanksgiving, it can be asking and petitioning him for his blessings and gifts,
it can be an expression of our love and it certainly is communication, very
intimate and most of the time emotional communication, with God!!
Psalm 150 summarises our Lord’s expectation to be
honoured, revered, praised, and worshipped through music and song, as expressed
in the Book of Psalms:
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty
firmament!
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him
with the lute and harp!
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing
cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise
the LORD!
Hallelujah!
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