The Direction of Our Singing

The world of church music is a dazzling kaleidoscope of styles, ranging from simple arrangements of piano with voices to contemporary, commercially oriented teams, reflecting a diverse range of values, abilities, and priorities. Within this kaleidoscope, we have a common call to one thing: 

To glorify God in our praises with singing.

Rather than diving into a comparison of styles and weighing their merits against each other, we’ll be focusing on why congregational singing is important in the life of the church, examining three directions that our singing follows:

• Upward

• Inward

• Outward

  
  

Upward

The upward direction of praise is to be at the forefront of our mind when worshipping God. The content of our singing and the attitude in which we praise must focus on God's nature, His work through the sacrifice of His Son and the sanctification through the Holy Spirit, and His sovereign plan for restoration in the days to come. We recognize Him as the ruler of all and the source of all our being; our purpose, then, is to glorify Him in all we do, singing included (1 Cor. 10:33).

I often find, though, that the content of our singing can be skewed to subjective, personal experience—especially in contemporary catalogues. These songs of testimony are great supplements to the key areas I mentioned above, but be sure to keep a healthy balance in songs choices that point to God as the Supreme Object of our worship.

Inward

When we worship in song, we internalize God's truth, intellectually and emotionally. God created us to learn through repeated patterns, and singing optimizes that basic learning pathway. Music itself is the artful organization of pitches (melody) over time (rhythm), and we utilize it to learn all sorts of things, particularly in memorization. 

In fact, I'll bet you probably know more Top 40 songs on the radio than you do Scripture. (I know I'm guilty of that!) This is because you actually engage more parts of your brain in singing than you do in reciting text without music. So when we sing well-written songs that praise God, we internalize truths more effectively, just like the radio tunes that we can recall from years past. 

The aesthetic value of a song is important, too, deepening the richness of the lyrics and connecting to our emotions. Our hearts soar when we sing a rising melody about the heights of God's love, and we marvel in wonder as we sing a descending line that speaks of exploring the depths of His goodness and grace. (For you academics, this technique is called word painting.)

All of these elements come together to leave an indelible imprint on our hearts and minds, sustaining our souls as we carry the richness of the Word within us.

Outward

The final direction our singing takes goes out to our fellow congregants and to the world outside our church. In our singing, we encourage and admonish each other, just like the Apostle Paul instructed the early church:

Col. 3:16

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.

Eph. 5:18b–20

…but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…

Through shared words in song, we unite together in a common confession that transcends generational, socio-economic, and denominational lines—and we improve our witness to an unbelieving world. 

Don't Be Afraid

God calls us to "make a joyful noise" (Psalm 100)—that means singers of all abilities! John MacArthur puts it this way in his commentary on Ephesians:

“The Spirit-filled life produces music. Whether he has a good voice or cannot carry a tune, the Spirit-filled Christian is a singing Christian. Nothing is more indicative of a fulfilled life, a contented soul, and a happy heart than the expression of song.” (MacArthur, Ephesians, 256.)

So in your churches, live out the call to sing with each other, pouring out the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, pointing your praise to God, savoring His truth, and painting a picture of unity for the world to see.

Be blessed 👊✌️