Sing a New Song

I love singing.

I'm not the best at it, but I love it. Singing lifts my spirits ...and songs hold such deep meaning. Singing a lullaby softly to my little ones warms my soul. Singing a song in worship brings the Divine nearer. Putting on a favorite track, turning up the decibels, and belting out the lyrics is sometimes such a needed release!

My favorite to crank up loud right now is Some Nights by Fun. But I also remember doing that as a kid with Believe it or Not (the theme song to Greatest American Hero) and Barry Manilow's Mandy (Yes, I'm showing my age and am embarrassed to admit he was my first celebrity crush). And then there was She's Lost That Lovin' Feeling when Top Gun was all the rage, and Back in Black, when I was in that rebellious teenage stage (and didn't even really know the words).

Singing along to Fairest Lord Jesus reminds me of church as a child, when some friends and I performed in the worship service with creative movement (i.e. dance). Singing Pass It On and People to People takes me back into the chapel at FBC, Shreveport when once in a while the evening Sunday service would be all congregation's choice of hymns from the "new" Baptist Hymnal- my favorite at the time.

Bad English's When I See You Smile is one Leon and I used to sing to each other. It was our song. Gotta love those late '80s rock ballads.

The short chorus Father I Adore You is one I sing in prayer often, and one that holds memories of my sisters and parents and I singing in a round.  Amy Grant's and Rich Mullins' versions of Sing Your Praise to the Lord are both moving to me - and usually remind me that I wish I would have stuck with piano lessons longer or took them more seriously.

Sisters from White Christmas... Edelweiss from Sound of Music... Maria from West Side Story... all take me back to those priceless family movie nights as a kid.

Singing Casting Crown's Lifesong always fills me up, and will always remind me of my Daddy. It had been his favorite song when he died in March of 2008. He would put the CD in the player in his big ol' conversion van, crank up the volume and we would sing every word with passion ...just like we did in 1975 with the Doobie Brothers in the VW bus. :)

I could go on and on.

Lauds Today

Songs are important to us as humans - as spiritual beings. God created us that way. To sing songs. New songs. Songs of prayer, praise, and expression. To sing from the depths of our souls. Because our Creator knows that sometimes words or thoughts or actions alone fall short of expressing what bubbles up and is bursting forth from inside of us.

This morning I experienced something brand new to me. Leon and I went to Lauds at a local monastery in Covington, St. Joseph Abbey & Seminary, pictured above. Early every Sunday morning, as the new day is dawning - before mass, before the day begins, before they speak - the monks ring the bells then sing praises to God in the Abbey... beautiful praises to God.

Some of you Catholic friends may have experienced this before, but it was a first for me! When I saw it on their weekly schedule posted online, Something inside of me said I had to go. A simple act of singing praises to God to begin the week is not only a testimony for all who hear, but also a heart-aligning practice that is Truly Good. It was so lovely. Thank you to the St. Joseph monks for your gift to us this morning!

Did you know that SING is the most frequent command expressed in the Bible?* Over 200 times, in various ways, scripture tells us to sing! From Exodus to Psalms to Isaiah to Colossians to James and in between, God says, "sing!"

Sing to the Lord! Sing a new song! Burst forth with praises!

Sing for joy. Sing of His mighty works. Sing of His wonderful ways. 

Proclaim to the nations. Sing for all the world to hear.

Sing of his Love! Sing of his justice. Sing among all the peoples!

 

Sing, "He is good; his love endures forever!"

Why sing?

What does singing do that just saying doesn't? What's so important and unique about a song?

Songs communicate from deep to deep. They speak from the depths of our souls into the depths of our souls. They say what simple words cannot. They evoke emotion, move us, change us.

Songs last. They last in our minds and memories. They last in our relationships and families. They last in our communities and cultures. They last through generations.

Songs connect. They connect us to important moments in our past. They connect us to ancient truths from across history. They connect us to each other and to the Source of all Song.

Songs are seeds. Songs carry potential for infinitely more than they appear to be. Songs can spark life and passion in a barren wasteland of a soul or a society. Songs, like scripture, are alive with new meaning each time you visit them.

Singing engages us. Singing engages us communally. Even when we are singing alone, we sing words and music sung by others, created by others, or meant for others. Singing engages our right-brain, the creative part of us which connects us most to our Creator. (As opposed to talking, which uses our left-brain.) Singing engages us actively and passively at the same time: another perfect paradox.

Songs are alive. The command says over and over, "sing a new song." Surely there is nothing new under the Sun. True. Yet each time we sing, we sing a new song. It is yet another of the mysterious and wonderful paradoxes of our spirituality. We are alive! We are ever-growing and ever-changing. We are ever-learning and ever-experiencing. So as we sing a song - whether new to our hearts or one repeated everyday - the "alive" in us meets the "alive" in the song and we sing it new and fresh.

Every time a song is sung it holds potential for new truths to be revealed, for new ideas to be shaped, for our spirits to be refreshed and revitalized.

Have you ever sung a song a million times and then one day somehow you listened to the words differently and something new was revealed to you? So amazing!

Go ahead, sing.

Yes, all of us! Nothing in scripture mentions anything about having to be able to read music, sing a solo in front of others, or even carry a tune at all. God created you with your voice just as he wanted to hear it sung back to him!

Sing. Express yourself. Those thoughts, feelings, worries, joys bubbling up inside of you: let them out in the form of a song. You can pick a song, turn up the music, belt it out, and have some fun! You can pick another song, turn it low, sing along and contemplate the lyrics with reverence and awe. You can make up a song as your mind reels. You can look at artwork or nature and sing as it inspires you!

Whatever you do. Sing. You become more of who God created you to be as you do.

Yes... I love singing!


*You will also read/hear many places that the most frequent command in scripture is "Do not fear," which apparently appears somewhere around 80-100 times, and shows another very important aspect of our relationship with God. In this case "Sing" is likely not being considered a command in the same way "Do not fear" is, as it usually is not in the form of "The Lord says, Sing..." Many of the occurrences of "sing" grammatically as a command are from David in his psalms, but not all of them. And singing to the Lord can be found throughout scripture. It is undeniable that God calls his people to sing.