Fewer elements of corporate worship have suffered greater invasion by the popular culture than singing. Before the preaching fell prey to outwardly charged but hollow sermons, the singing had first grown emotional and less theological. Congregants sang thoughtlessly, caring little for the ‘why’ of song and subsequently erring at the ‘how’.
The Psalms are laden with instructions on singing. The third verse of the fortieth Psalm alone is replete with them.
“He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 40:3)
At least four things are clear: that we are to sing for the glory of God, for our good, for the building up of God’s church, and for the salvation of lost souls.
For the Glory of God
David attributes his song to God (“he[God] put a new song…”) and identifies the song as one of praise to God. The song is both from God and to God. Praise is a means of expressing our respect toward God. In essence, David’s new song was for the praise of God’s glory (Ephesians 1:12). We praise God because we see him as glorious and worthy of our praise. Elsewhere, David testifies that God is great and greatly to be praised (Psalm 145:1-3). The same is the testimony of the song Ancient of Days by CityAlight:
None above hiim, none before Him
All of time in his hands
For his throne, it shall remain and ever stand
All the power, all the glory
I will trust in his name
For my God is the Ancient of Days.
Indeed, God alone is worthy of our praise, for there is none who can come close to matching his majesty and splendor, such things as are seen daily in his creation and much more in his salvation. And every song we sing to the glory of God is a song “put in [our] mouth[s]” by the One who saves us from every imaginable pit of destruction and sets our feet firmly on a rock (Psalm 40:1-2).
For Our Spiritual Good
We also sing that we might be built up in the most holy faith (Jude 20). Not only is David’s song a song of thanksgiving for being saved, but it is also a song of trust. “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust,” he says in verse 4. How ought we to trust God? By having his word planted deep in our hearts. The hymn Speak O Lord (Keith and Kristyn Getty) best captures what our yearning ought to look like:
Speak, O Lord, as we come to you
To receive the food of your holy Word
Take your truth, plant it deep in us
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All your purposes for your glory
There is hardly a more effective way of lodging God’s truth deep inside our hearts than singing it. Mnemonics are the most effective way of teaching children for a reason. It is no wonder the Psalmists wrote the Psalms as songs, not statements. Only then could they be effective reminders of God’s goodness. And oh, how crucial it is for the saints to remember!
“Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.“ (2 Peter 1:12-15)
The Apostle knew just how dangerous forgetfulness is to the Christian. And Paul knew just how effective the singing of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs would be in having the word of Christ dwell richly in the saints (Colossians 3:16). Therefore sing, especially when in sorrow, for the temptation to forget and despair is never greater than when “weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care.”
For the Building Up of the Church
Our singing benefits more souls than our own. Fellow saints stand to gain. While the song is put in “my (David’s) mouth,” David acknowledges that it is “a song of praise to our (the collective) God” (Psalm 40:3). I like to refer to the Christian life as corporate individualism. It is individualistic in that each must work out their own salvation (Philippians 2:12-13). Yet it is corporate because that cannot be done without others (Ephesians 2:19-22, Hebrews 3:12-13; 10:24-25). The reality is no less evident in Christian singing. Paul’s command to the Colossians is to sing to one another so they can have Christ’s Word dwell in them richly (Colossians 3:16).
David similarly understands that it is pointless for this new song to be his alone. That is why, throughout the Psalm, he insists on how he has proclaimed these truths (Psalm 40:5, 9-10). Singing together may be God’s means to snatch some from the fire (Jude 23). Singing songs of suffering together helps those who are suffering to suffer well. This is because the afflicted find comfort in the fact that others are willing to suffer with them (1 Corinthians 12:26). We are drawn and bound to those we sing with. The last part of Psalm 40:3, aside from being a call to gospel proclamation through song, is also a call to sing the gospel for the sake of those who doubt or are suffering.
So sing, dear saint. The joy of another saint might be wholly dependent on it.
For The Salvation of Lost Souls
Finally, sing so that, as David says, many may put their fear and trust in God (Psalm 40:3). Because singing is one of the best ways to bring something to memory, it is certainly one of the best means to proclaim the gospel. It was a pleasant surprise to learn recently that one popular gospel singer got saved because he heard the gospel proclaimed through song. I believe he isn’t alone. Yet how sad it is that many across the world are treated to supposed Christian songs that are vapid, evoking nothing at all of the work of Christ. Satan would much rather that congregants gather to be emotionally stirred by pointless repetitions than for them to collectively commit Christ’s work to memory.
When that happens, few, not many, are helped to put their fear and trust in God. But if we were to sing the gospel, it is many whom God would deliver. Sometimes, Satan tempts us to find singing gospel truths boring. We feel like we should spice things up. Never forget that the gospel is God’s power for salvation. Albeit dull in the eyes of some, it is the only way people are set free (John 8:31-32). Therefore, sing the gospel aloud. Sing to the glory of God, for the care of your soul, for the building up of Christ’s church, and, finally, to proclaim the work of Christ to a watching world.
