Thank you so much for going through this study with me. We’ve covered a lot of Scripture and there are some points that I feel drawn to review. I’ve been blessed by God’s Word as we looked at verses that let us know how important music is to God. He created music for His honor and glory. I love the images that are painted for us in Revelation 5 where song is used to worship God and declare His worth. There’s worship filling the Throne Room and thousands upon thousands of angels are singing in a loud voice, declaring “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Hallelujah! Wouldn’t you love to join in on that song and sing with the angels? I can imagine that the harmonies are more beautiful than we’ve ever heard. I wonder if they just knew the harmonies or did they have rehearsals?

I also love the picture painted for us in Zephaniah 3:17 of God rejoicing over us with singing. We talked about this verse in Part 2 of our study. But I don’t want you to forget this truth. Anytime you are discouraged or life is hard, if you’re feeling like a failure or just have a bad day, remember that your God delights in you. He quiets you with His love and He is singing over you. What a joy. I can’t wait until the day that I can hear His singing voice!

Song is used by God to quiet us, comfort us and rejoice over us. Psalm 63:7 says “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.” God gives us song to praise Him as we trust Him for help and protection. And as we trust Him we sing to Him. Music is such a wonderful gift from God.

And as believers we have every reason in the world to sing. We sing to praise our God for this great salvation through Jesus His Son. There’s a great song entitled The Reason We Sing by First Call that says just that. It’s an old favorite, written with beautiful three part harmonies. Psalm 100 by Keith Brown is a great song to just let go and praise the Lord; and in the process you’ll have some scripture memorized. Check these out if you’re looking for some new songs to sing.

If you’d like to just listen to some great praise and worship songs check out 16 Great Praise and Worship Classics Volume 5 by Various Artists. It’s a great compilation of some classics. Take a few moments and check these titles out. Use the wonderful gift of music to sing to the Lord. Psalm 146 says “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all of my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” Amen. Sing to the Lord!

Other Posts in this Series

God Created Music
God Sings
God Inhabits Our Praise
Music is the Language of the Soul
He is Our Song
Sing His Word
The Reason We Sing

Music is such a wonderful gift from God. We’ve seen in our study that God created music for His honor and glory, to declare His worth and to encourage us in the Lord. We’ve seen that God sings and He is surrounded by song as the angels sing His praises. God not only gave us song to declare His worth but also to declare the truth of His Word.

Psalm 119:54 says, “Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.” What a declaration – no matter where I am, God’s Word is the theme of my song. No matter the circumstance, no matter where you find me, the Truth of God’s Word is the theme of my song.

The book of Psalms is full of songs declaring God’s truth but there are also other songs throughout the Bible.  In Exodus 15 Moses and the Israelites sang a song to the Lord declaring His faithfulness and might after delivering them out of Egypt. They sang, “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.” In Luke 1 Mary sang a song to glorify the Lord and to rejoice in God her Savior. The book of Revelation is full of songs around the Throne of God, songs sung by angels and saints, declaring God’s holiness and His worth.

You see when we experience God, when we experience His faithfulness or when He gives us a glimpse of Himself, the response is to burst forth in song whether you’re a gifted musician or someone who just makes a joyful noise. Oh what a joy to declare that the Lord is our song and His decrees are the theme of our song!

The most powerful songs that you can sing are those that are Scripture put to music. Check out a few of these.

Psalm 40 by NewSong - a great song declaring “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to my God”

Psalm112 by 4Him -  beautiful harmonies based on Psalm 112:1 that says, “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His Word.”

Revelation Song by Phillips,Craig and Dean is an absolutely beautiful song with 3 part harmony. Based on Revelation 4&5, it is a powerful worship song declaring “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty”.

One of the best ways to memorize Scripture is to put it to music so check out some of these. Let the power of God’s Word minister to your heart and worship Him as you listen. These are some great songs to add to your collection. Sing His Word and make His decrees the theme of your song wherever you are!

Other Posts in this Series

God Created Music
God Sings
God Inhabits Our Praise
Music is the Language of the Soul
He is Our Song
Sing His Word
The Reason We Sing

I hope you’re enjoying our study on music. It’s definitely not an exhaustive study but I hope that you as a musician are encouraged and challenged to use music to glorify and praise God. We’ve talked about the fact that God created music for us to glorify Him and declare His worth. He also gave us music to encourage and exhort one another.  Job 35:10 tells us that God gives us songs in the night.  Have you ever thought that God uses music to encourage you? He sends a song your way, just when you need to hear it.

We have a Christian radio station in our area. There have been numerous times that I have turned it on and there’s a song playing that speaks directly to what I’m experiencing. The Holy Spirit uses it and speaks to me through it. He sends songs to encourage, to exhort, to convict and to spur us on to do what we need to do. He gives songs to us to praise Him and worship Him.

Exodus 15:2 says “The Lord is my strength and my song.” God not only gives us songs; He is our song! Because of His great and precious promises, because of who He is and all that He does – He is our song! Exodus 15 goes on to say “Who among the gods is like You, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” I don’t know about you but that makes me want to shout Hallelujah! God is our song!

“Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all of my life; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.” Psalm 146:1,2.

There are so many great songs available that praise the Lord and declare His worth. Check out How Can I Keep from Singing by Chris Tomlin – a great song that expresses this truth we’ve been talking about. In light of who God is, how can we keep from singing His praise, no matter what the circumstances are in our life? This song is written as a solo but has beautiful harmonies. The worship team I work with does this song with one lead singer and then harmony is added on the chorus.

We’ve also done How Great is our God by Chris Tomlin and Indescribable by Chris Tomlin. These are powerful worship songs, written as solos but with beautiful harmonies for a group. If you want all of these songs plus more then get the Best Of: Chris Tomlin. Take the time to listen to these songs and worship the Lord Jesus, who created song for His honor and glory, and who gives us songs in the night. He is our song!

Other Posts in this Series

God Created Music
God Sings
God Inhabits Our Praise
Music is the Language of the Soul
He is Our Song
Sing His Word
The Reason We Sing

So far in our study we’ve looked at Scripture that says all things were created by God for God (Col.1:16) – so music was created by Him for Him. It’s a wonderful tool that He’s given us to declare His worth. We’ve seen in Scripture that God sings (Zeph.3:17) and that He is surrounded by angels singing praises in Heaven (Rev.5:12). And we’ve seen that God inhabits the praises of His people (Ps.22:3). God has given us song to praise Him and to declare His worth. He’s also given us music to encourage and exhort one another in the Lord.

Music is the language of the soul and is understood fluently by all. Emotions and experiences can often be best expressed in song and it’s a way for us to pour out our hearts to God.  In Psalm 63 David poured out his heart to God in song. “Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Sometimes spoken words just don’t communicate what’s in our hearts the way a song does.  In Psalm 63:5 David sings “My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” There are times when things are so tough that words can’t even voice what’s being felt but a song can. Psalm 13 is full of emotion as David sings, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” David wrestles with his emotions and then sings out with all of his heart “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me.” He poured out his heart to God in song and we, as believers, are encouraged and exhorted as we read this.

Have you ever been sitting in a church service and your heart is heavy and burdened so much that you don’t even know how to pray? Then someone gets up and sings a song and you find yourself weeping because the words of the song expressed just what you’re feeling but couldn’t put into words. Music can express what’s in the depths of our souls in a way that spoken words cannot and God uses it to soothe the soul, to encourage or convict.

Have there been times you’re so happy that you can hardly contain it and the worship team bursts into a praise song that causes your spirit to fill with praise to the Lord?  The music helps you to express your joy to the Lord and to sing a new song of praise to Him.

James 5:13 says “Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.” Three great songs that will minister to your soul are In His Presence by Sandi Patty, Worthy is the Lamb by Hillsong, and Come as You Are by Pocket Full of Rocks. Take a few moments and listen to them and allow the music to minister to your heart and lift praise up to the Lord.  Music is often the best way for feelings and emotions to be expressed. It’s the language of the soul.

Other Posts in this Series

God Created Music
God Sings
God Inhabits Our Praise
Music is the Language of the Soul
He is Our Song
Sing His Word
The Reason We Sing

The Bible is full of exhortations to praise the Lord with song. Psalm 95:1-3 says, “ Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.” Psalm 100:2 says, “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.” God created music for His glory and His purposes.

When we gather together in His Name and lift up praise and worship to Him through music created for His glory, He is in our midst.  Matthew 18: 20 tells us when two or three come together in His Name, He is in our midst.  And Psalm 22:3 says that He inhabits the praise of His people. When we praise the Lord, He is in our midst.

He prepares our heart through praise and worship to hear what He has to say through His Word. You see praise is like a plow plowing the ground. Just as a plow breaks up the hard soil and prepares it for the seeds, so praise plows up the hard soil in our hearts and prepares us to hear and receive God’s Word. Ephesians 5 says to “speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.”

The next time you have the opportunity to sing for the Lord remember that you’re using the wonderful gift of music that God has given to lift praise and worship to His Name, to enjoy His presence in the midst of that worship, to be a part of preparing hearts to hear God’s Word and to encourage those around you in their walk with the Lord. That’s quite an opportunity and not one to be taken lightly.

When you think of the importance that music plays in a worship service you begin to realize the responsibility that we as musicians have to keep our hearts and minds focused on the Lord Jesus. We are vessels for God’s service. Psalm 108:1 says, “My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul.” Oh to always have a steadfast heart and that the music that comes from deep within me would be pure worship and praise to my Savior!

There’s a beautiful prayer that has been put to music called Sanctuary recorded by several different artists. The chorus begins with “Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true.” It’s a prayer that should always be on our lips. Remember that from a steadfast heart will come music from your soul to the Savior. Take a moment and listen to Sanctuary and also to I’m Singing by Kari Jobe, another powerful song that lifts praise to the Lord Jesus. Ask the Lord to search your heart and prepare you for His service. Then the next time you have the opportunity to sing, use the wonderful gift of music to extol Him with music and song.

Other Posts in this Series

God Created Music
God Sings
God Inhabits Our Praise
Music is the Language of the Soul
He is Our Song
Sing His Word
The Reason We Sing

In Part 1, we talked about the fact that God created song. Colossians 1:16 says “All things were created by Him and for Him” so music was created by God for God. The Bible tells us that music is in Heaven. Revelation 5:12 says that thousands upon thousands of angels are singing around the Throne filling the Throne Room with praise and worship. But did you know that the Bible says that God sings? I found the most incredible verses the other day. In Zephaniah 3:17 it says “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing.” When I read those verses I almost shouted! Think about it. God rejoices over His own with singing! That fills my heart with such joy.

Picture a father with his child. He is strong and protects that child. He delights in that child. His constant love gives that child security to rest in his arms. And as he holds and cares for his child, he sings. That’s a beautiful picture of our heavenly Father. Imagine Him, mighty and powerful, delighting in you, loving you and singing over you. How beautiful! And this is the reality for those of us who have a relationship with God the Father through his Son Jesus Christ.

Now what kinds of songs does God sing? Psalm 32:7 says “You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”  This says He sings songs of deliverance. Just as He calls us to sing songs of praise to Him, He sings songs of deliverance and rejoices over us with singing. This makes my heart smile. Oh to know Him more, to delight in Him, to dwell in the shelter of the Most High and rest in the shadow of His wings!

There are several great songs that speak of this. One is Sing over Me by 2^nd Chapter of Acts. As with all 2^nd Chapter songs, this one has great harmonies. If you’re looking for a great trio this is it. Another one by the same title but a completely different song is Sing over Me by Bethany Dillon. This song has beautiful words and is so worshipful. It is written as a solo on the verses and a duet on the chorus. One of my favorite songs is  The More I Seek You by Kari Jobe. It’s a beautiful prayer, seeking to know the heart of God. It’s written as a solo but does have  nice background harmonies that could be added in for a duet or trio. I highly recommend these songs.  Take a few moments and listen to them. Be still and worship the Lord with all of your heart. Delight in Him and know that He delights in you and rejoices over you with singing.

Other Posts in this Series

God Created Music
God Sings
God Inhabits Our Praise
Music is the Language of the Soul
He is Our Song
Sing His Word
The Reason We Sing

Did you ever think about the fact that God created song? Colossians 1:16 tells us that “all things were created by Him and for Him.” That means that music was created by God for God. Job 38:7 tells us that as God created the earth, the angels were there and they were singing the praises of the Creator. Think about that! God created a wonderful tool for us to use to give praise back to Him, to declare His worth and to encourage one another.

The Bible is full of verses that speak of praising the Lord with music, telling us to sing to the Lord or sing of the Lord.  Psalm 40:3 says that “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God”… You see, not only did God give us the gift of music that He created for His glory, but He also puts “a new song” in our mouths – gives us new things to praise Him for. Think about the last time God surprised you – He answered a prayer you’ve been lifting up to Him or maybe He sent an answer before you even spent time praying – He surprised you. And what did you do? You began praising Him for something new, something you’ve never praised Him for before. He put a new song in your mouth, a brand new song to declare His worth.

The dictionary defines praise as expressing approval or admiration, to offer grateful homage as an act of worship. Worship is to adore, to revere, to honor above all. One of the ways that we express praise and worship to our God is through song. If you’re involved in the music ministry in your church you’ve been called to lead others in praising and worshiping the Lord Jesus, focusing hearts and minds on Him and preparing the way for the Scriptures to be taught. It’s a wonderful responsibility and privilege.

There are so many songs available that declare God’s worth and call us to worship Him.

One of my favorite new songs is Revelation Song by Gateway Church. The words are straight from Scripture – Revelation 4 & 5. This song was written as a solo but has beautiful harmony and can be done as a duet or trio. I suggest starting the song solo and then going to three parts at the chorus.

Chris Tomlin’s How Great is our God has beautiful 3 part harmonies and can be used in a worship service as special music or one that the congregation could join in on.

Michael W.Smith’s arrangement of You are Holy (Prince of Peace) is easy to learn and can be done as a round.

Take a moment and listen to these songs. Be still before the Lord and worship Him. Use the tool of music that He so wonderfully created to declare to Him His worth. “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs” (Psalm 100:2).

Other Posts in this Series

God Created Music
God Sings
God Inhabits Our Praise
Music is the Language of the Soul
He is Our Song
Sing His Word
The Reason We Sing