"Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob." —Psalm 81:1-4
"Sing!" It might come as a surprise to some that God has commanded that there be music in His congregation and on the part of all His people. If you think about it, though, God invented music in the beginning and has incorporated in every human being a most remarkable musical instrument, the human voice. As with all things, of course, what God created good, and for His glory, can and is, since Adam's rebellion, too often corrupted in its use. That does not diminish the force of the commanding word that begins this psalm and our text for today—sing! What sin has corrupted can be redeemed and used again for God's glory.
"Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" permeate scripture. The first reference to song is in Exodus 15, following Israel's triumphant deliverance from their bondage in Egypt, an event alluded to in v.5 of this Psalm. The Psalms themselves, of course, were written to be sung, and constitute the great hymnbook of the bible. In the last book of the bible there are several references to songs in heaven itself. Music, evidently, will be a part of the environment of eternity. Surely it behooves us to begin rehearsing now!
"Sing aloud." The idea seems to be to sing with a loud voice, publicly. Hymns and gospel songs imbued with sound doctrine provide a good way to proclaim our faith to a world that may not listen to our sermons.
"Sing aloud unto God our strength." Here is the key that differentiates between music authorized of God and that which is merely entertainment. The music of the saints is to have God as its object and worship as its purpose. The same song, yes even songs sung in the church, can be sung either way. And the real difference may be discerned by God alone. The scriptural truth applies here; "Man looks (or listens) on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
"Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob." The song of the saints should spring from hearts filled with the joy of the Lord. There was a time when Israel could not sing. It is recorded in Psalm 137, as follows in part: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?" (Ps. 137:1-4). They were out of the will of God, and so "in a strange land." But if one is in the will of God, it behooves him to sing aloud with joy the praises of our God and of His Christ.
The next verse gives legitimacy to the use of musical instruments in worship in the congregation of the saints, referring to the timbrel, the harp and the psaltery. Those who have such talent are authorized to employ it for God's glory, and it is well that they should, so long as His glory is their true objective.
Finally, the reason for it all is given in v.6; "I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots." The reference is to Israel's liberation from their enslavement in Egypt, which gave rise to the Song of Moses in Exodus 15, and is a type or figure of the deliverance of the sinner from spiritual bondage by putting his trust in the redemption which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. If we have any real idea of where we were and where we were headed before we came to Christ, and any conception of the dimensions of His salvation, then should we be singing souls, rejoicing in the Lord even when the circumstances of life may be a challenge to us. Redeemed, we have every reason to sing unto the Lord!
In one of our churches we had a young man who was intellectually challenged and a monotone. But, he was a believer, and he always sang with enthusiasm, his one note resonating above the whole congregation. May those of us who have more talent "go and do likewise!"
For joy; His and ours,
"Pastor" Frasier
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