Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm!
Psalm 47:6-7
The simplest reason for why Christians sing in worship is this: God is the king over all this world. He is worthy of our joyful praise. Music sets that praise forth in a way no other expression can. As we sing about the love, care, and rule of our wonderful God, our hearts engage with His love. Our minds understand more of Who God is and what God is doing. Our lips tell of His greatness. Our bodies engage in the music motion of worship.
Worship in song engages us more fully. The truth of Who God is enlightens our minds. The experience of His grace touches our hearts. The choice to believe Him is an act of our will in worship. Singing praises aligns our hearts and bodies to the call to praise. Being together with God’s people as we do so engages our culture and creates Christian community. Worship in song is a part of what it means to love and worship God well.
Even as a worldwide health pandemic changes temporarily how we do this, we must still praise the Lord “with a psalm”! I can do so while joining an online worship service even though I cannot hear a congregation around me doing it. I can still engage. I can do so in an outdoor service and have been blessed to experience this kind of worship all summer. I can still engage. I can sing and make melody “in my heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19) by reflectively joining in without singing physically in order to worship indoors in a meditative manner. And I can stand a couple yards away and sing with a protective mask if that is the best way to both love my brothers and praise my God! I can still engage. Nothing about any of these expressions of worship prevents me from recognizing that God is king over all the earth. Nothing about any of these expressions keeps my heart from worshiping my great God!
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