{"id":14716,"date":"2007-11-02T21:57:13","date_gmt":"2007-11-03T02:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=14716"},"modified":"2019-11-02T22:01:08","modified_gmt":"2019-11-03T03:01:08","slug":"why-sing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-sing\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Sing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\tby Wayne S. Walker\n

“I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations<\/em>” (Psalm 57:9). The Hebrew name for the book of Psalms is “Tehellim<\/em>” meaning “praises.” Our English word “psalm,” which translates the Hebrew word “mizmor<\/em>,” comes from the Greek term “psalmos<\/em>” and refers to a poem that is intended to be sung. The book of Psalms has often been called the Hebrews’ hymnbook. At one time, among English speaking churches, the Psalms were used almost exclusively for singing in worship. Today, while we sing many “hymns of human composure,” several of our well-known songs are taken from the Psalms. There are several reasons that God has given for the inclusion of singing in worship.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

One reason is to praise Him. “I will praise You, O Lord.” Everything that we, as Christians, do should be done “to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved<\/em>” (Ephesians 1:6) Indeed, everything that God himself has done in carrying out His scheme for our redemption, has been done for this purpose, and God would have all people act and live for His praise. One way that we praise God is by singing in our worship. “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name<\/em>” (Hebrews 13:15).<\/p>\n

Another reason to sing in worship is to teach and admonish one another. Why would God want His children to sing “among the peoples?” It is so that “the peoples” will hear and be exhorted (note Hebrews 3:13). This is why we are told, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord<\/em>” (Colossians 3:16). When Paul wrote, “…I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding<\/em>” (I Corinthians 14:15), he was talking about the need to sing in a way that others can understand what is being sung and thus be blessed by it.<\/p>\n

One other reason for singing in worship is so that we ourselves may be edified. Why should “I sing…among the nations<\/em>“? So that in so doing I myself might be built up and drawn closer to the Lord. “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord<\/em>” (Ephesians 5:19). As I sing in the worship service, or in any other setting with fellow believers, not only do I speak to them but I also make melody in my own heart. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer<\/em>” (Psalm 19:14). Singing in which I praise God and teach others in song is also designed to strengthen me. Therefore, “I will praise You, O Lord.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Wayne S. Walker “I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations” (Psalm 57:9). The Hebrew name for the book of Psalms is “Tehellim” meaning “praises.” Our English word “psalm,” which translates the Hebrew word “mizmor,” comes from the Greek term “psalmos” and refers to a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[520,573],"class_list":["post-14716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-music","tag-singing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":86059,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/psalms-hymns-and-spiritual-songs\/","url_meta":{"origin":14716,"position":0},"title":"Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne S. Walker via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 15 No. 1, January 2015 We know from the New Testament and can infer from later writings of church leaders that Christians of the first century did sing in their worship, but we do not know precisely what songs they sang or exactly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45241,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/psalmois-cant-be-understood-figuratively-it-has-to-refer-to-its-classical-meaning\/","url_meta":{"origin":14716,"position":1},"title":"Psalmois can’t be understood figuratively. It has to refer to its classical meaning.","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My question is regarding the use of instrumental music to worship God in relation to Ephesians 5:19. \"speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord\". The view presented on your website is that the noun \"psalmois\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14641,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-drums-of-god-or-the-devil\/","url_meta":{"origin":14716,"position":2},"title":"Are drums of God or the devil?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I wanted to know if the drums are of God, or is it from the devil. Did God make drums for one of his instruments? Answer: God tells us that it is men who invented instrumental music, not Satan. \"His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4191,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-musical-instruments-be-used-to-worship-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":14716,"position":3},"title":"Can Musical Instruments be Used to Worship God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One of the distinguishing marks of our worship is the fact that we do not use instrumental music in our worship. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is certainly different among the denominations where almost all use instruments. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lately, I been hearing of numerous congregations deciding to add instrumental music to their worship. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The reasoning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33858,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/music-in-worship-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":14716,"position":4},"title":"Music in Worship (Hart)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dave Hart When people visit churches of Christ for the first time, they are often surprised to hear only singing. There are no instruments of music such as pianos, organs, drums, or guitars. Neither do they hear choirs, quartets, or solos. Every member of the congregation is encouraged to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/singingCongregation2-300x169.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15107,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/worshiping-in-song\/","url_meta":{"origin":14716,"position":5},"title":"Worshiping in Song","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Colossians 3:16-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In many congregations, singing is not consider a very important aspect of worship. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Think about it; when the Lord\u2019s Supper is being served or a prayer is being given, few people would think about leaving the assembly to visit the restrooms, but it commonly happens during\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14716\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}