Let us Sing to the Lord: The Importance of Congregational Singing
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· 547 viewsWe give praise to God publicly because He is our Sovereign King, Shepherd, and Judge.
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Introduction:
This morning I would like to talk about the importance of singing in the Christian life, and more specifically the importance of congregational singing in the corporate gathering of the church.
Did you know that the Bible has its own hymnbook? The Psalms were not only the prayers of Israel, but the hymns of Israel.
Even some Presbeteryian churches today only exclusively sing the Psalms in their churches. The Psalms not only teaches how to pray, but be reminded that the psalms also teach us how to worship.
And over and over again there are commands to sing praise to the God of Israel. There are over 50 direct commands to sing to the Lord.
Honest Confession: I am not a singer. But I love to sing. One of the highlights for me every Sunday is to sing songs. In fact, I choose the songs we sing. I love singing even though I am not a great singer. I love the truth and the reminders of God’s gracious promises through songs.
Pastor Ed was a great singer. He knew how to keep a note. I on the other hand, do not how to keep a note. I can take sermon notes though. But I still love singing. I love the truths sung. Some of the songs that we have sung over the years have encouraged me and help me be more faithful to Christ.
I believe that praising God is an essential element in private and corporate worship. If you do not believe that singing is important, then your worship is either skewed or it is non-existent.
Praise God that He has gifted us with singers. We are one of the few churches that still has a choir. And not only a choir, but a children’s and youth choir at that! But we can excel more in our singing when we know why we sing.
True Christians will sing. True Christians will love to sing when God’s people gather corporately as we look at one particular psalm that calls God’s people to sing. One modern hymn writer has said:
“Congregational signing is one of the greatest and most beautiful tools we have been given to declare God’s excellencies”, strengthening His Church and sharing His glory with the World”
Even the Great Reformer Luther said,
“Let God speak directly to His people through the Scriptures, and let His people respond with grateful songs of praise.” Luther
Why the Reformation was successful was not only the recover of the Bible and doctrine, but it was the recovering of corporate and congregational singing. Again, Keith Getty, in his book wonderful book Sing! (which I highly recommend) said,
Many of Luther’s enemies feared his hymns more than the man himself. Singing was at the heart of the Reformation—indeed, such was the conviction of the man who was in some ways Luther’s predecessor, the Bohemian Jan Huss, that he was martyred for (among other things) speaking the ‘heresy of congregational singing’” Getty
“Christian singing begins with the heart, not the lips” Getty
Singing is one of the distinctives of the Christian faith. It is so near and dear to Christians that churches split over the songs we sing! We love our music! Music touches are very emotions.
It has been said that the preacher can carry the message to the ear, but the Holy Spirit is who drives it to the heart.
I think that can be true of signing as well, the preacher can take the message to the ear, but the songs that we sing is taken with the worshipper throughout the week and I would even argue throughout his lifetime.
When you are on your deathbed, you are not going to remember the preacher’s points from his sermons. You are going to remember the songs you sang in church: Great is Thy Faithfulness, It Is Well with My Soul, What a Friend We Have in Jesus.
The Problem:
But what we have seen in churches is that singing has become more of a performance rather than something to participate in. Singing is more of a concert where a gifted band comes on rather than the corporate gathering where the saints sing and encourage one another in song.
The church has professionalized singing where performers perform on a stage with the lights dimmed and where people watch rather than sing. Churches feel more than a concern rather than a corporate worship service.
We evaluate the success of singing based on how the performers did on stage rather than the voices of the congregation singing.
And that’s why we need to look to to teach us the importance of congregational worship, and specifically congregational singing. teaches us the importance of singing, why we sing and how we should sing. In , we look at:
The Call to Worship (vv. 1-2)
The Reasons for Worship (vv. 3-7)
The Requirements for Worship (vv. 8-11)
Psalms, Volume 2: (Psalms 42–106): An Expositional Commentary Psalm 95: How to Worship God
John R. W. Stott, the former rector of All Souls Church in London, writes that “true worship is the highest and noblest activity of which man, by the grace of God, is capable.”
Singing is part of our worship. Singing is our response to God’s Word.
Scripture Reading:
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
This is the reading of God’s Holy Word. Notice the call to worship in the first two verses. The Psalmist calls us to sing God’s praise.
I. The Call to Worship (vv. 1-2)
I. The Call to Worship (vv. 1-2)
The psalmist’s calls the saints to worship God corporately. In other words, Christian singing is not just a private thing for people who love to sing, but it is for all Christians when they gather together corporately and publicly. So we not only gather Sunday morning to hear God’s Word, but we gather to sing God’s Word. We gather to sing God’s praises.
But many Christians think that the singing is the “warm-up” before the “main event of the sermon.”
Or singing is just the previews before the real movie starts right. We were discussing this in our small groups and sometimes we think singing is like the previews before the movie starts. As long as we show up for the movie, will be ok. The previews don’t really matter that much.
That is how some Christians treat singing in the church. And that’s true of some of you because some come late! You think singing is the like the previews that are not important.
But here the psalmist says that to worship God properly, is to sing with his people. Singing is essential to worship in the corporate gathering of God’s people.
A. Singing is a Corporate Activity
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
The word “let us” is repeated 6x in these eleven verses. 2x in verse 1. 2x in verse 2. 2 x in verse 6.
It does not say “you sing to the Lord”, but let us sing to the Lord. The psalmist invites the worshipper with other worshippers to sing to the Lord. He says, “Oh Come!” “Make Haste” Be eager! Do you come ready for worship?
The Book of Psalms Psalm 95: A History Lesson in the Midst of the Celebration
The traditional opening of “Come” in English is deceiving. The word is the imperative of “Walk,” meaning more like “Move it” or “Let’s get going.” It implies that it is the beginning of the journey that culminates in v. 2 as one anticipates “encountering the face of God.”
Come is exhortation and functions like a command. Let’s go! Let’s do this!
Psalms, Volumes 1–2: A Mentor Commentary 1. Come Sing for Joy (vv. 1–5)
To come before the LORD’ means to appear at the sanctuary, and there the people are to sing to him in praise and adoration.
Psalms, Volumes 1–2: A Mentor Commentary 2. Come Bow down in Worship (vv. 6–11)
In Hebrew there are three verbs: ‘bow down’, ‘bow the knees’, and ‘kneel’.
If you are going to heed the call to worship, you have to be here to worship! You have to be eager and ready for worship. Is that your attitude Sunday morning. This reminds us the importance of gathering and we are not to neglect corporate worship as reminds us.
Christian, you have to show up to worship if you are going to heed the call to worship. And you have belong to God’s people if meaningful worship is going to take place. God speaks and we respond to Him in praise and song.
The call to worship is not just some verses we read before the service starts, but it is an exhortation to be prepared to come to the Lord with a right attitude. Notice how we should sing.
Corporate singing is essential because of the many benefits it brings. Can I just give you six reasons why is is important to respond to God in singing when we gather corporately.
Singing Teaches
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
2. Singing Encourages
We are here for the audience of One that is true. But tells us we are to sing to encourage one another.
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
Ephesians 1
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
3. Singing Unifies
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. Singing Evangelizes
The songs we sing become a testimony to the unbelievers of the hope we have in Christ.
and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”
And again it is said,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
5. Singing Expresses Gratitude to God
giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Singing is not just for the people on stage, but for the people in the pew. It is not for the professionals, but for the church member. All Christians should sing, just like how all Christians should evangelize and disciple.
6. Singing Gives us Hope in Suffering
One of the failures of modern church music is the failure to teach us how to hope in God during suffering. Our songs are triumphalistic, all about winning and being strong in the Christian life. But rarely do modern churches sing about suffering and enduring and fighting until we all arrive to the gates of heaven.
Pouring vinegar on an alkali (e.g., baking soda) produces a reaction like boiling or turning tranquility into agitation. So is the effect of singing joyful songs without sympathy to the sorrowful.
We actually do a disservice to people going through trials when all are songs are happy, but never of sorrow or pain and suffering. We need songs like “It is well” We need songs that remind us of the sufferings of Jesus. We need songs that remind us that God has not abandoned us and will be with us in trials. We need songs like Whenever Trials Come and Whatever my God Ordains is Right, Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor, Christ is Mine Forevermore.
Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart
is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,
and like vinegar on soda.
If you are not singing, your worship is defective or your worship is non-existent. Notice we should sing joyfully.
Families—One of the best things for your children is to teach your children to sing in your home with a hymnal. Sing at church and model for your children the importance of singing.
B. Singing should be done joyfully (v. 1)
Joyful Noise! (repeated 2x in verses 1 and 2) Sing enthusiastically! Make a joyful noise, not a somber noise. Or be silent. Make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Singing is too loud!
However, there is a time and place where we sing loudly. Make a joyful noise.
Make a loud noise repeated
Rock pictures the idea of steadfast, or immovable, or firm and steady. Make a joyful noise to the One who does not change and is immovable and worthy to be trusted.
C. Singing should be done with gratitude (v. 2)
If we understand who God is and what He has done for us, we not only come joyfully, but thankfully.
Songs of Praise.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Is that your attitude when you sing with the saints Sunday morning? Expectandly?
Joyfully? Thankfully? Believers in china long to sing freely like we do here in America.
Or do you come indifferent? Apathetic? Tired? Silent? Late? If the latter, then you are not coming into God’s presence properly. You are not worshipping rightly.
The psalmist calls us to worship by singing joyfully, enthusiastically, and thankfully because our God is the covenant keeping God and the Rock of our salvation.
He is our rock and He is our deliverer. And the Psalmists is going to elaborate on why we sing. He gives us reasons to sing and praise God.
Transition: Notice the call to worship, but secondly, notice the reasons for worship. The reasons why we sing. Why do we sing?
II. The Reasons for Worship (vv. 3-7)
II. The Reasons for Worship (vv. 3-7)
I really dislike popular Christian songs because so much of the songs we sing are about us and not about God. It is about how much God loves or how much God would do anything for me or how much God would serve me. And though there is some truth to God’s love and care for us, the Bible focuses not on us, but on who God is. Just like at the verses that describe God.
We sing because of who God is. Who is God? Notice all the different phrases that mention God.
He is the LORD or Yahweh, the Covenant Keeping God (v. 1)
He is the Rock (v. 1)
He is Great God (v. 3)
He is the Great King (v. 3)
He is our Maker (v. 6)
He is our Shepherd and Sustainer (v. 7)
He is our Judge (vv. 8-11)
So we come to worship because of who God is and what He does not primarily on who we are or what we do. To summarize, we come to praise God because He is our Creator and Redeemer. He is our Maker and our Guide. He is our Shepherd and Sustainer. Verses 3-6 describe God as our Creator and Maker.
A. God is our Creator (vv. 3-6)
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
He is great God and He is a great King above all gods. Not that there is any other god besides our God, but the point is that God reigns supreme over all creation.
In Israel’s time, the gods or idols of the people were located geographically. They were tribal deities. Or gods of nature. God of rain. God of crops. Or God of fertility.
But Israel’s God was the God over all of creation. He wasn’t just the God of the mountains, or the God of the seas, or God of the skies, He was the God over air, land, and sea! We are reminded of the . God created the heavens and the earth!
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
We just came back from vacation and we decided to drive through Big Sur. You have to drive down the coast to see what I am talking about. As you drive through the winding roads, we couldn’t help but to stop and just marvel at God’s creation.
You see the cliffs and the crystal clear water with the rock formations. You see the beautiful flowers and trees and you just can’t help but to be amazed at the beauty we in creation which testifies to the beauty and creativity of our Maker.
Our kids are learning about the Solar System this year and I just saw a video of how small the earth is in comparison to the sun. And we are just solor system among millions of other stars. It is really mind-blowing to think about it.
He rules over all creation. He rules over every galaxy. But not only does he rule over all creation, he sustains and protects His people.
B. God is our Shepherd (.7)
B. God is our Shepherd (.7)
Although the word shepherd is not mentioned, it is implied. The language of the Lord being Shepherd is all throughout the OT and NT as well.
We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Shepherds were with sheep. Shepherds protected sheep. Shepherds fed the sheep. Shepherds went after straying sheep. Shepherds guided sheep. The Good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep in .
And everything that is mentioned of God in this psalm is also mentioned of Jesus in the NT.
Jesus is the Lord and the King of Kings
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus is the Great Shepherd of the Sheep
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
Hebrews 13:
Jesus is the Great Judge
For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
Jesus is our God, our King, our Shepherd, Leader, Guide, and Judge.
And therefore we are to ascribe honor and glory to the Son as well as to the Father.
Again, notice he issues another call to worship in verse 6.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
Psalms, Volumes 1–2: A Mentor Commentary 2. Come Bow down in Worship (vv. 6–11)
In Hebrew there are three verbs: ‘bow down’, ‘bow the knees’, and ‘kneel’.
The posture of a worshipper. The external posture should reflect an internal heart attitude. In other words, we must worship God with reverence and fear.
“Before the heart can be judged soft and pliable to the hearing of God’s Word, it is necessary that we receive it with reverence, and with a disposition to obey it.” Calvin
I am amazed how so indifferent we are to God sometimes. We come so flippantly. Or even distracted. Or without regard for the Lord’s holiness. We come into his presence bored.
R.C. Sproul has said, known for his well known book Holiness of God, wrote
If people find worship boring and irrelevant, it can only mean they have no sense of the presence of God in it. When we study the act of worship in Scripture and church history, we discover a variety of human responses to the sense of the presence of God. Some people tremble in terror, falling with their faces to the ground; others weep in mourning; some are exuberant in joy; still others are reduced to a pensive silence. Though the responses differ, one reaction we never find is boredom. It is impossible to be bored in the presence of God (if you know that He is there).
Neither is it possible for a sentient creature to find his or her encounter with God a matter of irrelevance. Nothing—and no one—is more relevant to human existence than the living God.
We must be reminded about the holiness of God. He is our great God and King. We approach him reverently. And verses 8-11 show us how to come to Him reverently because the psalmist issues us a warning. Because God will judge if we will not worship him with reverence or properly.
Non-Christian—To not worship God is to go against your design. It is to disobey God and thus be judged by Him.
Pastors—We must choose songs that reflect the character and the saving works of God. I am involved in every song we pick because I want to make sure our songs are giving our people a accurate picture of who God is.
Christian—Your worship is tied to your understanding of who God is. If you have a low view of God, you will have a low view of worship. You understand God rightly, then you will want to worship him rightly. Singing is a theological act. Singing is an expression of praise.
Singing should never be separated from the Word. The Word of God is what informs our singing because we want to sing about who God is rightly.
Christian—To come to worship indifferently, or not to sing, or worship, is to take the name of the Lord in vain and violate the third commandment. How many Christians violate the second and third commandment every Sunday when they sing songs that misrepresent God, and also misrepresent God themselves when they are bored with worship? Is that true of you? Are you guilty when God’s people gather to worship?
We must be reminded about the holiness of God. He is our great God and King. We approach him reverently. And verses 8-11 show us how to come to Him reverently because the psalmist issues us a warning. Because God will judge if we will not worship him with reverence or properly.
Transition: We look at what we are to do when we sing, why we sing, but how should we sing? What should our attitudes be when we come into God’s presence?
III. The Requirements for Worship (vv. 8-11)
III. The Requirements for Worship (vv. 8-11)
Here the Psalmist issues a warning. We do not come into God’s presence lightly or flippantly. We come with joyfully, thankfully, reverently. Worship is serious business. To worship wrongly is to invite God’s judgment. And he gives us a bible history lesson by reminding us of Israel’s unbelief.
“True worship is approaching God, lowering one’s self in his presence, and adoring him, as a subject would kneel before his king and kiss his extended hand. God alone is worthy of such worship” Steve Lawson
A. Urgency (v. 7)
A. Urgency (v. 7)
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
Today, if you hear his voice.
B. Obedience
Psalm 95:7-1
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
This is repeated 2x in and 1x in Hebrew s 4. warning the people not to come into God’s presence lightly.
Psalm
The people of Israel heard the voice of God and the voice of God speaking through the prophets. And they still did not listen. Hear is synonmous with obedience (). That is why it says today if you hear his voice.
Today conveys the timing and urgency of worship. If we will not worship God now, there will be a time where God’s patience will become God’s judgment.
B. Faith (vv. 8-9)
We come with a sense of urgency and with faith. Because God warns against unbelief and faithlessness.
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
You do not want to come into God’s presence hardened. Stiff-necked. Stubborn. Indifferent. Disobedient.
Meribah means “striving” while “Massah” means testing.
The people of Israel did not believe God and tested God. Even after God’s great act of deliverance from Egypt with the miraculous plagues, they still did not believe. The Israelites complained because they had no water or food, yet the Lord still provided for them. They complained and tested God.
And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
The NET Bible First Edition Notes Notes for 95:8
10 sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1–7; Num 20:1–13, see also Pss 81:7; 106:32). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.
11 sn The name Massah means “testing.” This was another name (along with Meribah) given to the place where Israel complained following the Red Sea Crossing (see Exod 17:1–7, as well as Deut 6:16; 9:22; 33:8).
12 tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”
10 sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (; , see also ; ). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.
11 sn The name Massah means “testing.” This was another name (along with Meribah) given to the place where Israel complained following the Red Sea Crossing (see , as well as ; ; ).
12 tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”
“As tempting God is nothing else than yeileding to a dieased and unwarrantable craving after proof of his power” Calvin
Just like belonging to Israel was not sufficient to enter the rest and the land, so it is not enough to “belong to the church”. You can belong to the church and still not enter the final rest because of unbelief.
Striving and Testing God
Where are you God! Show me proof first before I worship you.
“The lesson is one which is equally applicable to ourselves; for the more abundant testimonies we may have had of the power and lovingkindness of the Lord, the greater will our sin be, if we insist upon receiving additional proofs of them. Calvin
For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
The word loathed is a strong word. It is the idea of disgust. I was disgusted with that generation. Why?
They are people who go astray in their hearts and have not known my ways.
In other words, they were a wicked and disobedient people. You cannot worship God if your life says something contrary to what you are saying. God hates false worship.
In fact, thoughtless and false and hypocritical worship is a violation of the third commandment.
The Book of Psalms Psalm 95: A History Lesson in the Midst of the Celebration
Words without commitment are an abomination to God. This psalm tells that, even in the midst of a call to worship, there is a reminder that worship is more than words: it involves commitment in all aspects of one’s life.
The Book of Psalms Psalm 95: A History Lesson in the Midst of the Celebration
Psalm 95 reminds us that worship of this God is serious business. This God is mighty and powerful, and our reverence is due our Great Creator. It also reminds us that worship and the way we live are related. We can make God so angry that worship is an abomination (Amos 5:18–25). This is not a nice word to hear, but it is true.
We must come to sing reverently. And we do that with seriousness, faith which is manifested in obedience. If we do not come to God with seriousness and reverence, he will will judge.
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
That is why gathering with the church is so important. It means life or death.
C. Sacrifice/Judge (v. 11)
Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
We must remember God is a judge. And unbelief prevented the wicked and disobedient generation from coming into the promised land.
Rest meant to cease from activity. God gave a day of rest so that man could enjoy God’s glory in creation.
But rest also meant peace from God’s enemies. To enter into the land was to enter a land of prosperity and rest from war. It was to live peacefully and abundantly in the land God was giving Israel.
But they did not enter into that rest because of unbelief.
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
When we get to the NT, we are not talking about the day of rest, or the land of rest, but it is talking about an eschatological rest. A final rest for all believers. And the rest is found ultimately in Christ. A rest that is found in the new heavens and new earth.
Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,
“As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest,’ ”
although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this passage he said,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
The human condition is that we all have failed to worship God properly. All of us have been distracted, or worship him hypocritcially, or taken his name in vain. But praise God that He has sent Jesus to pay for the penalty for our sin. And he rose victorious from the grave and we can sing joyfully because our sins are forgiven for those who repent and trust in Christ alone.
The rest Hebrews is speaking of is the rest we have in Christ. The rest we have because Jesus has achieved our salvation by paying for our sins. The rest we have because he rose again from the dead to inaguarate a new creation. Let us strive and press on through faith, trust, and obedience.
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Do you see why singing is so important?
Singing is a corporate act.
Singing is a theological act
A failure to worship would bring God’s judgment.
But God’s judgment fell on Christ for the times we have failed to worship God properly. And because judgment fell on him, we do not have to experience his wrath, but sing of his grace.
He invites us to sing. But if we will not, we will not enter God’s rest if we continue to be unbelieving, indifferent, apathetic, and disobedient in our worship.
The warning is issued.
If the words of Keith and Kristyn Getty, we are created, commanded, and compelled to sing.
If we do not sing, we go against God’s design, disobey His Word, and fail to realize what Jesus has accomplished for us and we will not enter that rest if we continue in unbelief.
But those who know who God is, know what He has done, and know what He has secured through His Son through giving us an eternal rest, will love to sing God’s praise now and throughout all eternity.
Conclusion:
Singing is a corporate act.
Singing is a theological act.
Singing is a a serious act.
We are called to worship because of who God is and what He has done for us. And if we do not worship, God warns that we will be judged just like the Israelites if we continue with hardened hearts and disobedience as God promises we will not enter into His rest if we are unrepentnat.
Singing is essential to corporate worship. Singing is the natural response with a heart that is filled with gratitude for what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. C.S. Lewis said,
“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is is appointed consummation.” Lewis
Do you love to sing? Do you love to sing when you gather with God’s people? Let us sing to the Lord because of what He has done for us in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Let us pray.
Singing teaches
Singing encourages
Singing unifies
Singing shows gratitutde
Singing evangelizes
Singing gives hope “Before the heart can be judged soft and pliable to the hearing of God’s Word, it is necessary that we receive it with reverence, and with a disposition to obey it.” Calvin
Psalms, Volume 2: (Psalms 42–106): An Expositional Commentary Psalm 95: How to Worship God
John R. W. Stott, the former rector of All Souls Church in London, writes that “true worship is the highest and noblest activity of which man, by the grace of God, is capable.”
The NET Bible First Edition Notes Notes for 95:8
10 sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1–7; Num 20:1–13, see also Pss 81:7; 106:32). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.
11 sn The name Massah means “testing.” This was another name (along with Meribah) given to the place where Israel complained following the Red Sea Crossing (see Exod 17:1–7, as well as Deut 6:16; 9:22; 33:8).
12 tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”
The Book of Psalms Psalm 95: A History Lesson in the Midst of the Celebration
Words without commitment are an abomination to God. This psalm tells that, even in the midst of a call to worship, there is a reminder that worship is more than words: it involves commitment in all aspects of one’s life.
The Book of Psalms Psalm 95: A History Lesson in the Midst of the Celebration
The traditional opening of “Come” in English is deceiving. The word is the imperative of “Walk,” meaning more like “Move it” or “Let’s get going.” It implies that it is the beginning of the journey that culminates in v. 2 as one anticipates “encountering the face of God.”
The Book of Psalms Psalm 95: A History Lesson in the Midst of the Celebration
Psalm 95 reminds us that worship of this God is serious business. This God is mighty and powerful, and our reverence is due our Great Creator. It also reminds us that worship and the way we live are related. We can make God so angry that worship is an abomination (Amos 5:18–25). This is not a nice word to hear, but it is true.
Psalms, Volumes 1–2: A Mentor Commentary 1. Come Sing for Joy (vv. 1–5)
To come before the LORD’ means to appear at the sanctuary, and there the people are to sing to him in praise and adoration.
Psalms, Volumes 1–2: A Mentor Commentary 2. Come Bow down in Worship (vv. 6–11)
In Hebrew there are three verbs: ‘bow down’, ‘bow the knees’, and ‘kneel’.
Psalms, Volumes 1–2: A Mentor Commentary 2. Come Bow down in Worship (vv. 6–11)
The epistle to the Hebrews draws upon this psalm when dealing with the subject of the entry of believers into the eschatological rest (Heb. 3:7–4:13).
“Before the heart can be judged soft and pliable to the hearing of God’s Word, it is necessary that we receive it with reverence, and with a disposition to obey it.” Calvin
“As tempting God is nothing else than yeileding to a dieased and unwarrantable craving after proof of his power” Calvin
Where are you God! Show me proof first before I worship you.