Why do Christians sing?
Followers of Jesus, and their Jewish ancestors before them, have always been known for their singing. Songs of worship, praise, lament, and devotion have characterized communities of worshipers of Yahweh for thousands of years.
This soulful singing is different from the singing of other cultures, communities, or religious groups. Why is that? What is so distinctive about Christian singing?
My own experience of singing songs to God or about God has been powerful. I have many memories of singing with all my voice and all my soul, both privately (in the car, in the shower, in my bedroom, etc.) and publicly, during which I can remember being transported into echelons of wonder, beauty, and ecstasy which were unrivaled by other experiences. I have been changed by my own experience of singing.
But why is this practice not universal? Why is it something which is unique about Christian communities?
Certainly singing itself is universal. People from many different cultures and religions have used music to sing poetry, incantations, lamentations, love songs, or other soulful messages. However, I believe there is something particularly distinctive about Christian singing. What is it?
The Christian God, Yahweh, revealed most powerfully in human form by the man Jesus Christ, is the self-declared God of all gods–the “Most High” God. He is both terrifying and awesome (in the most real sense of the word) on one hand and tenderly merciful and gently understanding on the other hand. The work He has accomplished for His people and for all who want to become His people to provide security, blessing, joy, and peace, is stunning and of the grandest scope imaginable.
The God of Christians is both infinitely glorious and powerful and incredibly good and near.
There is no God like our God! There are no works like His works! There is no Friend, Father, or Lover like Him.
This is why Christian singing is distinctive. It is because we have the greatest things to sing about that our singing stands apart from the singing of others.
Here are some other reasons why Christians sing:
God loves it when we sing! He loves to hear the songs of praise which His children offer up to Him. It is truly “fitting” to sing songs of praise to the most high God.
Singing changes us in good ways.
Singing deepens faith by making the things we sing about seem nearer, truer, and more real.
Singing unites our thoughts and emotions, connecting the mind and the heart.
Singing enables healing of wounded hearts, washing away the pain, giving healthy expression to emotions of anger and sadness, and soothing sick souls with spiritual ointment.
Singing replaces confusion with clarity, enhancing simple and powerful truths with the vessel of music.
It is a testimony to others.
It is a compelling testimony to unbelievers in Jesus about the reality of His message, the good news He preached for all people, when Christians sing in the midst of suffering, clinging to the comfort of Jesus despite trials.
It is a strengthening testimony to believers in Jesus when souls beset by doubts hear their brothers and sisters singing the truth with confidence.
There are some reasons why Christians don’t sing:
We don’t sing because we are afraid of appearing foolish. Singing is a vulnerable and childlike act, and sometimes we struggle to overcome the desire to appear sophisticated or invisible.
We don’t sing because we don’t feel joyful. It is hard to sing something without feeling sincere.
Do not let these barriers deter you from singing! Push and fight through these barriers, and sing out with your full voice, both privately and publicly. You will see how it will change you and bless others.
Questions to consider and discuss:
What other reasons do Christians struggle to sing, in your experience?
What experiences have you had of the power of singing?
How can you incorporate singing more fully into your life, in private and in public?
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Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. (Psalm 33:1-3)
Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! (Psalm 96:1-3)
Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the habitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the coastlands. (Isaiah 42:10-12)
Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly! Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre! For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds. (Psalm 149:1-5)
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD. (Psalm 104:33–34)
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. (Colossians 3
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…. (Ephesians 5:18-20)