Image: "Songster", 2009, Hermit Thrush, Severna Park, Md
Psalm 30:5 5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
Psalm 34:3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.
Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
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I was looking at some pictures on FaceBook this morning of friends holding their new grand-baby. You can imagine their expressions.... pure delight. Grandkids will do that to you. Whatever difficulties have attended your path simply vanish from your thinking. You are occupied with joy and often that joy erupts into expression, ... sometimes into song.
The cares and worries of this world can sometimes cause us to forget that we were created to sing. It is not only the cheerful birds perched outside our windows who have a purpose in their song. There is something intrinsic to human nature that makes "singing" a necessity... even if, in this life, we can't carry a tune in a tin bucket. There are very few of us who do not ever sing. People who will not open their mouths in the congregation will bellow like bulls when alone in the car listening to a favorite melody. As Psalm 30:12 explicitly teaches, the purpose of redeemed humanity, the "end" toward which it was created, was that it will be our "glory" to sing praise to God. Singing is an aspect of our present human existence. Singing will be a characteristic of our eternal lives.
And of what will we sing? Our songs, as is the case with Biblical examples, will be our response to things that God has done. They, like David's songs, will flow from our personal experience of God's love in the manifold ways He has poured it out on us.
For example, going back to the grandparents in their first joy of holding that new baby. How many tears did they shed during their time raising that child's parent? Was there a long night's vigil beside a sick bed, as fever raged and worry consumed their hearts? Perhaps there was a time of rebellion and there was serious concern about the youngster's choices and developing character. Truly every loving parent can bear witness to the "weeping" endures for the night, but also, in due time, most will testify that "joy comes in the morning."
And that is only one example of the ways that God's love gives us something about which to sing. 34:19 reminds us that "many are the afflictions of the righteous but the LORD delivers him out of them all." There are no "exceptions". Sometimes we are delivered from our afflictions by death itself... but unto what end is our death? If we are among those whose righteousness is grounded in the saving work of Jesus, the Christ of God, then verse 22 says that "none who trust in Him shall be condemned." Thus even in death we will see the certainty that the LORD delivers all His children from their afflictions.
But most of God's many showers of grace do not require our death. We find sustenance when we were desperate for food. A friend unexpectedly provides a word of comfort at just the right time and the dark clouds lift. We discover the power of God working through us to do good unto others. Many are the evidences of God's love in our lives. They are there even when the clouds of trouble render them only in dim outline. God is good to us... He is "near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a contrite spirit." (34:18)
The whole point is simply this: we have something to sing about! God ensures that this is the case because He created us to sing and especially to sing His praises in thanksgiving. Therefore He, in order to achieve His own ends in creating us, gives us reasons to sing.
God especially wants us to sing in company with our brothers and sisters. It is the "joyful assembly" which presages our eternal joy. The Revelation of John consistently pictures the Redeemed of the Lord singing and our heartfelt songs in this life are a downpayment on that ultimate fulfillment. Psalm 33:21 speaks of our corporate singing when it says "for our heart(s) shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name." This is why we are to be united to our brothers and sisters. It is to be our corporate joy to sing of our corporate salvation.
So therefore, let us "magnify the LORD... and exalt His name together!" (34:3) "Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful... sing to Him a new song..." (32:1ff) There is no excuse for not singing, no matter how difficult life may be at the moment. What we will discover is that the sheer ministry of singing to our God will reveal to us that perhaps it is not so difficult after all.
We were created to sing... let's be about the purpose God has ordained for us.
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