O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. Psalm 98:1  

With gratitude in your hearts sing songs to God. Colossians 3:16  In another translation: “singing psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. “  

Waking up in the morning we can hear the birds singing. Actually if you are awake really early, they are already singing before dawn as they get ready for their day. If you watch them they look very happy, singing as loudly as they can so other birds can hear them. We get the benefit of hearing their songs too. Many of us aren’t quite that alert in the morning, and probably don’t start out with singing, at least before we have our coffee and some breakfast. Some may feel they shouldn’t ever sing because they just aren’t “good enough.” All the birds sing, haven’t noticed any of them that think their song isn’t as good as the other birds.  

Our verses today tell us to sing – all of us. Sing a new song, one about all the wonderful things that God has done for all of us. We are to sing out of thankfulness to God. When we worship God, in church services or elsewhere, there is usually song and singing. It says in the Gospel to pray in secret in some settings; it doesn’t ever say to sing in secret. A definition of worship from Dustin Rouse is “a response to who God is and what God has done.” The same author states that if we dwell on the “Word about Christ” we should feel and uncontainable joy and this will be reflected in our worship. In Colossians Paul talks about a daily worship, a daily recognition that although we have sinned and deserve the wrath of God, we instead get God’s grace.   

In response, we sing. We sing about what we are most excited about. There is a lot to be excited about! When we sing in worship we do it to praise God, in gratitude to God and also to share with other people the message of “I believe this” or “isn’t this great news for us?” We can take part in the singing whether we are good at it or not. Worship is meant to be participatory, even if you can’t carry a tune, you can certainly softly say the words as they are sung. To conclude the author of some of the thoughts above says; “ We who were dead have been made alive. When we meditate on this gospel, . . . we express it by exploding in our response to God and encouraging each other through song.“  

Thank you God for waking me in the morning with a song on my lips. Have mercy on us when our songs become more complaint than praise. Choirmaster of angels, bless our voices to sing your praises evermore You are the God of all creation and Lord of all nations. Without you, we would be nothing. Thank you for giving us life and letting s see each new day. In your glorious name we pray, and sing, Amen!  

Chris Gabel 

Ministries
Teaching Mission Party