Why do we sing?
Throughout history, people have sung songs of all kinds. Songs have been sung because someone was happy. There have been songs of sadness. Songs of joy. Songs of love. Songs of hate. Songs of lament. Songs of victory. Songs of loss. And songs of pain. People have sung songs because they had a story to tell or because they had a story to remember. Down through the ages, songs have helped people communicate and relate the stories and emotions of life.
Songs, and music in general, are powerful tools that, for some reason, connect to us as humans on a primal level. I think they some how help us, and allow us, to express feelings and emotions that we otherwise may not be able to express. Songs make it alright to feel a certain way, or say certain things that other forms of communication could not suffice or sometimes even allow. This is why, I think, there are so many different forms of songs. The emotions needing to be expressed, must be expressed in the appropriate song type. Hence, many forms of music through songs.
One of the sections of the Bible is a whole collection of songs known as the Psalms. These Psalms were written by many people, over the course of many years. This collection of songs was used as a songbook of sorts for people gathering to worship the Lord. The men who wrote these songs were trying to express certain feelings and emotions that they had, or were, experiencing. Some are fears. Some are joys. Some are sorrows. Some are laments. Some are encouragements.
All throughout the book of Psalms, there is this phrase that is scattered around: "Sing a new song to the Lord." Through all these emotions and experiences, the writers of Psalms keep coming back to this statement, “Sing a new song to the Lord.” It implies that in the midst of whatever circumstance you find yourself, the appropriate response is to “Sing a new song to the Lord.”
In other words, whether you have a sad song, or a happy song, or a joyous song, or a painful song, or a love song….Sing your new song to the Lord. The idea is to focus not on the emotion but on who the song is addressed too. The Lord should be the only thing worthy of our song. But we do have pains, and joys, and victories, and sorrows, and loves, and struggles. So whether you find yourself in the midst of victory or a loss, sing a new song to the Lord…. And sing loud! Because the Lord loves when people make much of who He is, even in the midst of our sorrows and pains.
So, Why do we sing?
