“O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.” - Psalm 51:15
What has happened to singing in American churches? We've gotten spiritually lazy and want others to do our singing for us. I admit that I like to listen to good Christian music. When I hear a good Southern Gospel artist sing a great song, it blesses me. I have stacks of CD's available to listen to. I still have cassettes and LPs. I have MP3 music files that I have purchased online. If you open my Itunes program, my playlists will make it obvious what I listen to.
While our listening habits are obvious, what about our singing habits? I miss the old days when you could go to a Christian bookstore and look through sheet music and songbooks. I guess those days are forever gone, replaced by music accompaniment recordings. Even with “music tracks” and prerecorded accompaniment, singing has really decreased in the Christian community. We traded congregational singing for performances. While it is good for gifted singers and musicians to utilize their talents in the local church, we shouldn't rob others of the privilege of praising God through congregational singing.
God deserves our praise. Others cannot praise God on our behalf. There is no such thing as proxy praise. Furthermore, praise is not restricted to the church sanctuary each Sunday morning. Each of us should have a desire to praise God throughout the week. We don't need a pianist to accompany our singing. Neither do we need a full orchestra as we praise the Lord. Praise is a personal matter.
Yet I am concerned that praise is missing among the saints these days. Listening to others sing can be very moving. Yet God should hear praise from our own lips.
King David knew about the importance of music. Before he became king, he was a musician and singer. He was actually hired to play music that soothed Saul during his deeply troubling times. David was a songwriter. Many of his songs are preserved in the book of Psalms. In spite of his musical heritage, David came to a point where he had lost his song. Sin had cost David his song.
There are some, like David, who've sinned greatly and found that they no longer had a song. Like Israel, they could say, “How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?” However for most people, a hectic schedule and unrealistic expectations keep us busy and slowly robs us of our song.
We need to get that song back. Often I've quoted Lester Roloff, who said, “It is better to have a song and not be able to sing it than to be able to sing and not have a song.” What would an early spring morning without the song of birds? Yet if you attend most churches, the congregational singing is anemic, at best.
What about your singing? Do you have a song in your heart today? Perhaps you once sang to the top of your lungs as you drove to work. Now, the radio provides your music. Maybe you once sang heartily in church. Now the song is just words on a page. You need to get your song back.
David realized that if he got right with God, he'd get his song back. In the 51st Psalm he wrote, “O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.” God is the One who gave us the song and He is the One that can restore it. Somehow, we tend to get in a rut and refuse to leave it. We get accustomed to a life without a song. Yet there is nothing like a heart that is hot for God, demonstrating love and devotion through song.
David asked for his joy to be restored. Along with the joy, he sought to have his song restored. The two go hand in hand. If you are missing your song, you're probably not basking in the joy of the Lord.
The good news is that both joy and singing can be restored. The big question is this: are you willing to live any longer without both of them?
Don't let pride keep you in the rut any longer. God is just a prayer away. He can cause your soul to soar and sing once again.
Why wait any longer?
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