Reasons to Sing

¹ Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
    it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
² Praise the Lord with the harp;
    make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
³ Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully, and shout for joy.

⁴ For the word of the Lord is right and true;
    he is faithful in all he does.
⁵ The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of his unfailing love.

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea into jars^[a];
    he puts the deep into storehouses.
⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
    let all the people of the world revere him.
⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰ The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
    he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
¹¹ But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
    the purposes of his heart through all generations.

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people he chose for his inheritance.
¹³ From heaven the Lord looks down
    and sees all mankind;
¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches
    all who live on earth—
¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all,
    who considers everything they do.

¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army;
    no warrior escapes by his great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
    despite all its great strength it cannot save.
¹⁸ But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
    on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
¹⁹ to deliver them from death
    and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
²² May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
    even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 33 (NIV)

Singing is something which I have always greatly enjoyed. I am not a highly talented singer. I never truly learned to read music. I am able to know when notes go up or down and can follow that guideline with my voice most of the time. My ability to sing melody is much stronger than my ability to sing harmony. If I have a strong and gifted singer beside me, I can follow fairly well. While my skills may be limited as a vocalist, my love and passion for singing is limitless.

Throughout the Bible many different songs can be found. In the book of Exodus, the songs of Moses and Miriam are recorded in chapter 15. The victory song of Deborah and Baruk is located in Judges 5. A song of praise for the Lamb can be found in Revelation 5. One book of the Bible which is a love song is the Song of Solomon. The greatest collection of songs is the book of the Bible entitled Psalms. This book is likely the first hymnal compiled for the worshippers of God. Today we turn to the 33rd psalm.

In our psalm for the day, the song encourages us to sing joyfully and praise the Lord, even using instruments. The song continues by listing all the reasons to sing praises to the Lord. The Lord is trustworthy and faithful. All of creation came into being through the work of the Lord. The plans of the Lord endure while human plans fall apart. By looking to the Lord, we find salvation, deliverance and hope.

The psalmist gives us an outstanding list of reasons to sing praises. I am sure we can add to that list. My list would include the Lord’s unconditional love. The grace and forgiveness which I endlessly receive from Godi s another reason for singing praises. All which has been provided and daily is added to from the Lord’s hand gives reason. My list really seems to grow each minute of consideration as to why to sing. What would you have on your list? Consider your list and then sing and play praises to our Lord without ceasing!