Let me give you an illustration. It’s from the movie “The Music Man”. Have you seen that movie? “Ya got trouble, my friend, I say, trouble right here in River City.” In that movie, the con man Harold Hill has been selling band instruments, promising the townspeople that he will teach their children to play in a band, to keep them out of the pool hall. But he has no musical training whatsoever, and his “Think system” of instruction is completely bogus. His plan is to skip town before they find that out. But instead, he falls in love with the local librarian, and misses his train. As a result, he is forced to make good on his promise.
And so, standing before his so-called band of children he has supposedly been teaching to play their instruments, he begins to wave his baton in an attempt to conduct. The sound that the band produces is full of wrong notes, and barely resembles the song they are trying to play. Professor Hill winces. But here’s the amazing part. As the camera pans to the audience, we see that the parents aren’t disappointed or outraged. They aren’t angry or frowning. They are absolutely delighted. They don’t care that the music is off key. They are full of joy as they listen to their children play their instruments. Because they are listening with love. And that’s how God listens to us, and hears us, when we sing. He’s listening with love. And what he hears is our heart. So let’s all make a joyful noise, knowing that it gives God pleasure, and makes him glad.