Sermon Notes
Holy Songs, Happy Saints
Isaiah 5:1-7
(Second in the series Glorifying God)
Introduction: Why would someone as busy and serious-minded as Isaiah take time to sing a song? Time is never wasted when a child of God praises his creator.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Though the winning of souls be a great thing, though the edifying of believers be an important matter, though the reclamation of backsliders calls for earnest attention, yet never, never, never may we cease from praising and magnifying the name of the well-beloved. This is to be our occupation in heaven: let us begin the music here, and make a heaven of the Church, even here below.”
Proposition: When God plants a vineyard, He fully expects a harvest. Let us give Him the fruit of our lips.
1. Why we sing
There have been days without song
There were times when we could not praise God. We did not know Him; we did not accept Him; we did not love Him.
There have been times that we have sung songs of praise but they have been hollow and worthless.
We stood up with his people, we uttered the same sounds as they did, but our hearts were far from God. May God forgive us for those times of mock worship.
There is such a thing as thanks-feeling
Feeling thankful ought to be the general, universal spirit of the Christian.
Most of us are not rich. Be thankful that we have what you need to eat, drink, and be clothed.
Is there ever a day in the year, or ever a moment in the day, in which the Christian ought not to be grateful? Never a day; never a moment.
We are always receiving blessings untold; always beloved; always redeemed by the precious blood, always preserved by the power of God through the Holy Spirit; always secure of our salvation purchased by the blood of Christ; always be grateful, and, if not always singing with our lips, let us always be singing with our hearts!
There is such a ting as thanks-living
There is something God appreciates more than thanksgiving—thanks-living. How can this to be done? By a cheerful attitude, by obedience to the One who has shown us mercy, by constantly delighting ourselves in the Lord, and by submission of our desires to Him.
Our whole life should be a psalm of praise! Let’s show our thankfulness by thanks-living.
There is such a thing as thanks-speaking
Brothers and Sisters, we don’t sing enough. We spend so much time encouraging people to pray, but we need to be just as earnest about the matter of praise.
Do we sing as much as the birds do? Yet what have birds to sing about, compared with us?
Do we sing as much as the angels do? Yet the blood of Christ never redeemed them. Charles Spurgeon: “Birds of the air, shall you excel me? Angels of heaven, shall you exceed me? You have done so, but I do intend to emulate you henceforth, and day by day, and night by night, pour forth my soul in sacred song.”
2. When we sing
We sing when we are saved
The day we come to Jesus is similar to the day a person marries another. The church is called the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27, 31-32; Revelation 21:1-4).
We sing when we come to the Lord’s Table
We come to the Communion supper every Lord’s day. Never let it grow stale or flat!
Every time we come here, we love Him more than we did before.
When we commemorate our Lord’s sufferings in the breaking of bread, we should know what it means to say, "Now I will sing to my well-beloved a song." Remember that after that first supper they sang a hymn and went to the Mount of Olives. We need the same expression of joy rising from our souls.
We sing when God delivers us
Were you raised from a bed of sickness? Have you passed through a great difficulty? Through God’s help has your character been cleared from slander? Have you been helped in some enterprise, and prospered in the world? Have you seen a family member restored from sickness? Have you just experienced the light of Christ’s countenance in your own soul? Has a snare been broken? Has a temptation been removed? Are you in a joyous frame of mind? "Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise" (James 5:13).
We sing when we deal with trials
We are blessed when we can sing after sunset, when it seems like nothing but darkness envelops us.
Daniel did it from the pit of the lion’s den.
Paul & Silas did it from the dungeon in Philippi.
We can sing to God no matter what befalls us.
We sing when we face death
Illustration: I have shared this story with you before, but I must tell it again. Lavena (Beanie) Peters was dying of liver cancer. I was at the hospital with her family, essentially on a deathwatch. Beanie’s pain was excruciating, and the pain medicine kept her in a nearly unconscious state. Others left the room for a moment; only Harriet her daughter and Ralph her husband were present with me. Suddenly Beanie opened her eyes. Looking at the ceiling, she said, “Sing.” I leaned over her bed and asked, “What did you say, Beanie?” “Sing.” “Do you want us to sing?” She nodded. “Do you want us to sing a hymn?” She nodded. So I started, and Ralph and Harriet joined in:
I heard an old, old story about a Savior who came from glory
How he gave his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me
I heard about his groaning, of his precious blood’s atoning
Then I repented of my sins and won the victory.
On the chorus, Beanie joined us:
Oh victory in Jesus, my Savior forever!
He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood
He loved me ere I knew him and all my love is due him
He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood
We started singing the last verse, and Beanie’s voice rang out:
I heard about a mansion he has built for me in glory
And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea
About the angels singing, and the old redemption story
And some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory.
Sing the chorus with me.
Hours later, Beanie died. In the years since, both Punk and Harriet have gone home. I am the only person alive to share this story. Beanie taught me a life-changing lesson that day: Sing! Even in the face of death.
Seven years ago, as my mother died, we sang. We prayed. We laughed. We cried. We worshipped. Mom had such tremendous faith. To this day it is difficult for me to sing a couple verses of Chris Rice’s Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus)
Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!
Now your burden’s lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!
And like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!
Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!
O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can’t contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!
(Here’s the verse that remindes me of Mom)
And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory’s side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!
We sing as long as we have life and breath
3. How we sing
With enthusiasm
Brothers and sisters, the Lord’s music has one thing about it—that it is always new. How very frequently we find in the New Testament that saints and angels sing "a new song."
Solid joys and last pleasures make up the new song of the Christian. New mercies make the song always alive.
There is freshness in it that will never make us weary.
Some of us have heard the gospel now for fifty years: has it gotten flat? You knew the name of Jesus Christ as the most precious of all sounds fifty or sixty years ago: has it become stale now? Those of us who have known and loved him all our lives can only say, “The longer I serve Him the sweeter He grows!”
In harmony
Do yourself a favor. On the first genuinely warm spring morning, step out your door and listen. Birds will be singing; their sounds will be distinctly different; yet almost miraculously, you will hear nature’s symphony in perfect harmony.
It must be no different when we praise God!
In spite of our inadequacies
Can’t carry a tune in a bushel basket? Make joyful noise!
Praise is not dependent on our human skills, but the level of joy & thanks in our hearts!
To benefit ourselves
Singing will often make the heart rise. The song, though at first might be a drag, can become wings to lift the spirit.
Sing more, brothers and sisters, and you will sing more still, for the more we sing the more we will be able to praises God. It will glorify God; it will comfort you; it will attract those who are linger just outside our reach.
The negative attitude some Christians display tends to repel seekers, but the holy joy of others tends to attract them. More flies will always be caught with honey than with vinegar, and more souls will be brought to Christ by your cheerfulness than by our grumpiness.
God grant us to sing the praises of God with heart and life until we sing them in heaven,
Conclusion: A good love song will give you goose bumps, especially if sung by a person who loves you. Are we bearing fruit for Jesus?
Are we bringing praise to God?
Do we daily exhibit the fruit of the Spirit?
Are we growing and producing righteousness and peace?
Are we sharing the Good News with others?
God expects and enables us to praise Him in all circumstances.
I sing because I’m happy;
I sing because I’m free!
For His eye is on the sparrow;
And I know He watches me.
Sing it; live it!
