SING YOUR HEART OUT (PSALMS 96)
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Last week on a normal drizzling morning in Hong Kong a little friend outside my window woke me up from sleep. I consider it a blessing and a bonus to my flat summer sermon, which reminds me of a story.
A saintly woman who had suffered for many months due to a serious illness said to her pastor, ¡§I have such a lovely robin that sings outside my window. In the early morning as I lie there he serenades me.¡¨ Then she added with a smile, ¡§I like him, because he sings just the same when it rains. When the storm has silenced almost every other songbird, the robin sings on.¡¨
It¡¦s been said, ¡§Christianity is a singing faith.¡¨ Singing and music have always been part and parcel of the Christian faith. Psalms is part singing, part music, part poetry, and part recitation. Singing and song made their debut in Exodus 15:1, where Moses and the children of Israel first sang the same words ¡§I will sing unto the Lord¡¨ that are found in Psalms 96.
What has singing to do with worship? Who sings and who listens? What, when and why do we sing?
Praise the Creator
1 Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. 4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
A Swedish proverb says, ¡§Those who wish to sing always find a song.¡¨
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, asked a group of teenagers to perform three choral exercises ¡V humming, singing a hymn and chanting ¡V and monitored their heart rhythms during each. They showed that singing has a dramatic effect on heart rate variability, which is linked to a reduced risk of heart disease. ¡§Song is a form of regular, controlled breathing, since breathing out occurs on the song phrases and inhaling takes place between these,¡¨ says Dr Björn Vickhoff. The Gothenburg researchers proved that with singing we can train our lungs to breathe better. Singing has also been shown to boost our immune system, reduce stress levels and, according to a report published in the Journal of Music Therapy in 2004, help patients cope with chronic pain. Ella Fitzgerald said, ¡§The only thing better than singing ¡V is more singing¡¨. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/10168914/All-together-now-singing-is-good-for-your-body-and-soul.html
Singing releases endorphins, a hormone that is associated with feelings of pleasure, and oxytocin, another hormone which has been found to alleviate anxiety and stress. Oxytocin also enhances feelings of trust and bonding, which may explain why still more studies have found that singing lessens feelings of depression and loneliness.
http://ideas.time.com/2013/08/16/singing-changes-your-brain/
Psalms is not the most accurate translation of the Hebrew word for ¡§praise.¡¨ The English title is from the Greek translation, £r£\£f£g£j? psalmoi, meaning ¡§instrumental music¡¨ and, by extension, ¡§the words accompanying the music, but the Book of Psalms is simply ¡§Praises¡¨ (Hebrew: ?????????? or ?????? Tehillim meaning ¡§Praises¡¨). Over a third appears to be musical directions, addressed to the ¡§leader¡¨ or ¡§choirmaster,¡¨ including such statements as ¡§with stringed instruments ¡§ and ¡§according to lilies.¡¨ The theme of Psalms is not singing, melody, harmony, instruments, chant, but praising, worshipping, thanking and glorifying God.
Many psalms that exhort the congregation to sing to the Lord, such as ¡§Sing unto God¡¨ (Ps 68:4, 32), ¡§Sing unto him¡¨ (Ps 105:2), ¡§Sing unto him a new song¡¨ (Ps 33:3) ¡§I will sing unto the Lord¡¨ (Ps 104:33), ¡§I will sing a new song¡¨ (Ps 144:9) and ¡§Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song¡¨ (Ps 149:1). Why is this psalm so different and distinct? The phrase ¡§I will sing unto the Lord¡¨ is found as early as Psalm 13:6 and an excerpt from a song he penned before the temple was build (1 Chron 16:23), but this is the first psalm of which the same phrase is an imperative, in verse 1 and for the theme throughout. This is also the first psalm to begin with the verb ¡§sing.¡¨ An alert reader would question, ¡§How about Psalm 89 ¡V ¡§I will sing of the Lord¡¦s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.¡¨ The Hebrew text for Psalm 89 surprisingly begins with ¡§mercies of the Lord forever I will sing¡K¡¨
The imperative ¡§sing¡¨ is repeated three times, twice in verse 1 and once in verse 2. The imperative tone makes it stirring and strong instead of somber and subdued. The imperative to sing makes it a time to praise and persist, not ponder or pause. It does not mean getting rid of hymns, old choruses and folk hymns. Sing a new song suggests spontaneity, stability, steadfastness. It implies creativity, continuity and collectivity, not casual, contrived or crooning.
The next three imperatives give us more clue into what is more important than singing, which is to worship¡V¡¨praise/bless,¡¨ proclaim (v 2) and ¡§declare¡¨ (v 3), all using the intensive (piel) stem to be pointed and forceful. It should be translated as ¡§surely praise,¡¨ ¡§persistently proclaim,¡¨ and ¡§doggedly declare¡¨ to be emphatic, energetic and enthusiastic. The first is offered to God ¡V praise the Savior, the second is to proclaim His salvation, and the last is to plead for sinners. Day to day means good times and bad times, not so good ±o®Éand not all bad times, time after time, moment by moment, today and tomorrow. .
The target is ¡§all the earth¡¨ (v 1), nations (v 3) and ¡§all peoples¡¨ (v 3). It is an invitation not just to Israel but for all racial, ethnic and cultural groups to join the praise. Two reasons are given in the text: (1) For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods
(v 4), and (2) For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens (v 5). The two reasons are contrasted, the Lord¡¦ power with the futility and pointlessness of idols. What is so ¡§great¡¨ about Him in the Psalms? His mercy is great (Ps 57:10, 86:13, 108:4), His glory is great (Ps 21:5, Ps 138:5), His merciful kindness (chesed) is great (Ps 117:2), His name is great (Ps 76:10) and His works are great (Ps 111:2). He alone doeth great wonder (Ps 86:10, 136:4). We are made in His image (Gen 1:26-270 but idols are made by our hands (Isa 2:8, 31:7). For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods (Ps 95:3), a great King over all the earth (Ps 47:2). The two ¡§great¡¨ words are different in Hebrew. The first is greatness, power or might but the second means very and much. The first is magnitude and majesty, the second is more and many.
Singing is good for memorization, good for mood and good for medium of instruction. Singing is more fundamental than song, music and instrumentation because those require artistry, arrangement and accompaniment. Singing to others is performance, but singing to God is praise. Singing before others requires work, but singing to God is worship.
Proclaim His Character
6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. 7 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. 9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. 10 Say among the nations, ¡§The Lord reigns.¡¨ The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity
Nana Mouskouri, one of the best-selling singers of all time best known for her crystalline vocals, returned to the stage in her native Greece on Monday as part of a tour to celebrate her 80th birthday. Ahead of a concert at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, where six years ago she bid goodbye to the music industry, the icon known for her signature black-rimmed glasses and marble-like profile, admitted leaving was a mistake.
¡§I want to be clear: six years ago, at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, it was goodbye. It was a period when I felt myself ageing, when the world I belonged to had disappeared, but that decision cost me dear.¡¨ Mouskouri said retiring after half a century had damaged her health. ¡§I was always with the doctor... my body was hurting, my back ached,¡¨ she said, adding that she had experienced feelings of hopelessness and depression after leaving the stage.
The singer decided last year to return with a tour to celebrate her 80th birthday. ¡§The voice ages in the same way as the face, or the hair. It loses its freshness. That has happened to mine but it is safe, I can still sing at the same highs as I did before,¡¨ she told the magazine To Vima.
http://news.ph.msn.com/entertainment/greek-diva-nana-mouskouri-returns-to-the-athens-stage-at-80-4
The verb ¡§ascribe¡¨ (v 7) is in the imperative and is repeated thrice, like the verb ¡§sing¡¨ at the top. The verb ¡§ascribe¡¨ is traditionally translated as go (Gen 11:3), come on (Ex 1:10) take (Deut 1:13), give (Gen 29:21), bring (Ruth 3:15) and set (2 Sam 11:15). It implies taking the initiative and making the first step, not sitting at home or listening to tapes. What is glory and strength (v 7)? Glory in the Old Testament means heaviness, massiveness but not might or weight.
Strength, on the other hand, means power (Lev 26:19, Ezra 8:22, Ps 62:11, 63:2, 66:3, 78:26, 90:11, 150:1, Ezek 30:6, Hab 3:4) and might (2 Sam 6:14, 1 Chron 13:8) and refuge (Ps 46:1). The first is internal and the second is external. Mass versus might contrast.
The next five imperatives are progression from before (bring), during (come) in verse 8 and after - worship, tremble in verse 9 and say in verse 10. The verb ¡§bring¡¨ is to embark on the journey and the verb ¡§come¡¨ is to enter into the courts and the last is to express it in life. The first is the act, the second is the attitude, and the last acknowledgment.
The beneficiaries are direct and indirect. The direct ones are all the earth (v 1) and families of nations (v 7). The indirect beneficiaries nations/heathen and people (v 3). Glory is repeated three times (vv 3, 7, 8).
Publicize His Coming
11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. 12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. 13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.
The Reason We Sing (video).
The words ¡§rejoice,¡¨ ¡§glad,¡¨ ¡§resound¡¨ (v 11), ¡§jubilant,¡¨ ¡§sing for joy¡¨ (v 12) and ¡§rejoice¡¨ (v 12) are degrees of comparisons. All these are jussives with the translation ¡§let us.¡¨ A jussive is less than an imperative; it is a request and not a requirement. It is a permission, persuasion and pressing.
The first ¡§rejoice¡¨ (v 11) is the most regular ¡§rejoice¡¨ in the Psalms. The second verb ¡§glad¡¨ is a later development in Chronicles (1 Chron 16:31). The last of verse 12 ¡§resound¡¨ is for the fury of nature. It is used four times in Psalms, twice for the roar of the sea (Ps 96:11, Ps 98:7), once for the thunder in the heavens (Ps 18:13) and of the waters (Ps 29:3). The progression is from softer to louder volume, from rejoice to glad (spin round) to resound.
Verse 12 refers to the celebration of the lesser but peaceful part of nature ¡V the fields and the trees for the forest. The nature makes noise, but the fields and trees put soul and spirit in song (v 12).
The verb ¡§judge¡¨ is the reason (v 13) for His coming, the only reason for His ¡§coming¡¨ in Psalms (Ps 98:9) and it repeats thrice. The first mission of Christ is to save, the final is to judge. God is the Judge of all the earth (Gen 18:25), the Lord of all the earth (Josh 3:11, 13), the King of all the earth (Ps 47:2) and King over all the earth (Ps 47:2). The first section emphasizes creation, the second conversion, and the last coronation (v 10), which qualifies Him for a judge. The past, present and the future.
Take away the notion of judgment, and you rob Christianity of any hope of satisfying our longing for justice, a longing built into us by our just and wise God. Without judgment, the gospel fails to deal with the problem of evil and the detrimental way that we humans treat each other¡Xand, by extension, God. Once we take away judgment, we lose the gravity of our sin. Once we lose sight of our sinfulness, we short-circuit our experience of the powerful gratitude that comes from receiving grace. (Trevin Max)
