A Joyful Noise

Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvellous deeds among all peoples
Psalm 96:1-3

 

The Bible is full of song. Looking back beyond the dawn of history, we read that God ‘laid the earth’s foundation… while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy’ (Job 38:4, 7). This exuberant music echoes throughout the Old Testament, praising God for his greatness, his power, his holiness, his glory and his abundant blessings.
 
Leading the Hebrews out of the Red Sea, Moses then led the people in song: ‘I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation’ (Exodus 15:1-2). By the time of the Babylonian exile, the Israelites had built up a precious treasury of songs: ‘Our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?’ (Psalm 137:3-4).
 
Even more than the music, however, it is the great poetry of the worship in the Old Testament that has, through the ages, inspired the church. Rich in imagery that stretches the mind and feeds the imagination, the Psalms give us the vision and the words with which to honour the Lord.
 
By contrast, we may find the New Testament surprisingly prosaic. But of course the New Testament is different – a combination of narratives and letters, compiled over less than a 100 years, it lays the foundations for the new, Christian cultures which have developed their own songs and styles of music over the years. But singing is taken for granted, as the new church culture takes shape. So Paul encourages the believers – Jew and Gentile – to sing: ‘Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts’ (Colossians 3:16).
 
Then, in the apocalyptic vision of Revelation, we begin to see how the great events of the Old and the New feed into the new worship. ‘They sang a new song... “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,”’ (5:8, 12). But in another vision, ‘They sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb’ (15:3). Through the Old and the New, in poetry and prose, the Bible inspires us to sing.
 

_{Source: www.licc.org.uk}