SHARON ROCKWELL | CONTRIBUTOR

When I hit a recent milestone birthday, my children made sure that I was celebrating for a full week. There were new surprises each day. My favorite was a poster board they created with their special memories about me, one for each year. My daughter wrote this as one of hers, “I loved that you sang hymns to me while you were fixing my hair for Sunday School.”

I had almost forgotten about that! And it is funny that she would remember those times since I cannot carry a tune. But the words of those hymns and their truths are embedded in her memory, and now she sings those same hymns to her children!

Ministry Through Song

In Exodus, Moses led the people in song, a hymn of praise, to celebrate God parting the Red Sea and protecting the Israelites from Pharaoh’s army.

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,
I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously.
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God and I will exalt him. (Exodus 15:1-2)

Later, on their way to the Promised Land, the Israelites were discouraged and fell again into their habit of complaining about the lack of food and water. But the Lord provided, telling Moses to gather the people so that He might give them water.

Then Israel sang this song:

“Spring up, O Well! – Sing to it!
the well that the princes made
that the nobles of the people dug,
with the scepter and with their staffs.” (Numbers 21:16-18)

Near the end of Moses’ life, the Lord commissioned Joshua to take over the leadership of Israel. Then the Lord instructed Moses to write down a song and teach it to the people of Israel. The song tells of God’s faithfulness to His people, and of His blessing, but also warns of the consequences of disobedience (Deuteronomy 32:4, 23-24).

Finally, in Revelation, John sees those who have conquered the beast singing the song of Moses. They give all glory and honor to God, who alone is holy.

Song as a Response of Faith

These are all biblical examples of why we sing hymns as part of our corporate worship today. Singing has been the tool through which believers have responded to God’s redemptive acts in history. Our corporate worship is founded upon specific directions in Scripture. We do not ignore those directions, nor do we add to them. In Colossians 3:16 Paul tells us “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Singing is one of the ways we teach the next generation about what God has done. It is also an important part of how we grow together corporately to Christian maturity.

The Lord has used songs throughout history to record his revelation. And the Holy Spirit has inspired saints to write songs to help us remember His story. Even song titles bring us truths we need to remember:

Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
O God, Our Help in Ages Past
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
Crown Him with Many Crowns
I Will Sing of My Redeemer
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus
‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
Trust and Obey
I Surrender All
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
Blessed Assurance
It Is Well with My Soul

I have a friend in the final season of her life who once told me she would willingly go into a nursing home as long as she could take her Bible, her family photo album, and her hymnal. The hymnal would probably be optional – she knows them all by heart!

Thank you, Lord for giving us the gift of song. Thank you that we have Your songs recorded in the bible, and songs written by godly believers to recall Your truths. When we are troubled, lonely, confused, angry, or caught up in this world, bring to our minds the songs that calm our souls and glorify You. We will sing. Amen.

Photo by Michael Maasen on Unsplash