Let Us Sing Together

Psalm 100 is a psalm for our world today. We live in a world of performances and perfection. We see the surface of concerts and shows and marvel at them. The problem is we do not pay attention to the hundreds of people who had to work to make it happen. We often neglect to hear the audio correction that happens with autotune so the singer sounds like they have more skill than they really do. All the while we are encouraged to sit back and watch. Enjoy, don’t think about it. The extras are hidden as much as possible. Singing along can be encouraged, most of the time the audio will be so high the crowd is drowned out.

Psalm 100 instructs us to “Make a joyful NOISE” (verse 1, emphasis mine) to the Lord. Worship is a corporate event, not a minor league concert. It is people coming together to share in praising the Lord. Not only are there references to “us,” we,” and “all the Earth,” but the verbs are all plural. The commands of the psalm are not for one person, but many; by implication the whole congregation. While Israel did have worship leaders, singing to God as part of worship was the responsibility of the whole congregation, not a select few. It is for good reasons.

God is good. He is worthy of our praise. That is the praise of every person. It is praise motivated by knowing His mercy and loving kindness. Our singing is not about taking something in, it is about pouring something out, pouring out our love of God. Our songs should carry our faith outward, so our singing is an expression of our faith. Even if you are terrible at it, you should sing to let flow your praise. The psalm says make a joyful noise, not a perfect 3 or 4 part harmony. It is modern culture that demands perfection and it will kill the church if it silences people from singing. It is a terrible thing to tell someone not to sing because they are not good. It implies that they are not able to worship God, when God accepts the worship of everyone who worships in Spirit and truth. We should celebrate the multitude of voices not the few of skill.

One last dimension of praising God, is that it should be an outflowing of faith. Any attempt to limit it becomes, willingly or inadvertently, an attempt to stunt the faith of others. This is a bad thing, regardless of intention. There is no way to stop someone from singing to God that does not undermine their faith, however subtly. Thinking it can be said is naive at best. It will be a blessing in the end to the church as people can grow their faith in its corporate expression, singing together. It is inherently part of how God has made us, which is a beautiful thing.

While God has gifted people differently, we are all made to worship Him. Some people may be better at leading worship than others. Some people have better voices than others. Some people have skill playing an instrument together. Regardless of what skills you have, God has set no skill minimum to worship Him. So let us praise His name today and tomorrow and any other day, because the Lord has given us a new day to breathe.

Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash

Symbols to Remember

Canada has just celebrated Remembrance day. It is celebrated on the anniversary of the end of World War One. The Royal Canadian Legion has a fundraiser where they sell little poppies to pin onto your clothing to remember those who died in service of Canada during a war. The inspiration comes from a battle field poem and it is now a tradition in Canada. The poppy as a symbol is now 100 years old. It is a good symbol, both in style and meaning.

As I prepared for the local Remembrance Day service I was drawn to a passage in Joshua. Israel spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness because of sin. When they entered the land promised by God, they had to cross the Jordan river. A river which was flooded at the time so it would be dangerous to cross. God told them to send the Ark of the Covenant first and then cross. The river was stopped the nation of israel crossed safely. In the midst of this story you find this event in Joshua 4. Here they take 12 stones from the river to make a monument to the crossing. A crossing to remind Israel of what God had done. Reminding them that God stopped the river temporarily to allow Israel to pass through unharmed. It is another symbol of our past that ties to the present.

These symbols are important, they are connections to our past. These connections help us to find unity. They give us a connection to the past. This connection to the past helps us to see meaning in our lives today. In Remembrance Day we see that there are people who cared enough to die so that we could have a good life today. This meaning creates unity and is a foundation for all kinds of levels of communty from towns to nations. This is not limited to those who died in wars, but is today visually seen. As Christians there is another symbol of remembrance that is important.

This symbol is an ordinance of the church:the celebration the Lord’s Supper. By partaking together the elements of bread and wine, we remember Jesus death upon the cross for our sins. It is the event that summarizes the faith and draws all Christians together. It creates the community and is why the Church has existed for 2,000 years. The Lord’s Supper is like a glue holding it all together. Perhaps, that is a bit overstated, but the idea is there.

Our symbols are important. They give life meaning that we are likely to forget in the busyness of life. I am grateful for them, especially for the Lord’s Supper that helps me keep my life on track and my focus upon Jesus the center of our faith.