Men of God Sing
This month, I am going to direct my attention to the men in our worship services. Not to the exclusion of the women, but because I have something to say to the men:
Men of God sing.
Public singing can be awkward for all of us. And men in general can feel a discomfort with this due to a lack of musical ability, not knowing the songs, not wanting to be overheard by the people around them, or things like that. (Also true of women, by the way.)
But to be frank, in a world that wants to blur the gender lines in ways many of us oppose, singing can seem effeminate in a way that causes us to disengage. Yet that is just not the example set before us in scripture. Both in the description of men of God, and in the actions of God Himself.
King David, the killer of bears and lions, the killer of Goliath, who had war songs written about his defeat of tens-of-thousands of enemies (1 Samuel 17-18), was a vibrant and expressive musical worshiper.
In 2 Samuel 6, David gets criticized for his expressive worship. As the Ark of the covenant is finally returning to Jerusalem, David is overcome with joy and praise of the LORD that he was *gasp* dancing. David’s wife scolded him, saying “how embarrassing” it was to behave in such a way in front of all those people (6:20).
Although the critique of David came from his wife, I think there is a similar internal monologue in men’s minds of singing in church: “how embarrassing! People can see and hear me!” And this is how David responded: “I will celebrate before the LORD, and become even more undignified than I was today!” Basically, David is saying that he will NOT withhold the praise that God deserves, simply because it may look a little silly.
Men, you are not more ‘manly’ than King David. If he sang, you should too.
Apostle Paul, one of the primary authors in the New Testament, who planted churches, discipled young pastors and congregations, led an adventurous life (shipwrecks, jail time, public beatings, etc.), was not afraid to sing praises to God even in the worst of circumstances.
In Acts 16, Paul has been beaten and thrown in jail for preaching the gospel, and rather than wallowing in discomfort, he and his friend Silas are singing hymns. An earthquake shakes loose the shackles of everyone, and they end up preaching the gospel to the jailer, and that guy’s whole family comes to the faith. (16:16-34)
Men, Paul singing in his discomfort means that you can sing even if it makes you uncomfortable.
On the night He was to be arrested, falsely put on trial, flogged, and crucified, the Lord Jesus sang. It’s a brief verse and easy to overlook. Mark 14:26 Jesus has just finished eating The Last Supper with His disciples when we get this verse that says, “When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives”.
Before embarking on the excruciating endeavor that was the cross, Jesus sang. Then, while HANGING on the cross, Jesus quotes from a song, Psalm 22, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” With dying breath, a song was on our Savior’s lips.
We worship a singing Savior in Christ.
Those are descriptions of these powerful men, and our mighty Savior singing in worship of the LORD. Then two of these guys give us commands to sing. Throughout the Psalms, David tells us to sing. Like in Psalm 33, David opens with the call to “sing joyfully to the LORD!”. Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul commands us to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as we sing with thankfulness.
This is not about preference or talent. It is obedience.
Men of God: SING!
-John Day, Worship Pastor