The When Where Why and How of Singing Praises to God

In the last lesson we looked at the who and the what of sinning praises to God.

We applied the Bible study principal of the law of first mention to the singing of praises and found out that only the redeemed can truly sing praises to God. We will also see that that is true today when we cover the how and the why of singing praises to God.

We then looked at the what. And remember we are not talking about listening to a little classical music to relax. Our lessons on music are limited to only singing praises to God.

We learned that true praise music is to be all about the Lord, what He has done, and our reaction to it. It is to be about Him. But that only covers the word part. Music has two parts. Words and sounds.

To understand the music part of praise music, you must have an understanding of Gal. 5:16-17

Gal 5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

The flesh and the spirit are contrary the one to the other. They fight. They do not get along. You are either walking in the spirit or walking in the flesh. You cannot do both at the same time. You can’t feed the spirit and feed the flesh at the same time.

And to understand the music part of true praise music you must also have an understanding of

Eph 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

We are to sing spiritual songs as opposed to fleshly songs.

And true praise music has melody. Melody feeds the spirit and beat feeds the flesh.

The Bible tells us to sing a new song to the Lord. When God saved me he put a new song in my heart. We are to sing a new song to the Lord and not the old song that we had before we got saved.

Psa 149:1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, [and] his praise in the congregation of saints.

So the who and the what of singing praises to God is the redeemed singing spiritual songs about the Lord with melody.

When are we to sing praises to God?

Some might say only in Church. And many who do not say that practice it. They sing praises to God only Sunday or Wednesday night. But what does the Bible say?

Psa 96:2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

Day to day. There goes the Sunday and Wednesday only theory.

Psa 104:33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

Psa 146:2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

Psa 108:2 Awake, psaltery and harp: I [myself] will awake early.

Psa 108:3 I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

Here we see David awaking early to sing.

I think that it is safe to say from these verses that we are to sing praises to God everyday and at any time of day.

Not just on days that we go to church. And not just on days that everything is going our way. We are still to sing praises to God on the days when trials come. Paul is a good example.

Act 16:22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat [them].

Act 16:23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast [them] into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

Act 16:24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

Act 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

Paul and Silas had a multitude rise up against them, the magistrates tore off their clothes, they were then beaten with many stripes, and then they were thrown into prison. Now if that is not enough to qualify as a tough day I don’t know what is. They are not only thrown into prison but they are thrown into the inner prison and their feet are put fast into the stocks.

And even after all of that, what do they do. Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God. And let me tell you something, they were not mumbling. It says that the prisoners heard them.

We would do well to remember that the next time we have a bad day. Don’t you think that maybe if we would stop and sing praises to God that our day would not be so bad. The singing might not change your circumstances but it sure will change your outlook on those circumstances.

The When of singing praises to God is everyday no matter what comes our way.

And the when also includes eternity.

Psa 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

Rev 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints.

Where are we to sing?

One obvious place is in church.

Psa 149:1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, [and] his praise in the congregation of saints.

Heb 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.

We are to sing in the church, but that is not the only place.

Psa 108:3 I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

2Sa 22:50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.

I actually read someone trying to teach that singing praises to God belongs to the church and should only be done there. That is not what the bible says. We are also to sing among the nations and among the heathen.

We are to sing in church and among the nations and among the heathen.

The where of singing praises to God is everywhere. It can be done anywhere even in bed.

Psa 149:5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

The where can be anywhere.

Why are we to sing?

First singing praises to God is a way to come before His presence.

Psa 100:2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

God hears you when you sing to Him no matter the when or the where.

When we sing praises to God we are not doing it to entertain ourselves or others.

When we sing praises to God we are coming before His presence.

Psa 100:2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

This is one of the main purposes of singing praises to God.

Understanding this should change our attitude about singing. Coming before God’s presence is serious business. If people understood this and who God really is, then they would not be singing a lot of what is called praise music today. God is Holy, God is Righteous, God is Judgment, God is Perfect, and praise God He is also Love and has mercy for the repentant.

When someone is singing a special they are first and foremost singing to God.

When the choir sings they are first and foremost singing praises to God.

When we as a congregation sing, first and foremost we are singing praises to God.

True praise music has God as it’s main focus in all aspects. The words are to be about Him, what He has done, and our reaction to it. The musical notes are to be arraigned as He would have it with melody, and He is the primary audience.

Why sing – We sing to come into His presence.

Another reason is that it is a good thing to do.

Psa 92:1 [It is a] good [thing] to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:

We are to sing because of what He has done.

Isa 12:5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this [is] known in all the earth.

Isa 49:13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

Psa 13:6 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Psa 147:7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

Has God done wonderful things for you? Then you should be singing because of it. Frankly I worry about people who don’t sing praises to God. Some will say but I don’t feel like it. I am having a tough time right now.

Psa 71:23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.

Has he saved you? I tell you God saving my soul is the greatest thing that ever happened to me. And that is worth singing about.

1Ch 16:23 Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.

Psa 96:2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

Why sing – we are to sing to shew forth His salvation. If you are saved, you should be singing.

We are to sing because of who God is and what He has done for us. When lost people come in here they should hear us singing like we have something to be singing about.

Another reason to sing is because of the effect it has upon us.

Psa 135:3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD [is] good: sing praises unto his name; for [it is] pleasant.

Singing praises to God is pleasant. It has an effect on our heart.

Psa 61:8 So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

In this verse we see a connection between singing praise to God and being able to daily perform our vows.

Why do you think that is?

Keeps us in God’s presence.

Keeps us thinking about God.

Keeps our attention and focus on God.

You are less likely to do wrong when God is close to your heart and your mind.

And notice that the verse says that I may daily perform my vows. Daily. There goes the Sunday and Wednesday only theory again.

We have many reasons why we are to sing praises to God.

How are we to sing?

Many Christians fall down a little on this one.

Psa 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

We are to be singing with joy to the Lord who saved us.

Psa 138:1 <[A Psalm] of David.> I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.

We are to sing praise with our whole heart.

Jer 31:7 For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

Psa 9:2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

We are to sing with gladness and rejoicing.

1Ch 13:8 And David and all Israel played before God with all [their] might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.

Neh 12:42 … And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah [their] overseer.

Zep 3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

You should be catching a theme here. We are not to sing quietly. The Bible says with all our might, the singers sang loud, Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout.

We have something to sing about, so we should put something into it.

Psa 66:2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.

You go into a church where the people are barely singing, that is not glorious.

I am very thankful that we do not have a big problem around here with that. This church sings out most of the time really well. But there are some Sunday mornings around here when it is just special. Sometimes people are singing so well that I cannot hear brother Paul leading the music. I see his mouth moving but he is just drowned out. That is making his praise glorious.

How are we to sing? We are to sing joyfully, with our hearts full of gladness and rejoicing. We are to sing with our whole heart and with all of our might. How are we to sing? We are to sing to make His praise glorious.

The Bible has a lot to say about how we are to sing. But I find it very interesting what is missing. The bible DOES NOT say that you must have a good voice to sing praises to God.

You can find in the Bible that you are to play instruments skillfully, But you will not find a voice quality test in the Bible.

God knows the quality of your voice. After all He is the one who gave you your voice. He knows what you sound like and He wants you to use your voice to sing praises unto Him.

There is no exemption. If you are saved, then you are to sing praises to God.

Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.