The Delta Point (Greenville, Mississippi)
March 19, 2004
One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the gift of song. Our voices are instruments we carry with us. Our singing allows us to express joy, sorrow, love, and praise in a way that far surpasses either verse without melody or melody without verse.
One of the more famous songs of the Old Testament – and perhaps the first recorded one – is the Song of Moses, sung when God rescued the Israelites from the armies of Egypt at the Red Sea: "I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea! The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; he is my God, and I will praise Him; my father's God, and I will exalt Him.” Exodus 15:1-2
David was known as “the sweet psalmist of Israel.” Songs attributed to him in the Psalms are passionate pleas for mercy, guidance, protection and sometimes for revenge. The favorite of many, the 23rd Psalm, is one of David’s. Other songs speak of his great trust and devotion to the majesty of God. David’s son Solomon was said to have written a thousand and five songs. 2 Samuel 23:1
Singing was common among God’s people in the New Testament as well. Jesus sang with His disciples at the conclusion of his last Passover feast with them. Paul and Silas, beaten and jailed for opposing and exposing corrupt merchants, “were praying and singing hymns to God.” Paul told Christians to encourage each other with “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Matthew 26:30; Acts 16:23-25; Colossians 3:16
The first recorded song in God’s Word is also the last. When Good has finally triumphed over Evil in the eternal realm, the Song of Moses will be repeated and joined by the Song of the Lamb — sung not just by those who have escaped from slavery, but “those who have the victory over the beast.” They will “sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!’” Revelation 15:2-3
How blessed it is to join in song with God’s people of all ages in praise and thanksgiving for the freedom and salvation God has granted to us!
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