“The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart exults and with my song I shall thank Him.”
Psalm 28:7
The Psalmist here knows the Lord as his Preserver and Protector. He has been
through the valleys of the shadow of death, and when the Psalmist had no more
strength, the Lord became his strength. When he had no more means to protect
himself, the Lord became his shield. And because of this, the Psalmist learned
to trust in the Lord with his whole heart. Having been rescued from his enemies,
he realized it was not his strength, but the Lord’s strength that won the
battles on his behalf. And because of this great deliverance, the heart of the
Psalmist did what ought to be natural to any Christian having also known the
deliverance of his heart and soul from his greatest enemies – sin, the world,
and the devil himself. The Psalmist’s heart exulted/rejoiced in the Lord.
But exactly HOW did the Psalmist’s manifest this obvious joy born in his heart?
He did it by SINGING! If you are saved, then you also know something of the
power of God to act on your behalf especially in your salvation. The Christian
life ought to never be lifeless. And the Christian ought to be one who is always
thankful in every circumstance for the grace and kindness of God given to him.
One of those ways is the privilege we have of showing the joy in our hearts and
the thankfulness we have in our Lord by SINGING.
Do you sing really to the Lord? This might seem like a strange question, but
think about it. Do you really sing with a heart that exults in the Lord for
every good thing that comes to you from above? Is your mind conscious of the
mercy of God toward all your sins committed in light of His Word when you offer
up your voice to Him? Do you really dwell on the good spiritual words that you
are actually singing? When you sing to Him with your voice and your lungs, do
you sing in such a way that you know it would be audibly pleasing to Him? These
all might seem like strange questions.
But it must really seem strange to God when we offer up to Him lame and broken
sacrifices in our singing. Even in good Reformed Baptist churches there are many
who merely open their mouths and force warm air out of their lungs during
congregational singing in the church. This is more typical in younger people.
And this is a sin that everyone ought to be weary of. There are many young and
old who never really think on the words of the hymns or spiritual songs. When
some sing, they slouch over, barely opening their mouths, as if singing to the
Sovereign One of the universe was a shameful thing to do. Shamefully enough,
some get more excited and shout louder during over the World Series and the
Superbowl. And then again, some really do have horrible voices, and that is
their biggest excuse – they can’t carry a tune. What’s worse is that they really
don’t even try to improve their voices for the sake of offering up to the Lord
something pleasing to His ears. How strange this must all seem to the same Lord
of the Psalmist who powerfully acts on behalf of every unthankful and ungrateful
Christian.
Our voices are a precious gift from God. No one is born with a beautiful voice,
just like no one is born with the ability to talk. Talking must be learned and
cultivated, just like a beautiful voice. Have you ever seen a little baby do all
he can just to say “mama” or “dada” for the very first time? It’s a beautiful
thing to see that little baby struggle with every little muscle fiber in his
little body to say just two little syllables. How eager the parents are to hear
their child call their name for the first time?
And so, how eager must the Lord be to hear us exult in our hearts and to thank
Him in our singing? Do you have a thankful heart? Do you sing heartily to the
Lord?
You will never sing heartily to the Lord unless you have a thankful heart. May
the Lord grant us eyes to see His mercies, that our cold hearts might be melted
and filled with joy.
