1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
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This psalm leads me to thinking and praying about worship music, something that I’m very much involved in. We are exhorted not only to sing to the Lord, but to play instruments, joyfully and skillfully. What are the reasons? Much more will be detailed further in the psalm, but the opening verses point to the truthfulness of the Lord’s word, along with his faithfulness, righteousness, justice and love. All of these bring forth a response of joyful singing and playing.
Worship, and especially song in worship, is the fruit of God’s grace. When we experience God’s goodness, when we consider His mighty acts, when we contemplate His character, and when we focus on the incomprehensible truth that all of this is for us by grace, it brings forth a response of praise. I am thankful for the privilege of joining with brothers and sisters in Christ to bring our voices and instruments together in praise of our loving God.
These days of quarantine are strange times for sing praise. Our musicians can’t come together as choir or band. And most significantly, we aren’t coming together as a congregation to join our voices in singing worship. But even still, though we are apart, in the ears of our heavenly Father, our voices are blended as one.
I am thankful for all those who are part of the worship music ministry at our church, whether they are able to participate at this time or not. I thank God for our organist and choir, for the worship band and singers, for the school music groups of all varieties. I am especially thankful for those who have been providing recordings for our streaming services. And I am thankful for our scattered congregation, lifting our voices in our homes. I am truly blessed to serve with and alongside all of these people in bring forth worship for our God in song.
My prayers are for the worship music ministry of our church, that God bless all those who are part of it, and that He may always be glorified through it.
NOTE:
Live Stream worship each Sunday at 9:30 AM and Wednesdays at 7:00 PM. Not in our sanctuary, but in your home. Please go to this page for more information: https://stjohnslutheran.net/live-streaming-worship-at-st-johns/
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