Come Let Us Sing

 Link for this week's live streamed service is here

The pandemic has forced all of us to look at the patterns in our lives and re-evaluate them. What do we miss most that we are eager to bring back into our days? What has fallen by the wayside and been forgotten? What pursuits are worthy of our time and effort? What were just old habits that we've outgrown?

Before COVID, our worship services followed a set design that suited minister and congregation alike. There might be the occasional grumble about boring hymns or long prayers, but mostly, we just accepted that that was how we did "church." These last two years have changed that accepted order drastically, most especially in terms of singing. For a time, we couldn't sing together at all. There was a big hole in our worship experience.

Singing is not just a "nice" thing we do in the Presbyterian Church. Singing is integral to worship. Both the Old and New Testament command worshippers to sing. A quick Google search came up with this site, 64 Bible verses on singing. Not surprisingly, nearly half come from the Psalms, but Isaiah, Chronicles, Nehemiah, Kings, Ezra, Romans, James, Matthew, Mark, Acts and even Revelations remark that those who worship Yahweh sing.

Martin Luther, the great reformer, said "Let God speak directly to His people through the Scriptures, and let His people respond with grateful songs of praise." 

Why sing?

• Singing in worship is a corporate act (one of the spiritual disciplines described in Richard Foster's book that we are using in Bible Study.)  
• Singing teaches. Our earliest theology lessons come from "Jesus Loves Me."
• Singing encourages.  That great rouser, "Will Your Anchor Hold," reminds us "we have an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure."
• Singing unifies. "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love/ The fellowship of kindred minds /Is like to that above.
• Singing gives praise to God.  "Praise my soul, the King of Heaven/To His feet thy tribute bring."                          
• Singing evangelizes.  "Jesus bids us shine ...in this world is darkness, so we must shine, you in your small corner and I in mine.

A few months ago the Presbyterian devotional for the day was perfectly attuned to my state of mind. The writer was lamenting the restrictions on singing in church. The hymn he referenced is not in our hymn book but the choir has used it as an introit.
The first verse reads:

Come let us sing to the Lord our song,                                 we have stood silently too long.

At SPPC, we have not been silent, exactly, but with no choir and our sound muffled by masks, we don't "shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation."

Surely the behest to "make a joyful noise onto the Lord," did not mean muttering into a mask!

When our public health officials review the COVID restrictions I hope they will let us sing out with joy and gusto once more.

Here is a little challenge for you all. I've catagorized a few hymns in the above post. Why not add your own to the various headings? Share your favourites in the comments section.

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day.