VALUES OF SINGING SPIRITUAL SONGS

Preamble

Singing can be a very pleasant experience and singing spiritual songs can be very beneficial. Most people sing and listen to songs. The music industry is a very thriving one and singing has become a very profitable venture. It appears that man is made to sing and enjoy the benefits of songs especially spiritual songs. Apart from the enjoyment value of these songs, they also have some very valuable properties. This lesson will be looking at the benefits of singing spiritual songs.

The Bible in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 teaches us to “...speak to ourselves in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts unto God”. While some songs are ‘psalmodic’, ‘hymnic’, poetic, and ‘prosodic’ in nature, all are spiritual.  When we sing as a congregation (be it songs of praises or songs of admonition), we are rendering worship unto God as only He is worthy of our praises. We are also talking first to ourselves and then to others.

Lyrics of worshipful songs we sing are largely inspired from the Scripture which the Holy Spirit gave and hence have benefits to us as Christians. These will be highlighted in the course of this write up.

Using the story of David and King Saul as recorded in the book of 1 Samuel 16:14-23, we can clearly see how David used singing and playing of his instrument, a harp, to pacify the troubled heart of King Saul. Spiritual songs can therefore heal the mind as is evident of how the evil spirit that was sent to trouble the mind of King Saul departed whenever David sang or played to him.

Another benefit spiritual songs (referring to songs where the lyrics are inspired from the Bible), is that they attract the power of God. We can draw inference from the book of Acts 16:25-26, when Paul and Silas sang praises unto God and they were delivered from prison. This doesn’t mean that whenever we are in a situation and we start singing that an earthquake will start as depicted in the aforementioned passage of the Bible, but it teaches us that when we sing unto God, He hears us and He will deliver us according to His will.

Other Benefits of Spirit-filled Singing

• Reminds us of God’s righteousness. When we learn the spiritual songs of the Bible, we are reminded of God’s resolve and righteous determination. In addition, though we are awed and intimidated by God’s righteous holiness, yet are encouraged by His promises of mercy and redemption. We are thus exhorted to live our lives according to His commandments. E.g. hymn 449 (Hallelujah! What A Saviour); hymn 369 (God’s Promise) etc.
• Reprimands, warns, threatens, condemns. “Spirit-filled songs of the Bible are foreboding, instructing us on how to live righteously, goading and propelling us toward the narrow, less-travelled, unpopular, but right path.” (Archives of Hark Seminary) We see that spiritual songs reprimand, warn, threaten, and even condemn. E.g. hymn 492 (Standing Outside), hymn 663 (You Never Mentioned Him to Me) etc.
• Regenerates, transforms, renews. The book of James 5:13 tells us to sing if we are merry. This obviously indicates how soothing psalms, spiritual songs and songs of praises are when we sing them to God and when the words are being reflected in our hearts. A sister recently gave the testimony of how a song she posted on her online page was listened to by a fallen-away brother in Christ who confessed that he was deeply depressed and on the verge of suicide when he listened to that great hymn our sister posted. He was restored and regenerated by the spirit-filled words of the song. Only the true words of Christ contained in the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs of the Bible carry the substance and power to regenerate, transform, and renew our spirits. E.g. ‘Restore My Spirit’; hymn 472 (Sing and be Happy) etc.
• Teaches us to fear God. In understanding the lyrics to the songs we sing, we begin to grasp with reverential awe and godly fear, the truths and principles contained in God’s Word. E.g. ‘I Stand in Awe of You’; hymn 140 (God Still Lives); hymn 472 (Praise the Lord) etc.

Conclusion

We owe it to God Almighty to render unto Him acceptable worship which involves singing to God from the depth of our hearts. We are not doing God favour when we are singing unto Him but we are sure of blessings when we sing to Him sincerely and live the words we sing.

Thank you.

References:

http://harkseminary.org/archives/what-are-the-spiritual-songs-of-the-Bible-and-why-do-we-need-to-know-them

https://Bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Singing

Ikenna Ugwumba