Revelation 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

I've been singing in groups for most of my life. At home, it wasn't at all usual for several of us to get together on the front porch and sing all of the old songs, from the Carter family to Hank Williams to some long-forgotten gospel writers. At church, I joined my first choir when I was 14 or 15, after my voice changed. Ever since then, I've sung in choirs, ensembles, quartets, and trios. I love to sing bass, even when I'm the only one singing a harmony part at all. One of my favorite parts of attending Pikeville First Baptist is singing with other men in the bass section.

I can imagine Adam singing songs to God in the Garden, perhaps trying to imitate the birds. We see the first clear song of praise in Scripture in Exodus, after Israel's deliverance from the Egyptian army (Exodus 15:1-18). Many, if not all, of the Psalms were set to music, and used in worship. The New Testament doesn't have quite as much to say about music until the book of Revelation, though Paul tells us we should worship with "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs." (Colossians 3:16) John's account of Heaven in Revelation is full of references to songs of praise, including the "new song" that only the 144,000 can sing, (Revelation 14:3), and the song of Moses and the Lamb that we will all sing. While there is no scriptural basis to the popular myth that we'll spend eternity playing harps, we certainly will be doing some of that, and we can expect to do a lot of singing. Can you imagine singing in a choir several hundred million-strong, all in perfect pitch? I can't wait to be in that bass section!

Why does music hold such a special place in worship and praise? I believe that it was given as a gift to us for precisely that reason: worship and praise. The best prayers I've read or heard were like poetry, and the best songs are poems set to music. No single experience can open us up to the Holy Spirit's power more than singing in praise of God. It's not because of what comes out of our mouths, but what happens inside of us. We have people in our choir that couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, as the old saying goes, but they are singing in praise to God just as surely as is our choir director, with his fantastic tenor voice.

Singing isn't just for public worship. I frequently find myself singing before, during, or after prayer. Like reading the Psalms or other favorite scriptures, singing our favorite hymns or praise choruses can open our hearts and minds to the gentle urgings of the Spirit and fellowship with the Father in Christ. So what if we're tone deaf, and can't play anything but a stereo? God doesn't hear what comes out of our mouths, but our hearts.

Harmony is to singing what the Church is to the Christian. Just as God uses our various gifts and talents to build his church, the various and different sounds of the voices in a choir blend for something more beautiful than any of them alone. A bass line sung by itself, other than in those rare instances when basses get to sing melody, doesn't sound very good. Add a strong bass part to a rocking Southern Gospel song, though, and you'll bring the house down. For harmony, you need at least two people; other than by electronic wizardry, no one can sing harmony alone. You can have good music without harmony, just as single individuals can do great things in the church working alone. For great music, though – and this is my personal opinion – you need more than one person, or more than several people doing exactly the same thing. Even good soloists have a band or backup singers behind them; there are very few a cappella solo epics out there.

If you do all of your singing in the shower, you're not alone. We should never feel embarrassed, though, about singing in church. If people stare at us, cover their ears, or frown when we sing, we need to remember that we're not singing for them, but for God. The harmony may grate on some ears, but it's sweet to the Father. By the same token, the music the choir makes may sound heavenly to us, but if there's discord and contention among the members, no sweet music reaches the Father's ears. If the music's the only thing, God isn't in it.

At my funeral, I want 'em to sing "Shoutin' Time," 'cause that's what it will be. And, if I never sing as low as J. D. Somner, at least we'll be in the same choir!

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JESUS IS the Bridge Ministries

Beneath His Wings Devotionals - Vol. 2