We can sing!

One of the things I’ll tell my grandchildren about 2020 will be that we were not allowed to sing in church!

From so many aspects of the management of this pandemic, we have grown in our appreciation for the activities that have been restricted for the sake of the health of others.

The reason that it’s been so hard and weird not to sing is that God’s people are singing people… we’ve done it since the start of time, and it’s something we find it almost impossible to stop.

One time in the Bible when God’s people found it too hard to sing was when they’d been dragged out of Jerusalem into Babylon:

Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” But how can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a pagan land? (Psalm 137:1-4)

Yet the next Psalm expressed what it was like when singing was a natural part of church life for God’s people:

I give you thanks, O LORD, with all my heart; I will sing your praises before the gods. I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honour of your name. (Psalm 138:1-2)

We are truly blessed to be now allowed to gather in good number for church, and we are doubly blessed to now be able to sing.

May we never take for granted the joy and blessing of singing together, as we put to music what our hearts long to express about the greatness of our Lord.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo Credit: Tony Stewart via Flickr)