Come Into His Presence Through Singing
"I perceive that our minds are more devoutly and earnestly elevated into a flame of piety by the holy words themselves when they are thus sung, than when they are not." - St. Augustine.
Dear brother or sister, if you find yourself depleted, weary, heartbroken or in need of spiritual refreshment, I pray that today’s post encourages you. In the presence of God there truly is fullness of Joy. I am not referring to a mere moral principle or a head belief. I am speaking of the felt reality of the Joy of the Lord that enlivens, energizes and emboldens the soul. This Joy is often stirred by the Holy Spirit through worship music. If you’ve been neglecting it or haven't yet considered it, I encourage you to make worship songs a part of your personal spiritual practices (in addition to corporate singing). The Scripture passage below speaks to this.
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ”. (Ephesians 5:18-21).
A few months ago, I felt the weight of my fears and anxious thoughts about the future starting to crush me. One day during my Scripture reading, Ephesians 5:18-21 stood out. Two things caught my attention: 1) the contrast that Paul makes between being drunk with wine and being filled with the Holy Spirit and 2) the direct association he makes between being filled with the Holy Spirit and singing to the Lord. Colossians 3:16, a parallel passage, also associates having the word of Christ dwell richly in us with singing worship songs.
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Being Drunk Versus Being Filled With the Holy Spirit
Now, I do not get drunk with alcohol. But I realized that I was getting ‘drunk’ on other things. I was using other things — things not inherently bad (e.g. cat videos, podcasts) — to fill my mind and temporarily silence the fears in my heart. They had become a refuge, a source of comfort and ‘okay-ness’ instead of God. But these broken cisterns cannot hold water.
Gazing Upon The Beauty of Jesus Through Songs
From that day, I decided to add worship songs to my spiritual disciplines. I also replaced a lot of my media consumption with worship songs. To say that this small change made a difference is an understatement.
By the Grace of God, I have found deep rest in my soul, Joy and Peace. More than that, I often sense the nearness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it truly is a foretaste of Heaven. In the words of Tim Keller, it is an ‘existential awareness of the beauty of God on your heart, a sense of it, a taste of it, a sight of it’ (Contemplation Sermon). My fears are still real; but when I gaze upon the Beauty, Power and Love of Jesus, I truly believe in my inner being that I have nothing to fear. It is very well with my soul. Come what may, Jesus will not be defeated.
What Is So Special About Singing Worship Songs?
I do not fully understand it. But there is something about music that particularly engages the whole being — body, mind and heart. Singing is not the only means of Grace to experience the presence of God, but it’s undeniable that music has a way with Man’s heart. I believe it to be God’s design. Can you count how many times the Psalms command us to sing praises to the Lord? God created and loves Music. Heaven is filled with music (Job 38:7; Luke 2:13-14; Revelation 15:2-4; Revelation 19:4-5). When sung, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Gospel truths do not simply remain mental principles but become heartfelt realities. It causes our whole being to relish in the Beauty of Christ. It is the difference between having information about honey and having tasted honey. Have you tasted that in the Presence of God there is fullness of Joy?
Practicing the Presence of God Through Singing
One of the books that impacted me the most is ‘The Practice of the Presence of God’ by Brother Lawrence. In it, he rightly uses the word ‘practice’ to describe the spiritual skills Christians need to grow in order to train our hearts and minds to think and delight more in God. Singing and ‘making melody to the Lord with your heart’ is a an effective way to do that.
Like any spiritual discipline, the practice of worship through singing requires intentionality, setting time aside, and perseverance. And since we seek to ‘let the words of Christ dwell richly in our hearts’, the songs we choose should be Gospel-centered. As far as the details go, we can worship the Lord in music any way we choose: with any musical instruments, acapella, in our hearts, out loud, etc. For me, I have found that engaging my mind to really think about what I am singing to/about Jesus (instead of mindlessly repeating phrases) is key to engaging my heart as well.
Below are a couple sermons by Tim Keller on this topic that were quite helpful for me: Singing and God of Nations (especially starting around 15:00 minutes). I would love comments on this. If you have any insights or don’t agree with something I said, please comment or message me privately.
