Sing for Joy

Psalm 92:1-4

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

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Don't you feel it growin',
Day by day
People
Gettin' ready for the news
Some are happy,
Some are sad
Wo, we got to let the music play
Wo, oh yeah
What the people need
Is a way to make 'em smile
It ain't so hard to do if you know how
Gotta get a message
Get it on through
Oh now mama's goin' to after awhile

Wo, oh, oh, listen to the music
Wo, oh, oh, listen to the music
Wo, oh, oh, listen to the music
All the time

"Listen to the Music" by Tom Johnston recorded by The Doobie Brothers

Song does things that few others can do. Have you ever tried to speak loudly in a room that echoes? The distortion will get you. On the other hand, singing allows the words to ring clearly and truly. I'm not about to rattle on about harmonics and the like, I'm just not qualified. But I do know this, singing works when nothing else will.

I joyfully believe that the first lullabys were sung by the first of our ancestors. I believe songs of mourning rang in times of pain and distress. Songs of joy, I imagine these were saved for the most special of occasions.

Again I say that song involves the entire self in prayer. These songs of joy should not be saved for only special occasions. The psalmist reminds us "It is good to give thanks to the LORD,to sing praises to your name, O Most High." The Doobie's remind us "Gotta get a message, get it on through"

We are to declare God's faithfulness, and God is faithful. Especially at times when all around us dissolves like a sand castle at high tide, God is faithful. When the people are happy it is easy to forget that we need God, so we need to sing songs of thanksgiving to the Lord. When the people are sad, well, then it's easy to sing songs of lament and longing to the Lord.

So rejoice, "For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy." What the people need is a way to make 'em smile. So share and love. Share when it is joyous, share when it is horrendous. Share, because God shared life with us first.

This is our message, this is what we are called to share, and "it ain't so hard to do if you know how." So let us declare the Lord's steadfast love in the morning, and God's faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. And let us listen to the music all the time.