September 26, 2010 - Judges 5:3 - Sing!

"Hear, O Kings; give ear, O princes;
to the Lord I will sing.
I will make melody to the Lord,
the God of Israel."

This verse is from the song of Deborah, sung by she and Barak,son of Abinoam, after she pounded a tent peg through her enemy's head as he lay sleeping. Oh dear. I think I would feel better about this verse if it were in one of the Psalms of David, where he sings to the Lord simply because the Lord is good, and mighty is his name!

But no, Deborah has saved her people with deceit, treachery, trickery and murder. And this, apparently, God approves of. It is a conundrum. The God I know values honesty, integrity, and truth. He values mercy and turning the other cheek and going the extra mile. But here, as in other Old Testament places, dishonesty and worse seems to be not only approved of, but rewarded. It is hard for me to reconcile the two.

But today is Sunday, so I shall put the conundrum aside for a moment and concentrate on the verse itself. Which brings me to singing. When we sing in church, are we singing simply to hear ourselves sing? Are we singing ABOUT the Lord? Are we singing TO the Lord? Are we lifting our voice in song with a wonder in our hearts?

Bless the hymn writers of old! Personally, I find much more power in the old hymns than in some of the newer songs where the same verse is simply repeated over and over, as if the songwriter couldn't think of anything else to say, so they just said it again.

Now, Chip, God rest his soul, was not a singer. He was tone deaf and couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. But when it came time to sing in church, he opened his mouth and he sang. Softly, because he knew he couldn't sing, but still he sang. He sang to God, and I don't think God cared that Chip couldn't carry a tune. He looked in Chip's heart, and saw a love of the Lord there, and that was as pleasing, or perhaps more so, than all the best voices of the angels.

So, today, in church or outside of it, I invite you to lift your voices in song to the Lord! Praise His holy Name! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

Blessings, Phoenix