As I’ve been preparing for our Magnification Team training this Saturday, I’ve been drawn back to a simple but important question:
Why do we sing when we gather as Christians?
In one sense, the answer is straightforward — because God tells us to.
Scripture gives us clear commands, like in Psalm 96:1:
“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.”
We sing because of all God has done for us:
“I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.” – Psalm 89:1–2
We sing to encourage one another:
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” – Colossians 3:16
But still — we might wonder — couldn’t we do all of that just with spoken words?
We praise God in prayer and preaching.
We speak truth and encouragement in conversation, small groups, and teaching.
We proclaim the good news at school, work, and uni.
So why sing?
I think worship pastor and theologian Mike Cosper captures something vital when he reflects on how creatively God communicates with us:
“God doesn't merely present the gospel to us in a contract.
He gives us a wonderfully creative book in the Bible and invites us to engage with our imagination…The book of Esther is a literary masterpiece, full of irony and wit, telling a story in which God is the hero, even though his name is never mentioned.
The prophets speak to a context that is both particular and universal, inviting us to imagine ourselves in their audience.Likewise, notice how Jesus teaches or responds to theological questions. He often says,
‘Let me tell you a story. There were once two brothers…’
‘Two men worked in a field…’
‘Some young women were waiting on a bridegroom…’He knows his hearers need more than black-and-white answers.
They need something that ignites their imaginations…Meanwhile, in the world at large, imagination and creativity are relentlessly employed in soul-destroying ways.
This is the effect of much advertising, where everything from a sports drink to a Lexus seems to promise soul satisfaction.
Some of the best and brightest minds in the creative marketplace are at work trying to help you see their product as the solution to your deepest problems.”¹
There’s something powerful about music, singing, and beauty —
they speak to our hearts and they fight for our affections.
When we sing together, we’re reclaiming the beauty God has made and redeploying it for his worship.
We remind each other that the gospel isn’t just true — it’s good.
That Christ is beautiful.
That the glory of God is utterly compelling.
And as we worship together, we strengthen each other’s hearts to keep worshiping him throughout the week.
Let’s keep fighting the good fight — declaring the wonders of God in song to one another and to the world every time we gather.
— Claire
