“Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre,”-{Psalm 147:7}
Song, is such an expression of the heart. There are all types of songs, fun songs, sad songs, crude songs, various ways to express feelings, emotions of the heart. Singing is expressed towards the LORD in Scripture for various reasons. The first song in the Bible is,- the Song of Moses, a song of gratitude for His great deliverance of the people from the bondage of Egypt
Moses Song
Note they sing about His Peron and His deeds. Read Exodus 15:1-18 and note those two points as “fuel” for your praise!
“Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord,and said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted;The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.The Lord is my strength and song,And He has my salvation;This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him. “The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name.”-{Exodus 15:1-3}. They celebrated with song to Him. They championed Him and His work with song. As you read Exodus 15:1-18 notice his focus on His character and recording what He has done… they sing a TESTIMONY TO HIM! They sing a Song of Grateful Praise for what they had experienced of Him in their lives…Deliverance. They Sing a song of Praise for His Deliverance on their behalf! They were singing to praise Him, and with the words they were singing as way of reminder to the hearers also, a song of Testimony!
Jehoshaphat Song;
They Sang in times of Stress! They Sang of His Splendor! They Sang as They Advanced in Faith! “After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to SING TO the LORD and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the LORD, for His love endures forever.” -{2 Chronicles 20: 21}. As they went forward into battle, into the unknown they went forth with men who were appointed so sing praises to the LORD, and in particular focusing on the splendor of His character. As they sang the people would hear the words and the idea to praise Him and point them to Him. In times of stress, the unknown, with your mind often going to the worst case scenario, you need to fight to control what you will mediate upon. Get your mind on Him and one way to practically do so is to sing His praises, His character. It is good for the morale, to uplift the spirit. It is good because it focus’s on Him and above all He is worthy to be praised. Sing His praises… not just when life is gong well, when you are experiencing pleasurable, favorable circumstances, but also in challenging times, when your faith is challenged. ” They sang of His Splendor of His Holiness, they were thankful to Him “For” which gives the reason why, which was His enduring love! Even in the midst of the unknown they declared His unfailing love “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.”- {Psalm 50:23 }. Even in times of uncertainty…. choose to Sing His Praises…”Holy , Holy is the LORD God Almighty!” Choose to sing His praises!
The Psalmist Call To Song;
“Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.“-{Psalm 100:2-3}. “Serve Him…Sing to Him.. Know Him…our Maker!” Sing because we are His people, which speaks of security, eternally secure we are {Read 1 Peter 1:4-5}. We are the sheep of His pasture, which speaks of satisfaction. As the good shepherd provides good grass for his sheep, to nurture and satisfy their need in the physical realm so our LORD does so in the Spiritual…Sing His Praises!
Heaven’s Song;
”And they *sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”-{Revelation 5:9-10}. They sang a new song to the LORD Jesus, and they focus on His ability, His Splendor, what he has done, how He has purchased with His blood people from all parts of society, and what He has made them to Him. Sing His praises!
“They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are Your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are Your ways,King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You,…”-{Rev 15:3-4}. Again look at the focus of their singing – The LORD God Almighty! They focus on His character and His deeds… re -read and note what they sing about Him and turn it into your personal thanksgiving to Him!
PSALMIST call To Sing THANKSGIVING {GRATEFUL PRAISE};
“Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre,”-{Psalm 47:7}. He address’s the song of Thanksgiving to the LORD. The Hebrew word is “Yahwah” the “Self-Existing One, the “I Am That I Am,”- {Read Exodus 3:14}. He who has no beginning or end and the next word he uses is the Hebrew word “Elohim,” GOD,” . It speaks of His Might, Power, Sovereignty. It is how the Bible begins in Genesis 1″In the Beginning God {Elohim} created the heavens and earth.” The rest of the chapter show Him in action creating, separating, ordering His World. So singing to Him with songs of gratitude is “good…pleasant…fitting”-{Psalm 147:1}. Sing to Him with Gratitude.
They can sing of His Works; They have much to be thankful for, He had built up Jerusalem.-{v2}. He had brought the people back from exile. The “outcasts” had been returned to their land.-{v 2}. The “broken- hearted” He healed, and their “wounds “He bound up. -{v 3}. And He “supported” the afflicted-{v 6}. And the rallying call is to “Praise the LORD…our God…Sing His praises…”-{v 7}… This is the second time He has done so, also in verse 1. The word “FOR,” gives us the reason, explanation, to do as as, “…it is GOOD…PLEASANT…FITTING {the word can also mean BEAUTIFUL.”-{v 1}… and one way we can do this is through SONGS of PRAISE… Songs of THANKFULNESS. Songs of thanksgiving for Who He is and What He has done. Songs of Deliverance, Songs of faith…Songs of TESTIMONY!
YOUR “SONGS OF TESTIMONY;”
We all have “Songs of testimony,” for His great deliverance in our own life in delivering,rescuing us from the kingdom of darkness and transferring us to the Kingdom of His Beloved Son. We have songs of Gratitude for the many ways He has shown us Himself in His Word.-{Read Luke 24:25}. We have many songs of Gratitude for His healing our broken hearts and binding up our wounds and supporting us in our afflictions. We have many reasons to sing “songs of Gratitude,” for meeting us as we faced the unknown and countless other songs of gratitude, thanksgiving… the giving of thanks to Him who is worthy to be thanked, again and again and again. Indeed we should be the most thankful, grateful people on this earth. We owe Him everything and Thankful that He has secured our future! Have you ever heard someone ask,”What is your five year, ten year plan?” I don’t have one but I do know He has an Eternal plan that I be with Him and when I am there I know I will be part of the great crescendo of praise offering Him thanksgiving. “Oh give thanks to the LORD for He is good, and His love endures forever.”-{Read Psalm 107:1}
Thankfulness Glorifies God -{Luke 17:15-18}
Thankfulness is Doing His Will -{1 Thess 5:18}
Thankfulness is an evidence of being under the control of the Holy Spirit – {Ephesians 5:18-20}
Thankfulness to the Father for Salvation is an Evidence of Spiritual Growth.- {Colossians 1:9,12}.
If we look, we can find reasons to THANK HIM. For Who He is and for His Deeds. Often in my time of incurable disease which has been excruciating at times, I often wake and choose to give Him thanks, using each letter in the alphabet to work my way through reasons to give Him thanks! It helps me focus on Him in my pain and to know objective truth that as I do I am glorifying Him and doing His will!
Note, in Psalm 147:7
- The OBJECT of the Psalmist call to sing. It is the LORD GOD
- SPECIFICALLY to Sing songs of GRATITUDE
- INCORPORATING music instruments, to join in the great crescendo of songs of gratitude to Him!
- We have Personal Songs of Gratitude to sing to Him and in “Songs Of Testimony” of Him.
Can you think of a SONG of GRATITUDE to SING to Him?
” I will sing of my Redeemer
and His heavenly love for me;
He from death to life has brought me,
Son of God, with Him to be.
Sing, O sing of my Redeemer!
With His blood he purchased me;
on the cross He sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free. ” -{PP Bliss}.
“Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre,”-{Psalm 147:7}.