Proper 5 (10)
June 8, 2008
Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
1 Let the godly sing for joy to the Lord;
it is fitting for the pure to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre;
make music for him on the ten-stringed harp.
3 Sing a new song of praise to him;
play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.
4 For the word of the Lord holds true,
and we can trust everything he does.
5 He loves whatever is just and good;
the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.
The godly are given a command to sing to the Lord and this is not the only place in the scriptures that this command is given. Over and over again we are told to sing to the lord, not with sadness, not with happiness, but with joy — we are his children and we are to praise him. So many times with think that praise is optional, but it’s not — it is required. The psalmist goes on to sing the songs with our instruments — I like that, not that I have anything against a capella singing. We do that every so often at our church and I love hearing all the parts. But I also love worshiping full on, like we do at FLAME or even the way we did at Emmaus. We are told to sing new songs to the Lord — not that we should abandon the old songs, but I love the songs of our heritage, but I also love the new songs that are being written. Some would ask me what my favorite hymn is. I would have difficulty — great difficulty because I have many favorites. Same goes with the new songs — too many to pick one favorite. I like what is said next — play skillfully and sing with joy. As musicians and Christians, we should be perfecting our craft — we should be offering God our best.
Our God is faithful and true — we talked about that last week during worship. He deserves our very best — that is how we live a life of worship. We offer him our service — our relationships — our fortunes — and our lives.
