1. Praising the Lord in Song
Examples of Singing
Lesson 10

2. Questions Instrumental Music
What about listening to Christian music on the radio?
What about playing “Amazing Grace” on the piano at home?
I think the answer to these two questions is the same:
What about listening to Christian music on the radio?
The arguments for:
Better than country music (lyin’ cheatin’ drinkin’) songs
Better than Rock – Sex and drugs
Better than Rap – Kill a cop, sex, drugs
Negatives:
The context of Col 3:16 and Eph 5:19 does not seem to be the public assembly – they are simply passages that tell us – when we worship, we should worship the Lord by making melody in our hearts.
Confusing to our children (ok on certain days of the week but not on others)
Is Christian radio worship? It certainly invokes His name and purposes – but is it more entertainment, or worship?
What about playing “Amazing Grace” on the piano at home?

3. Examples of Singing in the Bible
How often do you sing to the Lord when you’re by yourself?
What are the things that commonly move you to do so?
What do you think the point is of worship outside the assembly?
How much do you think that personal worship should be a part of Christians’ lives?
This lesson is similar to our lesson “Why we sing” but now we want to look at specific songs that were sung in the bible and why? How often do you pray or sing? Do you only pray at specific times like bedtime, or meals, or when something tragic happens? Many people have a limited view of prayer and feel like they have to save up their prayers until the right moment comes. The same is true with our singing. In the next two lessons, we will look at songs in the bible and the Psalms so that we can gain a deeper insight as to why and when people sang to the Lord. Hopefully we can bring these practices into our own lives.
Prayer, of course, can and should be, much more spontaneous than we allow it to be. Formal prayers during worship services make up part of our prayer lives, but so do ten-second prayers on the spur of the moment. We have no difficulty recognizing this in our formal Bible studies, particularly when we run into passages like 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – pray without ceasing.
However, we often fail to make the same recognition with respect to song worship. Many of us do sing hymns from time to time when we’re by ourselves, but we don’t consider that when we do so, we’re actually obeying a Scriptural command. In James 5:13, James directs us, “Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.” Individual worship needs to be part of our spiritual existence too.
Why did the people of God sing songs? We’ve already studied that we sing to express deep feelings of emotion, we sing to Praise God, and we sing to teach and admonish each other. Are these reasons also supported by examples in scripture? Why did bible characters like David, Hannah, Hezekiah, Moses, Miriam, and others sing? What were the circumstances that prompted their songs? By knowing and understanding these songs and their background, maybe we can bring this worship into our lives as well

4. WHERE Do We Sing These Praises?
III. Among the Heathen
Psalm 18:49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
Psalm 126:2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.
Psalm 108:3 I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
Psalm 138:1 I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.

5. WHERE Do We Sing These Praises?
IV. Upon Our Own Bed!
Psalm 149:5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
Psalm 59:16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
Psalm 119:147 I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.
Psalm 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice..

6. What Praises Should We Sing to Him at Others?
Admonishment
Col 3:16
Conviction
I Cor 4:5
His Faithfulness
Ps 89:1; Is 25;1
Thanks
Ezra 3:11; Neh 12:46
Praises
Ps 18:49 ++
Redemption
Is 44:23; Ps 71:23
His Power
Ps 21:13; 59:16
His Strength
Ps 21:13; 28:7 ++
His Mercies
Ps 89:1
His Majesty
Is 24:14
His Doctrine
Titus 2:1
His Righteousness
Ps 7:17; 35:28 ++
His Judgment
Ps 101:1; 119:7, 164
Wondrous Works
Ps 105:2; Rev 15:3 ++
Marvelous Works
Ps 9:1
His Goodness
Ps 107:8,15,21,31
His Salvation
I Chron 16:23
His Name
Ps 66:2 148:13 ++
His Wonders
Ps 89:5
His Words
Ps 56:10; 106:12 ++
His Lovingkindness
Ps 63:3; 138:2
His Merciful Kindness
Ps 117:2
Help of His Countenance
Ps 42:5
Health of His Countenance
Ps 42:11
His Wonderful Works
Ps 107:8,15,21,31 ++
His Truth
Ps 117:2; 138:2 ++
His Statutes
Ps 119:171
For Making Me a New Creature
Ps 139:14
My Soul Knoweth Right Well
Ps 139:14; 142:7
Honour of My Executing Judgment - Ps 149:9
His Mighty Acts
Ps 150:2
Excellent Greatness
Delivering Souls
Jer 20:13
His Grace
Eph 1:6
Inheritance Earnest
Eph 1:14
His Fruits of Righteousness
Phil 1:11
Trial of Our Faith
I Peter 1:7
His Marvelous Light
I Pt 2:9; I Cor 4:5
For Receiving Sight
Luke 18:43
Honour of His Name
Ps 66:2
Sacrifice of Joy
Ps 27:6
His Holiness
Ps 40:4
Wonderful Doings
Is 25:1
His Comfort
Is 52:8,9
Triumph & Victory
Exodus 15:1-21

7. Reasons to Sing Songs Redemption: Exodus 15:1-18
Do you ever think about
your redemption during the
week?
Do you remember the Lord’s
Sacrifice all the time?
Do you get excited knowing
that you are forgiven NOW
That if the Lord came right
now – you would go to
heaven!
“Sing to Me of Heaven” 583
“To Canaan’s Land” 694
Redemption: Exodus 15:1-18
Trapped against the Red Sea
They were as good as dead (14:11-12)
Jehovah Delivers Them
Vs 1 - I will sing to the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea.
Vs. 2 - The Lord is my strength and song and He has become my salvation, He is my God and I will praise Him
“Your right hand…” Vs 6, 12, 16
Eph 2:1-5 – even when we were dead in our sins, He made us alive together with Christ.
Redemption. The first spiritual song recorded in the Bible is found in Exodus 15:1-18, and appropriately enough, its subject is the salvation of God. Just before the events that the song celebrates, the children of Israel were staring death in the face. They had just fled the bondage of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. However, Pharaoh’s army, which had no reason to be merciful, had now trapped them against the un-crossable Red Sea. Small wonder that the children of Israel cried out to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?”
We know God’s response. He parted the waters of the Red Sea so that the children of Israel could pass through, then used those same waters to destroy the Egyptian army. God’s people expressed their thanksgiving with a song of praise. They described the greatness of their deliverance and the glory of the Lord. In Exodus 15:1, their song begins by exclaiming, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted. The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea!”
Miriam (Ex 15:20-21) also led the people to praise the Lord in song after His great victory over Egypt’s mighty army “Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” This is a song that children (young and old) could sing for generations to come to learn of the loving kindness and VICTORY of GOD! How many VICTORIES has God brought into your life? How many times have you song praises to Him? JAMES 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.
As God’s people today, we have far more cause to rejoice in our deliverance than the Israelites on that day. Passages like Ephesians 2:1 tell us that before God intervened in our lives, we weren’t just staring death in the face. We WERE dead. God has worked such a salvation in us that we owe Him not just our earthly lives, but also our spiritual ones (Ephesians 2:5). It is entirely appropriate for our lips to constantly sing His praises.

8. Reasons to Sing Songs Struggle: 2 Chronicles 20:21
How many things do you need to just turn over to the
Lord?
Are you worried – pray, and
then show your trust and
sing (worship) of your con-
fidence in God.
#303 “I’ll Never Forsake My Lord
Struggle: 2 Chronicles 20:21
Before the Battle – God’s People Sang
“Jehosaphat feared” and prayed to God (3, 5-12)
“The battle is not yours but God’s” (15)
“You will not need to fight in this battle” (17)
“Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever” (21)
Mark 14:26 – Jesus Sings a Hymn Before Death
Before His Darkest Hour – He sings (Psa 113 – 118?)
Psa 113; Psa 116; Psa 118
Singing makes us feel better when we are about to face difficult times.
Struggle. The Bible makes clear, though, that praising God in song is not just an activity for sunny skies and clear days. Our lives are filled with conflict on every level, both physically and spiritually. This is not a new phenomenon; God’s people have always had to deal with problems. However, they faced their difficulties in life with praise, from the time before the conflict began until its conclusion.
God’s people worshipped Him BEFORE BATTLE. In 2 Chronicles 20, Judah was invaded by a horde of Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites, a force so great that it caused Jehosaphat king of Judah to become afraid. God, however, promised the people of Judah that He would defeat the invaders, and that the army of Judah would not even have to fight. As the army of Judah went out to the place God had appointed, the Levitical singers walked before them and sang of the loving kindness of the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:21). Their enemies were routed.
Not all of the trials that God’s people faced with song were so easy to overcome. Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26 describe the same event, the only time in Scripture when Jesus practiced song worship. This session followed immediately after He instituted the Lord’s Supper. Before He and His apostles went to the garden of Gethsemane, where He would be arrested, they sang a hymn.
Scripture does not specify which hymn was sung. Biblical scholars, however, commonly say that this hymn would have been part of the Hallel, the Jewish cycle of Passover hymns of praise, which we have as Psalms Although those hymns, with their joyful descriptions of God’s deliverance, may seem inappropriate or even ghastly to us today, it is quite likely that they comforted Jesus as He prepared for the ultimate trial of His faith.

9. Reasons to Sing Songs In The Midst of Trial: Acts 16:25
Paul and Silas preached in Philippi and performed miracles (cast demon out of a girl)
Paul and Silas in Prison Sing Songs
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them”
Singing Benefits Paul and Silas, God, but also the Prisoners that heard them.
Songs Teach
Interestingly enough, the only example we have of Christian song worship occurs not in the midst of the assembly, but IN THE MIDST OF TRIAL. This moment is recorded for us in Acts 16:25. Just before the events of the verse, Paul and Silas had been preaching the gospel in the city of Philippi. In the course of their work, they performed a notable miracle: casting a spirit of divination out of a slave girl. This miracle did not meet with the acclaim one might expect. Instead, it resulted in Paul and Silas being stripped, beaten, and cast into prison.
However, neither evangelist let their sudden and undeserved misfortune diminish their faith. As Acts 16:25 records, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” Clearly, Paul and Silas were singing not only for the benefit of God, but also for the benefit of those around them, and themselves. Even while captive, they used songs of praise to preach God to a captive audience.
“Day by Day” 120

10. Reasons to Sing Songs After Victory: Judges 5:1-31
The Lord Defeated Jabin, King of Canaan and his Commander Sisera
Deborah sings a song to tell the story of how the Lord Delivered Israel.
When God Answers Your Prayers? Do you Sing? (#70 Be Thou My Vision)
When Your Heart is Sad: 2 Sam 1:17-27
David’s “Song of the Bow”
“It is Well With My Soul”
Thanksgiving: Simeon (Luke 2:29-32)
We also have, of course, the righteous used song to celebrate God’s power AFTER VICTORY. We see such a hymns of praise recorded in Judges 5: Judges 4 describes the rise of a new foreign oppressor, Jabin the king of Canaan, but it also outlines God’s response. At God’s direction, the prophetess Deborah and her war leader Barak raised a small army to attack Jabiin’s army, commanded by the general Sisera.
Barak’s forces destroyed Sisera’s chariots, and Sisera himself was killed when a nomad’s wife drove a tent peg through his skull while he was sleeping. Neither Deborah nor Barak had any doubt about who was responsible They sang, “Hear, o kings! Give ear, o rulers! I--to the Lord, I will sing, I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.” From the beginning of our battles until their end, there is no time that is not appropriate for the praise of God.
Other great songs in the bible we find David’s “Song of the Bow” or “David’s Song of Lament” in 2 Samuel 1: Has your heart ever been SAD? Has your heart felt like breaking because you have lost someone you loved (Jonathon)? Maybe you lost someone you respected (Saul)? Maybe we should sing? It might make us feel better. David wanted this song sung to remind the people of who Saul and Jonathon were, lest they be forgotten. David wanted the world to know how much he loved Jonathon, and the best way he knew to do this was through song.
Do you have anything you are THANKFUL for? Then you should sing! Simeon was thankful to God and (according to most scholars this is a song (Luke 2:29-32)) sang a song of THANKSGIVING to the Lord for allowing him to see the Salvation, Light, Revelation to the Gentiles, and the Glory to the people of Israel. He could now depart in peace as God had promised.

11. Other Songs Hannah’s Song / Prayer of Praise 1 Sam 2:1-10
God is in control
Solid as a rock
He knows what we do
Sovereign over all the affairs of people
The Supreme Judge who administers justice
#640 – Providence of God

12. Songs Levite’s Song of Praise 1 Chronicles 16:8-36
Song written by David as a song of Praise and Thanksgiving
Remember what God has done
Tell others about it
Show God’s glory to others
Offer gifts of yourself, time and resources

13. Songs Hezekiah’ Song of Praise Isaiah 38:10-20
Hezekiah’s life was extended – His life was over, and now he lives
The Lord was ready to save me, therefore we will sing songs … all the days of our life (vs 20)
Completion of the Temple Ezra 3:11
The people, only with God’s help, rebuild the temple
“For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel”
Mary’s Song of Praise Luke 1:46-55
Mary praises God for what He was going to do for the world through her
And Holy is His Name

14. Songs Zechariah’s Song of Praise Luke 1:68-79
Zechariah’s first words were of Praise to God
All the Old Testament prophecies were coming true – He Praised God!
God was using his family to accomplish His plans
The Angels Song of Praise Luke 2:14
The Savior has come into the World
How can we be Silent – Ever?
Glory to God in the Highest
And on Earth, Peace, Goodwill toward men

15. The Day Thou Gavest
The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended, The darkness falls at Thy behest; To Thee our morning hymns ascended, Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.
We thank Thee that Thy church, unsleeping, While earth rolls onward into light, Through all the world her watch is keeping, And rests not now by day or night.
As o’er each continent and island The dawn leads on another day, The voice of prayer is never silent, Nor dies the strain of praise away.
The sun that bids us rest is waking Our brethren ’neath the western sky, And hour by hour fresh lips are making Thy wondrous doings heard on high.
So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never, Like earth’s proud empires, pass away: Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever, Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.
VERSE 1
When the day is ended, it is by the behest of God that darkness falls: Gen B. Every morning, hymns of praise should ascend to God: Ps C. And when we pillow our heads at night for rest, His praise should hallow us: Ps
VERSE 2
The church was built by Christ: Matt B. While it is true that Christians must sleep, the church as a spiritual body does not rest but keeps its watch throughout the world because it is the pillar and ground of the truth: 1 Tim C. Thus, since the earth was created so that when one part of the earth is in night the other part is in day, the church, like the living creatures who surround the throne of God, rests not day or night: Rev. 4.8
VERSE 3
God ordained continents and islands on the earth so that there would be dry land: Gen B. As the earth revolves, the dawn leads on to another day: Matt C. Therefore, with dawn ever rising somewhere on earth, the voice of prayer is never silent, even as the Lord wants His people to pray without ceasing: 1 Thess. 5.17