TO SING OR NOT TO SING
UK
As things continue to progress in the ongoing Covid-19 situation, the Scottish government announced that on 15/ 7/20 people might gather for church services, but no singing was to be done. Perhaps we can adapt Shakespear’s famous line from Hamlet and say, “To sing or not to sing? That is the question.” To find the answer to this question, there are a few things we need to look at.
First, let us very briefly look at what the Almighty’s Word says about government/those in authority over us. What is their purpose? In Exodus 18 we read of how the people came to Moses to inquire of God about matters, whether great matters or small. Moses judged between them and made them know the statutes and laws of God. Acts 7:35 bears witness that Moses was sent by God to be a ruler and a deliverer for Israel. Following on from that, able men were chosen to do likewise to help Moses. In Judges we read that God raised up judges. These judges were not just for delivering the people from their enemies, but also to instruct them in the ways of God, as is indicated in Judges 2: 16-19. After the judges, a king was raised up and we read of the kings of Israel and Judah. Hosea 13:11 bears witness that it was God who gave Israel a king. Although this king was taken away in wrath, David and his line were made king instead. These men who were in authority over the people were to lead the people in God’s ways (1 Kings 2:1-4). Thus, we see that government/those in authority over us have been put in place by the Almighty. We also see that their purpose is to make the ways of God known to us and to lead us according to them.
The second thing we shall look at is what the Scriptures have to say about singing. Particularly in the Psalms we read phrases like, “I will sing”, “Sing unto the LORD” and “Come, let us sing.” Some of the phrases have a sense of determination, while others have the sense of a command. The following are a couple of examples:” Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing.” (Psalm 100:2), “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: …” (Psalm 95:1), “I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” (Psalm 104:33). These are just a couple from a multitude of examples that indicate that we are to sing. Perhaps some might say that these examples can only be applied to our personal lives at home and not when we are gathered together for our church services. However, there are Scripture verses which tell us to sing when we are gathered together in the house of God. The following selection of ver(ses makes this plain to see.” Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.” (Psalm 100:4) From Strong’s Concordance we get that the Hebrew meaning of the word ‘praise’ here means “specifically a hymn” and the Greek for hymn means “a religious ode (song).” Any other occasion where the word ‘praise‘ has this meaning I have noted with an
“Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God, praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto His name: for it is pleasant.” (Psalm 135:2,3)
“And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy: I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.” (Psalm 27:6)
“Sing praises to the LORD which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people His doings… That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.” (Psalm 9:11 ,14)
“Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.” (Psalm 95:2) (The Hebrew meaning of the word ‘psalms’ here means,” songs  accompanied  by instruments.”)
” I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee….My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear Him.” (Psalm 22:22,25)
“Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.” (Psalm 65:1)
We see in these last two verses how singing in the house of God is a vow that must be performed. We must therefore bear in mind the warning in Deuteronomy 23:21,
“When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee: and it would be sin in thee.”
We read a similar warning in Ecclesiastes 5:4.
The third thing we must look at is how we are to be toward those in authority over us. In 1 Peter 2:13,14 we read,
“Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.”
Later in the same passage we are told to “Honour the king.”(! Peter 2:17) When the Saviour was asked about giving tribute to Caesar, He said we are to render to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar. (Matthew 22:16-21; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-25) Thus we see that we must submit to and honour them.
The fourth thing is how we are to be toward our God. In the same verse as we are told to honour the king, it first says, “Fear God.” Likewise, when our Saviour was answering the tribute question, although He tells us to give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s, He says we are to give to God the things that are God’s. In Ephesians 5:24 we read,”… the church is subject unto Christ,…” There are many other verses that could be quoted, but even from these couple we know that we should fear Him, give to Him that which is His, and be subject to Him.
Let us take a moment to go over what we have seen so far.
- God has put government/ those in authority over us in place, and their purpose is to make God’s ways known to us and to lead us according to them.
- We are to sing when we gather together for our church services.
- We should submit to and honour government/ those in authority over us.
- We must fear God, give to Him that which is His, and be subject to Him.
Having seen that we must sing when we gather together for our church services in obedience to God, some may wonder if we have to obey the government when they tell us not to sing. In the 1981 film,” Chariots of Fire,” a film based on real events, the Christian runner, Eric Liddell, is faced with a decision: Compete in a race on Sunday which is against God’s law, or refuse to run and be viewed as disloyal to king and country. Liddell rightly says, “God made countries. God makes kings, and rules by which they govern. And those rules say the Sabbath is His, and I for one intend to keep it.” Here, he is making an excellent point: God made those in authority over us, but He also made rules for them to govern us by. Eric Liddell did not submit to those in authority over him on earth, because they were not acting according to the rules which they are supposed to govern by. Rather, he chose to submit to his Heavenly King. We must obey God before man. For surely we should obey He who is highest in authority After all, He is King of kings, Lord of lords, the Most High, and Judge of all the earth. All government and those in authority are under God! They are His servants. When they do not fulfil their purpose of leading us in God’s ways, we must look to the King of kings and obey Him. In Ecclesiastes 8:2,3 we read that we are to keep the king’s commandment, but we are to keep our oath to God, and we are not to stand in an evil thing. Telling us we are not to sing is an evil thing, for it is contrary to what God’s Word requires of us. Therefore, we should not obey man in this matter.In Deuteronomy 13: 1-5 we read that when someone tries to get us to turn away from God and His ways, we are not to listen to them: for God is proving us, to know whether we love Him with all our heart and all our soul. We are being proved by God at this time to see if we love Him with all our heart and all our soul. Do we ?
An example of righteous disobedience to those in authority is found in Acts 5:29-42. This passage begins with a bold declaration by the apostles saying, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” They are then forbidden by those in authority to speak in the name of Jesus and are beaten. They did not obey. Instead, they rejoice to suffer shame for Jesus name, and ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ in the temple and in every house. Surely we ought to follow their example! Even if it means being imprisoned or fined, we should sing of our Saviour in our gatherings, and rejoice to be counted worthy to suffer shame for our Saviour’s name. God will not condemn us when man judges us (Psalm 37:32,33). Another who would not submit to authority, but chose rather to keep God’s law, was Naboth (1 Kings 21:1-3). King Ahab told Naboth to give him his vineyard. Naboth would not give Ahab it, because it was his inheritance, and it is contrary to God’s laws to give your inheritance to another (Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18). Naboth was then subsequently put to death for his righteous decision. Are we ready to die to keep God’s Word instead of man’s?
Our final example of one who went against authority to do what was right in God’s eyes, is Nabal’s wife, Abigail (I Samuel 25). David had sent some of his men to Nabal, requesting some provision. Nabal would not give of his abundance. When David hears of Nabal’s refusal to do right, he sets out to destroy Nabal and his household. When Abigail learns of her husband’s wickedness and that evil is determined against Nabal and his household, she quickly gathers together an abundance of provisions, taking them to David and his men. Nabal, as the one in authority over his household, had determined one thing which was against God ‘s ways. Abigail acted contrary to what her husband (the one in authority over her) had decided ; choosing rather to do that which was right. Abigail’s quick and righteous actions resulted in Nabal and his household being delivered from David’s vengeance, and the Almighty returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. We see how Abigail’s righteous actions prevented judgement from falling on all Nabal’s household, even though she was acting contrary to what her husband wanted. In Psalm 9:11,12 we read,
“Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people His doings. When He maketh inquisition for blood, He remembereth them: He forgeteth not the cry of the humble.”
If we sing praises at our church services, God will remember those sung praises, when He is going to bring judgement for sin. He will take our singing into account, and who knows what judgement we might prevent with our obedience to Him and His Word. What better way to honour those in authority over us than to deliver them from God’s judgement by being obedient to God! In the days of Abraham and Lot, the Almighty was willing to hold back judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah if there were but 10 righteous to be found. There was not, and God’s judgement fell. If we do not sing in obedience to God, we may find the judgement will come and He will not have mercy.
Finally, to conclude, let us consider Luke 19:36-40. As the Saviour approached Jerusalem, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God saying,
“Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.”
The Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke them. Jesus said,
” I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”
The Pharisees wanted the disciples to stop doing that which was right. Surely we have the same today. The government wants us to stop doing right. If we don’t sing, the very stones may cry out. Shame on us if we should allow mere stones to have our privilege of singing to our Saviour.
Therefore, believer, sing in the church services, and fret not thyself because of evildoers.
