A couple of Sundays ago, our congregation sang “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.” The first words of the chorus filled the room: “I sing because I’m happy….”
But what if I’m not? Should I still sing, or would that make me a hypocrite?
This question was posed to me in a recent email by one of our church members in response to our current sermon series, Let Us Sing!, which is based largely on Keith & Kristyn Getty’s outstanding book, Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church. In chapter two, the Gettys point out, “There are more than four hundred references to singing in the Bible and at least fifty direct commands” (p. 24). One such command appears in Psalm 149:1: “Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.” The Gettys note, “The command in Psalm 149:1 contains no caveats or conditions” (p. 14). The bottom line is: “we are commanded by God to sing - so we must do it. Not to sing is to disobey” (p. 13).
The New Testament reinforces this command, telling us that we are to be “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16; cf. Eph. 5:19-20).
This creates a bit of a quandary. Should I still sing when my heart isn’t into it, or am I actually sinning by doing so?
TO sing or not to sing?
A thoughtful church member raised this question during a small group discussion. He confessed,
Sometimes I’m singing even though I’m distracted in my mind/emotions, and I’m just singing the words so that nobody looks at me and sees me not singing. This is probably more pernicious than just not singing because inwardly I’m withholding praise from God, and outwardly I’m attempting to deceive my brothers and sisters with the false image that I am praising God. That’s a double sin versus just not singing.
He’s right. And his concern raised questions about what a person should do under certain circumstances, such as:
“I had a fight with my spouse on the way to church, and I’m feeling terrible and guilty and angry and can’t genuinely sing praise.”
“I recently lost a loved one or am doing through a trial and am feeling emotionally sad, on the verge of tears, but the songs are upbeat and happy.”
“I’m questioning, wrestling, struggling with my doubts about God, my salvation, and my faith — and don’t feel like I can honestly sing the lyrics. Maybe God feels distant to me, but the lyrics are the opposite of that.”
These are excellent questions that deal with real-life issues! That’s why I wanted to post and respond to them in a blog rather than to respond in a personal email, so that everyone can benefit from this exchange.
In short, I would say that the very time you feel like singing the least is the time that you should sing the most. Why? Because in those moments of guilt, anger, sadness, anxiety, doubt, and loneliness, you need to stop listening to yourself and start talking to yourself.
TALK TO YOURSELF
This is what the writer of Psalm 42 does.
In verse 3 he describes his present condition, saying, “My tears have been my food day and night, while they sat to me all the day long, ‘Where is your God?’”
In verse 4 he recounts his former condition, saying, “I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise….”
In verse 5 he gives himself a good talking to! “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981), senior minister at Westminster Chapel in London, preached a series of sermons on Psalm 42 that were published in 1964 and became one of his most popular books, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure. Lloyd-Jones writes,
Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself.
Lloyd-Jones goes on to apply the pattern of the psalmist to present-day Christians:
The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. Yo have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself . . . and say too yourself: “Hope thou in God” - instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way, and then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and . . . what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do. Then having done that, end on this great note: defy yourself, and defy other people, and defy the devil and the whole world, and say with this man: “I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, who is also the health of my countenance and my God.”
John Piper, in his helpful book, When I Don’t Desire God, agrees with Lloyd-Jones’ application of Psalm 42 and asserts that the gospel is the main source for truth about “Who God is,” and “what God has done,” and “what God has pledged himself to do.” Piper states,
These are the great discouragement slayers. They are all in the gospel. In the final analysis, the cross of Christ alone that can kill the joy-killers in our lives.
Meditating on gospel truth gets us moving in the direction we need to go.
And that’s where congregational singing can have such a positive impact! Gospel-centered singing is how we teach and admonish one another in the Lord, letting “the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly” (Col. 3:16). Since congregational singing is about ministering to “one another,” we are to sing not only for our sake but also for others’ sake. It’s not about making ourselves look good to them, but to do good to them! We sing not to impress others, but to bless others! Scripture says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). There are several ways to apply and benefit from the corporate dynamics of congregational singing:
By singing gospel truths, I am talking to myself instead of listening to myself. I am reminding myself of who God is, what he has done, and what he will do. I can sing even when I’m not happy, because the truth of God doesn’t change, even though my circumstances and feelings do.
When I’m feeling spiritually weak, I can have my faith strengthened and hope renewed by listening to all the other voices around me singing the word of Christ.
I can and should rejoice in others’ blessings, even as they help to lighten my burden.
Since over a third of the psalms in Scripture are “laments,” pastors and song leaders should include songs that deal with the painful realities of life while pointing people to the Lord, who is our strength, our song, and our salvation (Ps. 118:14).
That’s why the very time you feel like singing the least is when you should sing the most. The reasons we don’t want to sing (anxiety, fear, guilt, etc.) are the very reasons that we need the gospel! We all fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).
Read that paragraph again. Think about it! In our best moments, can we honestly say that we worship God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength (Luke 10:27)? No, our best efforts fall short of giving God the full praise and worship that he is due. That’s why we need a Savior; that’s why we need the gospel! Singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs remind of our constant need for Christ and that “he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).
Gospel-centered singing helps get my heart where it needs to be. We saw a good example of this in our own church last Sunday. Midway through the sermon, the congregation joined me in singing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” As we raised our voices together, many eyes filled with tears as we reminded one another of God’s faithfulness through every season of life. People that came in with heavy burdens felt them lifted as we sang and went home with their hearts encouraged. By singing gospel-centered songs together,
Fighting spouses experience repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation in Christ.
Our sense of loss or loneliness is met with the comfort of Christ who has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).
Doubts and fears are overcome as we sing the truths of Scripture, since “faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).
The 18th century evangelist John Wesley declared, “Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing.”
