Sing Praises To The Lord

17 I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. — Psalm 7:17 (NASB95)

. . . the hymns or choruses we sing—which combine Scriptural truths with moving melodies—teach us things that won't easily be forgotten. That should probably give us pause—pause to reflect on the value of what we have in the hymnals tucked away in our pews; pause to revisit what is being projected on the screens that line the front of our worship auditoriums; pause to remember that God has given us a powerful tool in music and its potent relationship to human memory. – Natalie Angier, "In One Ear and Out the Other," www.nytimes.com (3-17-09)

Let’s think about singing for a minute, but not like it happens so often nowadays. Too often the only discussion about singing is the old argument about “a cappella” versus mechanical instruments. This is different.

It appears that even science understands the value of singing. The quote above is from an article about memory. One of the points is that we remember things longer depending on how strongly the memory is engraved in the brain. Turns out, singing is a great way to engrave those memories.

Remember learning the alphabet as a child? You probably learned to sing the song. Remember learning the books of the New Testament? Learned those books singing that little song. Singing songs imprints things on the mind.

When you sing praises to the Lord, you are honoring Him, acknowledging Him, worshiping Him, thinking Him, asking things of Him, and thanking Him for things He’s already done. It might appear that it’s all for the Lord’s benefit. Not so. Of course He loves to hear us sing His praises. Surely, God is pleased that we would do that for Him. But there’s more going on.

When you sing, something is happening in your brain. There are things being engraved on your mind. When you sing songs that speak of and to the God we worship, you’re literally training your mind. You’ll remember biblical truths better when they’re sung. You’ll remember God’s blessings when you sing about them.

Next time you take a breath, getting ready to sing, be aware that something marvelous is about to happen in your brain. Just might last a long time, too!