“You must sing to God; you must sing! You must sing to our King; you must sing!”

(Psalm 47:7 {verse 6 in English translations})

Some of our translations insert the word “praises” into the text to read: “sing praises.” Though this is not a wrong inference, it is an inference nonetheless. What is most significant to understand about the command to “sing” to honor God is that the form of the verb is in what is called the “Piel” stem, implying repeated action. We are not only to sing praises to God, but we are to do so repeatedly. Notice too, the word “King” is understood properly here to be referencing God as the King, not the king that has his throne in Jerusalem. This is indicated both by the context of the psalm as a whole that speaks of God as the great king over the earth but also by the verse itself that sets up two parallel statements to add intensification. The command is given for us to sing twice and the “to whom” is the same as indicated by the parallel structure of this verse.

And oh, how many of our churches must stand convicted by the words of this psalm. How often people hardly sing as hymns are lifted up to God. While I am not advocating that people stand and bawl over all others, I am advocating that people sing with heart with the same passion as they sing along with the radio in their automobile as they drive from place to place. Sing the words with passion and zeal and with attention to the words that are printed on the page. Do you really mean the words that you are singing? Then again, perhaps that is why people don’t sing with zeal in our culture anymore — they don’t mean the words anyhow! Yikes! Isn’t that convicting!

Loved ones, song is one of the gifts that God has given to us — no other creature shares that capacity. True, some birds and other animals have what we refer to as a “song,” but here I am talking about the expression of ideas to music in a way that is melodious and edifying to all involved. We have been made to sing (amongst other things). So, let us do it! Though the organ might fill the sanctuary with sound, surely several hundred voices — even fifty or one hundred voices — should be able to dwarf the sound of the instrument’s tones. Let us commit to sing, an to sing repeatedly, continually through our lives to the praise and honor of our God and King. Let Christ’s wonderful salvation be your story and your song as you praise your savior all the day long…

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior, all the day long.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior, all the day long.

-Fanny Crosby