....and once again, all is well

It was Friday evening at the Butler house - a time known for unwinding and leaving the world of work at bay.  My daughter Lauren, who had returned from college by only a few hours, was in her room preparing to go to bed.  Often times this ritual includes quiet time in scripture and/or a song of worship raised sweetly and reverantly to our Creator God.  If music is to be a part of her quiet meditation, a comfortable spot in the living room is like a front row seat in a concert hall.  It's as close as you'd want to be without distracting the one-to-One worship service that is unfolding before your ears.  Oh, how I savor those quiet moments, for I too get caught up in the spirit of worship, listening as my child renders praise to the Holy God of the Universe.  And once again, I find that all is well with my soul, and that all things which have been broken and undone become whole and complete in the light of God's unending love. 

No, it's not Lauren who creates those moments of worship, for her music and her devotion are only the transports to the throne of grace.  It is God who, in His infinite grace and mercy, chooses to become one with those who beckon Him to come and abide.  He visits with the intamacy of Himself alone and allows His name to be lifted up and exalted before all who will take the time to listen.  And with the melody of her sweet songs and the quiet meditations of her heart, Lauren opens the door for Him to linger and to pour His blessings out upon our entire family.  And the glory of the Lord is revealed, and the restful comfort of His healing spirit is poured out and overflows from the willing vessels of our hearts.

The Bible is filled with hundreds of songs of jubulation which have, for century upon century, been lifted up through God-inspired melodies of priase.  Scripture, in fact, specifies that all music made to worship the God of peace have at least one thing in common ----- melody.  "Melody" is defined as being a set of single notes arranged in a distinctive, recognizable pattern.  Warner Books' American Century Dictionary defines "melodious" as "sweet sounding."

From Isaiah 51:3 we find these words.........."for the Lord shall comfort Zion.  He will comfort all her waste places.  And He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the Lord.  Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

Ephesians 5:19 gives us instructions, as believers, in the musical worship of God, saying......."speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."

Singing, therefore, is a natural response of the believer in crafting praise and adoration of Christ Jesus.  It is an expression of the soul which rises to our lips through songs of praise and worship - an offering, we pray, that shall rise to the throne as a sweet sound to the ears of our Lord.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Col. 3:16-17).

Paul again writes a very similar passage to the Ephesian believers:

"Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God" (Eph, 5:17-21).

I think that a natural by-product of letting the word dwell richly in us is singing and making melody in our hearts - praise and worship just naturally springing out of us.  Remember Paul and Silas praying and singing from the inner-reaches of prison - songs of faith and truth which ultimately led to the salvation of the jailer. (Acts 16:22-34).

Of course, some of the most powerful scriptures concerning praise and worship are found in the Psalms.  Notice the power of the Lord's grace and mercy toward us in these scriptures.

"You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance" (Ps. 32:7).

"I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high" (Ps. 7:17).

"Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!  For praise from the upright is beautiful.  Praise the LORD with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.  Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy" (Psalm 33:1-3)

"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul shall make its boast in the LORD.  The humble shall hear of it and be glad.  Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Ps. 34:1-3).

"He has put a new song in my mouth - Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the LORD." (Ps. 40:3).

Jesus told us that if we failed in giving praise to God, even the rocks would cry out.  Don’t know how many of you have seen this article?  Scientists believe they have recorded the Sun singing!  That’s right…singing. They have shown that there are specific frequencies that resonate from the Sun’s atmosphere.  They go on to say that when the Sun sets off flares and such, there are even more sounds that are emitted.

Ok…think about this for a minute.  The Sun is singing!  The Bible says that “even the rocks cry out”.  Even the creation sings God’s praises.  Two things come to my mind in this:

1 – The frequency at which the Sun is “singing”, is too low for the human ear to hear.  If you think about that, it makes complete sense.  Why would the Sun be singing for humans?  The Sun is singing for it’s creator and no one else.  Do we sing exclusively for the purpose of praising our creator?

2 – I think there may be more to this “even the rocks cry out” statement of Jesus than we think.  At first read it sounds like, “if we don’t, then they will”.  In other words, I take that to say, "When I stop praising, creation praises for me."  I don’t think I should look at it this way.  I think that creation is always singing.  In fact, it never stops singing.  It is praising it’s Creator 24/7.  We…humans…are the ones that fail at that.  I think the scripture is saying that even when we fail, God is still praised.  It is sad that those God has created specifically to love Him, fail so miserably at it.  Take another step.  The Sun is just doing what it’s been created to do.  And because of that, God is praised!

I think we can learn a lot from creation (and young ladies who play the guitar and lift praises to their Heavenly Father).  God created all things for His glory.  He has told us that creation itself proves Him and praises Him.  Guess what…creation is doing it’s job!  Not all of us are!  Creation is going to continue to do what it is created to do.  Praise it’s Creator.  How about we do what we were created to do?

And if you're ever seeking the sweet praise of a pure heart, drop on by the Butler house.  Get there early, 'cause seating is limited!

Selah (סֶלָה )