Daily Butter 7/26: Sing out loud

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (7/26/11):

 

   He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
    Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the LORD.

    (Psalm 40:3 HCSB)

 

I miss being able to be part of a church choir. I love opportunities to belt out praise and unfortunately doing that as part of the congregation can get us some strange looks and we feel bad you might be “disturbing others” – reminding me of a brother in my first church choir (who has since been promoted to sing in harmony with the angel choir) who would put his finger in his ear nearest me when learning our parts if I sat beside him in practice. Maybe it is just me, but I wonder why the psalmist wrote of this great new song of praise He has given, but continues that “Many will see and fear” rather than “hear and fear” (or in my case fear to hear). Though I think it is really more related to Friday’s ODB about our best testimony is the evidence displayed in what He has done and is doing in us. I should not be afraid to sing out praise (even a “joyful noise” rather than happy harmony), in light of what He has, is and will do in and through me.

 

I think of my blessed Redeemer,

I think of Him all the day long:

I sing, for I cannot be silent;

His love is the theme of my song.

 

Redeemed, redeemed,

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,

His child and forever I am.

 

While I know we live and work in a culture that has us afraid of the consequences of standing up for our rights to be able to speak of our faith openly and proudly (even loudly), but the United States was founded by predominantly religious people who made sure we had those rights. Often we are taught the scriptures instructing us to live upright, peaceful and “quiet” lives in respectful submission to authorities (such as in 1 Timothy 2 and Titus 3) forgetting that those were instructions written to specific churches in radically different governmental systems that were not reliant on the voice to the people as the USA is designed to be. It is a sad thing that we are losing the power to change things because we have allowed it to become a lost art to be bold in ones convictions.

 

Andy Jentes