"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 (NIV). 

Music is one of the blessings of the amazing life in Christ. Psalm 95:1 says, "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song."

The Bible is full of passages that say we should praise the Lord with music and song. The Psalms in particular are full of such passages. Psalm 92:1, for example, says "It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to your name, O Most High" and Psalm 32:11 says "Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart."

There are a number of reasons why music is central to our faith. First, it opens gates by ushering us into the presence of the Lord."Fling wide the gates, open the ancient doors, and the great king will come in. Who is this great king? He is the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, victorious in battle" (Psalm 24:7-9). When troubled music can also soothe our souls."But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble" (Psalm 59:16).

Music helps us celebrate with song and dance when victorious. When the ark of God was returned to Jerusalem, "And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns" (2 Sam 6: 14).

Any of us the Lord has blessed us with the gift of music. One need not be a Lucian Pavoroti, the great Italian tenor, to sing music pleasing to the Lord. It is our hearts that matter above all. For, "He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD" (Psalm 40:3).

Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I rise with a new song in my heart, to give you praise, for you are awesome and a good Lord indeed!