-July 5, 2022-
Good morning, happy Tuesday,
“And in that day you will say: ‘Praise the Lord, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples; Make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for He has done excellent things; this is known in all the earth.’”
(Isaiah 12:4-5).
In the midst of the prophecy of Isaiah there is chapter 12. The caption in my Bible over this short but rich chapter is, “Hymn of Praise.” The word hymn is defined as, “a religious song or poem to God or a god.” In our day, a hymn is “a song used in Christian worship, usually sung by the congregation and characteristically have a metrical, strophic (stanzaic), non biblical text.” The word hymn is found only twice and the word hymns only three times in the Bible.
Though the words are not mentioned much, the concept of praising God, especially in song is found throughout the Book of Psalms and many other books as well. We should praise the Lord and His holy name all the days of our lives. When I was just a youngster, I used to attend church and I learned so many hymns. I love to sing. I sing in our church’s choir and worship team, and I also lead the congregational singing at our Sunday services. To me it is a blessed privilege.
On two notable occasions in the NT, singing of a hymn or hymns is particularly wonderful. Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn after meeting in the upper room before going to the Mount of Olives, and the Garden of Gethsemane, where He would be betrayed by Judas and arrested by the Jewish authorities. Matthew 26:30 says, “And when they had sung a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives.” These same words are also found in Mark 14:26.
The second time hymns were sung was in the prison in Philippi in Acts 16:26-34, where Paul and Silas were locked up because they upset the whole city by casting out a demon from a servant girl who had been telling fortunes and bringing in a lot of money. This girl was delivered and saved. And they held this against Paul and Silas for the profit they made off of her was gone. They beat them and put them into prison. Despite their pain, they sang hymns of praise to God and the other prisoners listened to them.
Paul also mentioned singing hymns in Ephesians 5:19-20, “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He also refers to singing hymns in Colossians 3:16.
How much do we praise God in our personal, devotional times with the Lord? He is so worthy. We should praise Him in the good times, but also in the bad times, yes all the time. Paul and Silas were in prison and Jesus was on His way to the cross. At the end of our breaking of bread service at church, we always sing the Doxology, which is a short hymn that says,”Praise God from whom all blessing flows; Praise Him all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.”
Let us praise Him today for who He is and what He has done for us. Stay safe and healthy.
In His praise forever,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 