Be on God's Praise Team

And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. -Revelation 14:2

This is the power of music.
Those of you who remember church history well enough to remember the German monk, Martin Luther, who introduced congregational singing and harmony to replace the morose and monotone chanting of the priests. The German Reformation of the sixteenth century would eventually produce a hymnal, and it was said that one of the most powerful missionaries of the biblical doctrines of this Reformation was this hymnal. However, Five hundred years later, we are still thrilled and motivated as we sing,

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing.

There is no doubt as to the significance of music in the life of the church and in the life of the individual believer. In the Old Testament, in the New Testament, in the coming Kingdom, and in the new heaven and earth we discover the saints are singing. We know how to sing and love music because we are created by a musical Creator God. God the Father happens to love to sing over His children. The prophet Zephaniah wrote:
The Lord your God is in your midst, The Mighty One will rejoice over you with
gladness He will rejoice over you with singing. -Zephaniah 3:17
Jesus can sing as well. Matthew 26 records for us the moment in the upper room where Jesus met with His disciples and ate the Passover meal with them; the same place and time in which Christ provided instruction for our celebration of the Lord’s supper, that we follow to this day. Matthew records that at the end of
their meal, "...they sang a hymn." -Matthew 26:30
The Holy Spirit, His very presence produces a desire to sing. Paul wrote
to the Ephesians that, "...being filled with the Spirit will lead to the congregation communicating to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." -Ephesians 5:19
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit create, compose, and compel singing.
We are told that this heavenly orchestra in Revelation 14 and these singers who are about to teach these 144,000 men a new song, and are playing harps. The word for “harp” is the word “kitharodos.” This word happens to be the source of our word “guitar”. It is a Greek word created by the sound of a string being plucked. We have no idea what this will exactly sound like, but it could be several hundred guitarists and David will be leading them, I am sure. Added to this could be hundreds of harpists and as many string-plucking instruments as we can imagine. This song will be a new song. The four living creatures and the elders are singing in verse 3, the church is singing. Yet we are told that this song is uniquely given to these victorious ones, it is their special song. The 144,000 are uniquely thrilled and prepared to sing a new song especially composed for them because of God’s faithfulness to their protection and their faithfulness to His calling. What kind of song are you able to sing today that many around you cannot identify with; the lyrics that are unique to you?
Fold into your life music and singing. And not just any kind of music and lyric. Music that is pleasing to God, that you can sing back to Him. We are heading for a future of music, whether we like it or not! Add music to your life that will inspire
and encourage you to:
• glorify Christ;
• stand for Christ;
• serve Christ;
• wait for Christ;
• love Christ;
• surrender to Christ.
There is coming a day when Christ will come down and stand on Mount Zion. And that moment will be marked by music. According to everything we are being taught in
the book of Revelation:
• There will come a day when we will stand
with Christ.
• There will come a day when we will sing with
Christ.
Stand for Him now. Let the singing begin now – in preparation for the
coming day when all heaven sings.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity.


"I say without qualification, after the sacred
scriptures, the next best companion for the soul
is sacred music. Sometimes our hearts are
strangely stubborn and will not soften or grow
tender no matter how much praying we do. It
is often found that the reading or singing of a
good hymn will melt the ice jam and start the
inward affections flowing again."
-AW Tozer