[Psalms] Why We Need to SingExemplo

Make Melody in your Heart

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament declare worship songs to the Lord. In all of eternity, singing is taking place right now; the angels are singing out to God.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, “Make melody in your heart. Sing from the right heart.”

Right after the Lord’s Supper, the Gospel of Matthew tells us that they sang a hymn and went to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus Christ died, He rose again from the grave, and the Church was persecuted for about 300 years. The early Church encountered Roman emperor after Roman emperor with persecution upon persecution. Therefore the Christian Church was a house church. Very small. They could not simply sing out as loud as they wanted to, because they would end up being killed for their faith. Many of the first Christians were killed for their faith—they were not embarrassed about it.

In 313 AD, Constantine was the emperor and he signed The Edict of Milan, which allowed Christians to worship freely. Everything that had been stolen from the Church was going to be given back to the Church. All the house churches could be seen, and they were excited about it. Over the next 1,200 years, beautiful cathedrals were built because of all that excitement. From the 300s to about the 1,500s the Church was singing the Psalms in a Gregorian chanting fashion. Unfortunately, many of those beautiful buildings are tourist attractions now instead of houses of worship.

In 1517, the year of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther began to reclaim the teaching of the Scriptures. He preached Matthew verse by verse. The Church began to understand the Scriptures and sing songs about them. They took melodies from the barrooms of Germany and they put Christian lyrics to them, which was very scandalous. They were writing manmade praise songs to God. They were no longer just singing the Psalms; they were writing songs—that was mind-blowing.

Have you ever sung to the Lord from your heart? Maybe there is a song or poem in there waiting for you to sit down with pen and paper to let it out. Make a melody in your heart for the Lord.