Quiet Moments: Sing to each other with thanks
Singing is good for us - why we should praise God always
Welcome to the second devotion in my all-new recurring devotional series, “Quiet Moments” featured in Bethany Lutheran College’s student newspaper, The Scroll. This installment, we take a look at a passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where he is encouraging Christians in the early church to teach each other with their music, singing, and praise. Read last issue’s devotion here.
“Instead, be filled with the Spirit by speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (singing and making music with your hearts to the Lord), by always giving thanks for everything to God the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and submitting to one another in reverence for Christ.” - Ephesians 5:18-21, EHV
One of my favorite parts about going to church or chapel services, besides hearing God’s Word, is singing all of the wonderful hymns and liturgical songs found in our hymnary. There is something truly special and good about singing hymns that are rooted in the Scriptures and praising God for coming down as a fellow human in Jesus Christ to save us from all our sins.
I also find it interesting how singing affects us on the biological level, and it reminds me of our original design, which was to love, serve and praise our God. It is known that singing releases several hormones in our bodies, such as endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin, which cause us to feel better. It can also reduce cortisol, which is a hormone that is associated with stress.
In the passage above, Paul encourages us to regularly engage in the activity of singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to one another. By doing so, we are not only praising our Creator, but we are also teaching each other about the Gospel and learning from one another. This is what makes hymns so powerful, because we begin to memorize the truths of God’s Word which we can continually carry around with us wherever we go. By singing hymns, we remember what Christ has graciously done for us. We have the unique opportunity to thank the very One who gave himself up for us all on the cross.