Why We Sing When We Worship Together

Worshiping Together 2023
June 1, 2023
Jason Lapp

Have you ever wondered why Christians sing when they gather for corporate worship? Think
about most gatherings you attend. When you gather as a team or department at work you
don’t typically sing songs together. When you invite people over to your house you probably
don’t ask everyone to sing songs together. At a ball game you may catch most of the crowd
singing the National Anthem together. Typically, at a baseball game the singing gets louder
during the seventh inning stretch. But let’s face it, what Christians do on Sunday when we
gather is unique. Which begs the question: Why do we sing when we gather together?

First, we sing because God is worthy of our praise. Nothing or no one is worthy of praise like
God is worthy of praise. God is the Creator, Savior, Sovereign, all‐glorious One who alone is
worthy of praise. Singing is one of the greatest ways to express his greatness. Singing expresses
the overflowing joy in our hearts that cannot be contained because of God’s greatness. C.S.
Lewis, writing about the Psalms, once said, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because
the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.”

We know this to be true about singing and praising God because John gives us a glimpse of the
throne room in heaven. When the Lamb who had been slain was able to open the scroll, John
tells us many voices were joined together saying, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to
receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Rev.
5:12) God is worthy of worship.

Second, we sing to remind ourselves of the truth. It does not matter how great the music
ministry is at a church if those leading are not singing truth. Music should be done with
excellence, but music done with excellence that does not sing truth or waters down truth is not
excellent in God’s sight. Christians have much truth to sing about. As a matter of fact,
Christians have the only truth worth singing about. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:16, “Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,
singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

Music is a way to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. It has been said that people tend to
remember a line from a song before they remember a line from a sermon. It would be wise and
fruitful for the church to sing songs that speak truth from God’s Word. What the church sings
should teach and admonish those within the church from God’s Word.

Lastly, we sing to edify one another. The voices always ought to be the main instrument in the
church. We want to hear one another sing. This is a way to remind each other that we are not
alone in our Christian walk. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:19, “Addressing one another in psalms,
and hymns and spiritual songs.” All of us need to hear from each other.

How does this practically play out?

When it seems like life is overwhelming and we have lost hope, we need to hear, “Christ the
sure and steady Anchor, in the fury of the storm. When the winds of doubt blow through me,
and my sails have all been torn. In the suffering, in the sorrow, when my sinking hopes are few.
I will hold fast to the Anchor, it shall never be removed.”

When you’ve lost the battle against the flesh for the week and feel like a failure, we need to
hear, “When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look, and see
him there who made an end to all my sin. Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is
counted free; for God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me.”

When we are tempted to trust in the “good stuff” we have accomplished during the week, we
need to hear, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

When we have spent the week trying to sit on the throne of our lives, we need to hear, “Behold
our God, seated on his throne, come let us adore him. Behold, our King, nothing can compare,
come let us adore him.”

When it has been a week of experiencing joyful obedience and the overwhelming kindness of
God in your life, we need to hear, “Let all things their Creator bless. And worship him in
humbleness. O praise him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son and praise the
Sprit, three‐in‐one. O praise him! O praise him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!”

No other experience in life compares to what we get to do on Sunday morning when we gather
to sing to our great God. When we gather, we have the privilege to praise the only One worthy
of our worship. We have the honor to remind ourselves of what is true about God. We have
the great joy of edifying one another with the truth. These are some of the reasons why we
sing when we gather for worship.

“Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of
all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!” (Ps. 47:6‐7)