Sing to the Lord a Joyful Song

Sing to the Lord a joyful song,
Lift up your hearts, your voices raise;
To us His gracious gifts belong,
To Him our songs of love and praise.

For life and love, for rest and food,
For daily help and nightly care,
Sing to the Lord, for He is good,
And praise His Name, for it is fair.

For strength to those who on Him wait,
His truth to prove, His will to do,
Praise ye our God, for He is great,
Trust in His Name, for it is true.

For joys untold, that from above
Cheer those who love His sweet employ,
Sing to our God, for He is love,
Exalt His Name, for it is joy.

For He is Lord of Heav’n and earth,
Whom angels serve and saints adore,
The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
To Whom be praise forevermore.

John Samuel Bewley Monsell 1863

Sing! Sing!  One of the striking realities of God’s people is that we sing.  Singing has always been a part of what it is to belong to the People of God’s Promise.  History is recounted in song, grief is expressed in lament, prayer is made corporate in sung liturgy and thankfulness is given depth and height as harmony and lyrical beauty give it flight.

In the New Testament there is not only an invite to sing but an imperative. We MUST sing and when we do – it is to be deeply rooted in God’s story and springing forth from thanksgiving.  Monsell’s hymn is not ignorant of the hard times in which it gratitude is more of a discipline than an easy response, and neither is Scripture.

The content of this hymn is simply this – we can be thankful for so many of the things in life within which we see the bountiful mercies of God but even when they are not so easily seen we can be thankful that we are AT LEAST (which in fact is greater than any other provision) able to give thanks for who God is!  Joy is not always easily felt, but it is always the appropriate response.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.  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.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Col 3:12-17