Why We Sing - Part 1 [Notes]

You’re invited to join us for Why We Sing, a six-week series about worshiping God through music. On any given Sunday, we sing three, four, sometimes five songs together. At home, in the car, or in our earbuds, we turn on worship music or put a favorite song on repeat. But have you ever stopped to ask: why do we sing? Why lift our voices in praise to God? How and why does singing bless God and stir our own souls? What if we don’t feel like singing? Or don’t feel worthy to sing to God? Or maybe we feel like our voice isn’t good enough to really sing out? In this series, we’ll explore six biblical reasons why we sing. Our prayer is that each of us will grow in our theological understanding of musical worship – and as a community, feel more free and empowered to lift our voices in praise to God on Sundays and throughout the week.

Psalm 145 (HCSB) – Praising God’s Greatness – A Davidic hymn
I exalt You, my God the King, and praise Your name forever and ever.
I will praise You every day; I will honor Your name forever and ever.
Yahweh is great and is highly praised; His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation will declare Your works to the next and will proclaim Your mighty acts.
I will speak of Your splendor and glorious majesty and Your wonderful works.
They will proclaim the power of Your awe-inspiring acts, and I will declare Your greatness.
They will give a testimony of Your great goodness and will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in faithful love.
The Lord is good to everyone; His compassion rests on all He has made.
All You have made will thank You, Lord; the godly will praise You.
They will speak of the glory of Your kingdom and will declare Your might,
informing all people of Your mighty acts and of the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; Your rule is for all generations. The Lord is faithful in all His words and gracious in all His actions.
The Lord helps all who fall; He raises up all who are oppressed.
All eyes look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time.
You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all His ways and gracious in all His acts.
The Lord is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry for help and saves them.
The Lord guards all those who love Him, but He destroys all the wicked.
My mouth will declare Yahweh’s praise; let every living thing praise His holy name forever and ever.

 Reflect – what do we learn about God?

The Hebrew word hālal means to praise, to boast, to shine, to celebrate, to glory in

Hālal + Yah (short for Yahweh) = Hallelujah (Praise the Lord)

King (v.1); great (v.3); greatness (v.3); splendor (v.5); glorious majesty (v.5); greatness (v.6); great (v.7); goodness (v.7); righteousness (v.7); gracious (v.8); compassionate (v.8); slow to anger (v.8); faithful love (v.8); good (v.9); compassion (v.9); glory (v.11); faithful (v.13); gracious (v.13); righteous (v.17); gracious (v.17); near (v.18); holy (v.21)

Expositor’s Bible Commentary:
“The psalmist (David) calls on the community to praise God unceasingly. The reason for praise lies in God’s greatness. As the great King, He deserves human praise.”

Expository Dictionary of Bible Words:
“Praise is addressed to God or His ‘name.’ God Himself, His attributes, or His acts are the content of our thoughts, words, and songs.”

 Reflect – what do we learn about people?

All You have made will thank You, Lord; the godly will praise You.
– Psalm 145:10 (HCSB)

"The Psalms were the divinely inspired hymnbook for the public worship of God in ancient Israel. Because psalms were not simply read, but sung, they penetrated the minds and imaginations of the people as only music can do."
– Tim and Kathy Keller, The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms

 “It's Your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to You only.”
– Great Are You Lord  

Reflect – what do we learn about ourselves? 

I exalt You, my God the King, and praise Your name forever and ever.
I will praise You every day; I will honor Your name forever and ever.
– Psalm 145:1–2 (HCSB)

My mouth will declare Yahweh’s praise; let every living thing praise His holy name forever and ever.
– Psalm 145:21 (HCSB)

House of the Lord // How Great is Your Love // Holy Forever // Great Are You Lord

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