Don’t Make Me Sing: Why We Sing In the Worship Gathering

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Over these next few weeks on our Vintage Press blog, we are discussing the “worship gathering.” Just by the definition of ‘worship’ (worth-ship), we can know it is the act of giving worth, of bringing or placing honor. Musical worship, a specific type of worship and the subject of this blog, is defined as giving worth to and placing honor on the Lord through song. Musical worship, whether in a corporate community setting, as we’re talking about, or in private, is a response of praise (giving worth) and position of our hearts (placing honor) toward Jesus.

You might have caught the reference in the title of this blog, even before seeing the picture below. If you did, then you probably appreciate this Saturday Night Live skit as much as my wife and I. In this skit, the character, played by Kristen Wiig, keeps saying, “Don’t make me sing,” even though no one is pushing her to sing.

On a more serious and transparent note, (See what I did there?) we all at times can share this reaction in a corporate gathering setting. For me, this is a great reminder that our worship is an act, it is a choice. It is taking any and all thought and attention off of ourselves and placing it completely on the Lord Jesus, for His glory alone. For our purposes, as we talk about musical worship, I’d like to ask, “Why Should I Sing?”

Why Should I Sing?

  1. It is biblical
    • The longest book in the Bible is the book of Psalms. What is a Psalm? It is a sacred song, a song of praise. Both in the Psalms and throughout the Bible singing is an important element of worship. From the Psalms alone we can see that musical worship through sacred songs is important to bring glory and praise to Jesus.

    “O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!” (Psalms 95:1)


  2. It is our opportunity to remind one another of why we gather
    • Our rehearsal of eternal and everlasting praise together unto the Lord reminds us of God’s promises and of our covenantal relationship with him.

    “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.” (Colossians 3:16)


  3. It is an encounter with God
    • When we respond to the Lord, singing His praise and believing in Him in spirit and truth, we are truly seeking His face and His will. There is an expectancy to meet with the Lord, to give glory to Jesus, and to grow a heart of desperation for an encounter with God. This is a worship that addresses each person of our Trinitarian God.

    “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)


  4. It is a sacrificial act and an offering of praise
    • Our musical worship exists to bring honest sacrificial praise.

    “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” (Hebrews 13:15).


  5. Jesus gets the glory and victory in celebration
    • Jesus deserves our highest praise. Ultimately, when we respond to the Lord Jesus through musical worship, we are giving Him all the glory. We are identifying in Christ and not in our sin. We are set free to celebrate and glory in Jesus alone. Paul Tripp says it this way, “Corporate worship is designed to require us to face the disaster of sin so we will fully celebrate the grace of Jesus.”1

    “My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.” (Psalm 71:23)

Earlier today, I was with a large group of youth in a worship gathering. I was reminded that we have every reason to give Jesus all glory, honor, and praise. We have “10,000 Reasons.”

“Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name”2

So, let us sing.

1Paul David Tripp, Twitter Post, July 13, 2014, 4:27 a.m., https://twitter.com/PaulTripp.

2Redman, Matt. 10,000 Reasons. 10,000 Reasons. Said And Done Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing). mp3. 2011.