Posted on 09/17/2015 12:29:20 PM PDT by metmom
Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19).
If we are Spirit-filled, we will have songs of praise in our hearts and on our lips.
Once a Christian knows about being Spirit-filled and walking by the Spirit, it is still fair for him or her to ask, But how can I know if the Holy Spirit is really at work in my life? Ephesians 5:19 answers this question by declaring one of the unmistakable evidences of the Spirits full operation in our liveswe will have a song in our hearts.
The Bible does not give us much detail about the practical use of music and song, but there are enough references so that its significance to God and His people is clear. The Israelites praised God after He rescued them from the Egyptians (Ex. 15). The Psalms are filled with songs and praise, epitomized by the final verse, Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! (150:6).
In the New Testament, Jesus and the disciples closed the Last Supper by singing a hymn (Matt. 26:30). Paul and Silas sang while they were imprisoned at Philippi (Acts 16:25). During his vision in Revelation 5, the apostle John sees this: When He [Christ, the Lamb] had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song (vv. 8-9).
That new song John was about to hear sung before Gods throne was not just new chronologicallyit was new qualitatively. Here as elsewhere in the New Testament, new is used in relation to Gods salvation, which means it makes perfect sense for us to sing a new songone that is far better than the worlds songsif we are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. Words of genuine praise should well up in our hearts often and at the appropriate times break forth from our lips as we reflect the joy of the Spirit-filled life.
Suggestions for Prayer
Thank God specifically for some of your favorite hymns.
For Further Study
Read Revelation 5:1-14 for the complete context of Johns new song.
What is the songs theme? How many eventually join in the praises?
God’s Word ping
2 Samuel 6:13-15 King James Version (KJV)
13 And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwsvqVmFV6Y#aid=P-1z79bGvfk
Psalm 150:4 King James Version (KJV)
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
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