What Are you Singing?

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Scripture:

Mark 14:26  ¶ When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Observation:

Jesus and his disciples were celebrating the passover together; the last supper.  Jesus knew what was coming but his disciples still did not understand.  It was customary to close out the celebration of the Passover by singing the hallel Psalms, found in Psalms 115-118.  As they closed out the evening they would have finished by singing the following lines:

Psalm 118
22The stone the builders rejected
   
has become the cornerstone;

23 the Lord has done this,
   
and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 The Lord has done it this very day;
   
let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 Lord, save us!
   
Lord, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
   
From the house of the Lord we bless you.

27 The Lord is God,
   
and he has made his light shine on us.

With boughs in hand,
join in the festal procession
   
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
   
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   
his love endures forever.

Application:

The song that was sung spoke directly to Jesus’ life; he was the stone that the builders had rejected.  Jesus would suffer and die — but he wanted everything in his life to give glory to God.  His song, the song he was willing to sing was one in which God would be given the praise even as he knew that he was walking into a trap that would lead to his death.

Paul and Silas sang songs and hymns to the Lord as they sat in a prison cell. 

In my moments of pain and of frustration — what am I singing?  What is my song?  What is my hymn?  Can I find a song in which God is found, or am I unable to sing at all?

Somehow I think there was something cathartic for Jesus to sing these hymns on that evening.  Through song we can often sense the presence of the Lord.  In the midst of our deepest trials may we seek out our hymn and allow God to speak to and minister to us as we worship him. 

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your song.  Amen.





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