Don’t Forget to Sing

Our daughter, Christy, in our apartment in Moscow where we enjoyed
singing, playing, and praising the Lord. 

Scripture:

Mark 14:22   While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” ²³ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. ²⁴ He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. ²⁵ Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

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 meal together. As was the custom, there were Psalms sung throughout the evening. We read this passage and think that all of these events happened quite quickly when in reality Jesus and his disciples relaxed and enjoyed the evening together, lingering until the middle of the night, before they headed to the garden. 

Just imagine the deep conversation about God’s activity among the people both in the past and then, looking to the future. After this, they broke out in song. 

The table-fellowship was concluded by the recitation of the second half of the Hallel Psalms. It was customary to sing the Hallel antiphonally, one member of the table company chanting the text, and the others responding to each half verse with the shout of praise, “Hallelujah.” Jesus took the words of these psalms as his own prayer of thanksgiving and praise. He pledged to keep his vows in the presence of all the people (Ps. 116:12–19); he called upon the Gentiles to join in the praise of God (Ps. 117); and he concluded with a song of jubilation reflecting his steadfast confidence in his ultimate triumph: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord” (Ps. 118:17). (NICNT)

This closing with a hymn was sung in the presence of his enemy, and yet, Jesus did not fear. This was his sweet duty, to sing praises to God. The final Psalm, 118 ends as follows;

Psa. 118:28    You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

you are my God, I will extol you.

Psa. 118:29    O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Application:

It’s interesting to me to see how people sing in the midst of their darkest hour. I grew up in Germany where my parents were missionaries. They started a bible college and the students lived upstairs in our house. Mom had a piano in the living room with space enough for people to gather, sing and praise the Lord. I know life wasn’t always easy and my mother shouldered the weight as she tried to keep things going with very limited resources. Often, after we children had gone to bed at night, she would go and sit at the piano where she would play hymns and sing. We could tell how the day had gone by her choice of music, but whether slow and mournful or upbeat and joyful, it was always done in worship before God. 

One night, while living Russia, we were heading home to our apartment with a group of missionaries returning from a journey. We stepped into our elevator with luggage and our co-workers, Bob and Colleen Skinner. The doors to the elevator closed but the elevator wasn’t going anywhere. It was very dimly lit and there we were with luggage and four people, packed tightly into a small elevator. Our children were all upstairs in our apartment, now without any parents. We didn’t know how long it would take before someone might be able to come and rescue us and so, we began to sing. It turned into a joyful hour as we sang hymns of praise before the Lord. I know that the neighbors thought it was some kind of craziness and yet, it filled our hearts with joy, and hopefully they could hear that joy. After about an hour we were rescued and when we made it up to the top floor and our apartment, we discovered that our children had gone on well without us, having put on the teapot and served tea and snacks to all those present. 

There’s something peaceful about singing, even when things aren’t going your way. Singing praises to God refocuses us in a way that calms our fears and leads us to the throne room of God. 

Prayer:

Lord, I give thanks to you today, for you are good, and your steadfast love endures forever. Amen.