Come Before Him with Song! --by Linden Malki

Music has been part of life for as long as we have existed, as far as we know. We are created with the capacity to make sounds, and use the sounds to communicate with other people, as well as animals. But beyond the gift of communication, we are also blessed with voices that can create harmonious sounds, that can express many different feelings, usually pleasurable. We can make pleasant sounds with all sorts of things--things that we can bang on, things that we can whistle with, strings that can be tensioned, tuned and plucked or bowed. And, more than that, we have the ability to hear and appreciate.

We also have the ability to recognize and appreciate the sounds made by other creatures--especially birds, but also other animals.  And there are evidences that animals can respond to music as well as our voices and the sounds of other creatures. We also respond to noises of inanimate objects--big things like the ocean, as well as little tiny things like a clock ticking.

We also realize that God has used the wonder of sound to interact with His creation; He uses the ability He created in us to make not just sounds but music, and voices that can be controlled and combined to make both simple music, like a child singing "Jesus Loves Me", and wonderful soaring music like the "Hallelujah Chorus."  We also can use music to tell a story. One of the first musical stories that that has been preserved is Moses and Miriam's song celebrating the defeat of the Egyptians in the sea.  This not only reminds us of the event, but it combines the story of God's action with praise and thanks for the God who showed His power in the lives of His people.  We read: "Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said,I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted;The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him." (Exodus 15:1-2) We also have songs of David, Solomon, and many other writers and singers. Solomon's Temple was a place of singing--we find  among the musicians on staff in the Temple grandsons of the prophet Samuel; and the longest single Book in the Bible is a songbook. We have stories of children praising God in song, and all sorts of people in all sorts of places. We should thank God that He gives us the gift of song--that can then return to Him in our Praise!