“Paul said: ‘Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs’”
Colossians 3:16
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
It’s easy to say that music has been a part of human history since the beginning of time. And while most songs are short and sweet, some are quite a lot longer.
Take Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, for example. Written over a two-year period, between 1822 and 1824, it’s one of the best-loved and most performed symphonies in the world.
A violinist who played at its premiere performance, Joseph Boem, said, “Beethoven himself conducted...and threw himself back and forth like a madman. At one moment he stretched to his full height, at the next he crouched down to the floor, flailing about with his hands and feet as though he wanted to play all the instruments and sing all the chorus parts.”
When it was finally over, seventy minutes later(!), the audience not only gave him five standing ovations, they threw their hats and handkerchiefs in the air, because they knew he couldn’t hear. Some say it’s one of the greatest musical works of all time.
And speaking of long songs, back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, the Beatles sang, Hey Jude, don’t make it bad, for a little over seven minutes, and Don McLean sang, Bye bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry, for a little over eight.
But not to be outdone by anyone, the longest song ever written, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is one called, The Rise and Fall of Bossanova, a song by Michael and Kelley Bostwick of PC III. But if you ever decide to listen to it, you’ll want to get comfortable, seeing as how it’s thirteen hours, and twenty three minutes long!
And by the way, in case you’re wondering, the absolute shortest song ever written is a little piece called, You Suffer. It’s all of four words and 1.316 seconds long. That’s a short song!
No matter where we go, it seems there’s music. If you’re in your car, there’s music. If you’re at home, there’s music. Shop at a store, eat at a restaurant, and even ride in an elevator, and music is probably playing.
From classical to country, from folk to hip hop, from jazz to reggae to rock and roll, music is very much a part of our lives.
And music was very important to the apostle Paul. Please turn with me to page 1253, to the book of Colossians chapter 3. I’ll start at verse 12: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 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. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Some four hundred years ago, Bible commentator John Lightfoot wrote, “Without doubt, the church in Colossae was the least important church to which any epistle of St. Paul is addressed.” For even though Colossae was once so powerful and prominent, “a great city of Phrygia,” by the time Paul sent this letter, it was just a shadow of its former self.
But even though it was in the “afternoon” of its power and influence, Paul sent them one of his most remarkable letters of all. As one author wrote, “It shines bright with the light of the apostle’s highest Christology,” making it so very relevant to even our place and time.
It’s where we find words like these--chapter 1: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through Him and for Him...And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.” And chapter 2: “In Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”
Now here in chapter 3, just as soon as he writes, in verse 2, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,” and verse 12, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, and patience, bearing with one another...forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you,” he writes in verse 16: “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.”
Have you ever noticed just how important music is in the Bible? As God was creating the heavens and the earth, the Bible says the angels, the morning stars, sang for joy. In Genesis chapter 4, we meet a man named Jubal, the father of all who played the flute and the harp. Just as soon as the people of Israel escaped Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, they burst into song. When Hannah gave her son, Samuel, to the Lord, she sang a song. When Elisha was about to prophesy, he asked a singer to sing him a song. When King Saul was troubled in spirit, David sang him a song. And when Mary learned she would bear Jesus, the Son of God, she too couldn’t help but sing, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
And think of the book of Psalms, the longest book in all the Bible. It’s a hymnbook, a collection of 150 songs.
Psalm 9 says, “I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” Psalm 96 says, “Sing to the Lord, bless His name.” And Psalm 149 says, “Sing to the Lord a new song.”
And think of the book of Revelation. It’s where the Bible says, “Every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them” will sing to the Lamb on His throne.
No wonder Martin Luther said, “Next to theology, I give to music the highest place and honor. Music is the art of the prophets, the only art that can calm the agitations of the soul. It’s one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.” And he wrote, “At the sound of music, the devil takes flight, just as he does at the words of theology, and for this reason the prophets always combined theology and music, teaching of truth and the chanting of Psalms and hymns. After theology, I give the highest place and greatest honor to music.”
Think of Paul in prison in Philippi, where he and Silas, even at midnight, sang hymns of praise to God. And on Maundy Thursday night, just as soon as Jesus shared one last meal with His disciples, they sang a song.
And here in the words of Colossians chapter 3, Paul means to tell us not only how to sing, and why to sing, but even what to sing as the people of God. As he wrote in verse 16: “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.”
It’s interesting if you think about it--in heaven, we won’t need the preaching of the gospel anymore, for there we’ll meet the living Word of God, Jesus, Himself. And we won’t need prayer anymore, for there all our needs will be supplied, and we’ll live in God’s presence forever. Here we see in a glass darkly. There we’ll see face to face.
But there’s one thing we’ll do, and that’s sing.
In the words of a hymn: “I love to tell the story; for those who know it best, seem hungering and thirsting, to hear it like the rest. And, when in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song, ‘twill be the old, old story, that I have loved so long.”
Voice of the Martyrs tells of a pastor who spent several years in prison at the hands of Communist authorities, jailed for his faith in Christ. Later he said that, even though he couldn’t help but remember everything they did to him there, he didn’t focus on that much. Instead, he spoke of the times of joy in the presence of his Lord. He said he and his fellow Christian prisoners even formed a community of praise, right there in the middle of prison.
This is what he said: “When we were in prison, we sang almost every day, because Christ was alive in us. In fact, the Communists were very nice to us. Since they knew we liked to praise God with musical instruments, they gave every Christian in prison a musical instrument. They didn’t give us violins or mandolins--that would have been much too expensive. Instead, they put chains on our hands and feet. And while they chained us to add to our grief, we discovered that the chains were splendid musical instruments! When we clanged them together in rhythm, we could sing, ‘This is the day (clink, clank), this is the day (clink, clank), which the Lord has made (clink, clank), which the Lord has made (clink, clank).’”
And here in our place and time, what does Paul tell us to do? Verse 16: “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.”
One more thing. As you all know, back in the late 1600s and early 1700s, an Italian craftsman named Antonio Stradivari designed and built more than a thousand violins, violas, and cellos, about 650 of which still survive today. Each one is considered priceless.
Now we know something about his craftsmanship. He used spruce for the top, willow on the inside, and maple for the back, ribs, and neck. Also, he treated the wood with minerals like potassium, sodium, and silicate, not to mention tree sap, honey, and egg white.
But unfortunately, he never once recorded exactly what he did or how he did it. So in spite of years of scientific examination and research, we’ll probably never really know just how he made his precious violins, violas, and cellos.
But we know exactly how God chose to accomplish our salvation, for Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried, then rose on Easter Day, is our Savior, Redeemer, and Lord.
We give thanks, dear Father, for the great gifts You give, for calling us to be Your people, and for nurturing us with Your Word. May all that we do, whether in word or deed, be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. This we ask in His name. Amen