Praising Jehovah in Song
1 Please open your songbook to the back endsheet. What do you see? A chorus of Levite singers at Jehovah’s holy temple, their mouths opened wide, singing with enthusiasm. Singing was an important feature of true worship at Jehovah’s temple. During the time of King David, more than 10 percent of those serving at the temple were assigned to praise Jehovah with music. And of that number, 288 were trained singers, “all experts.” You can be sure they took their singing seriously.—1 Chron. 23:3, 5; 25:7.
2 Coming to Christian times, we learn that Jesus and his apostles sang a song at the end of the Lord’s Evening Meal. (Mark 14:26) And the apostle Paul repeatedly tells us to sing praises to our God. At Colossians 3:16 he wrote: “Let the word of the Christ reside in you richly in all wisdom. Keep on teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, praises to God, spiritual songs with graciousness, singing in your hearts to Jehovah.”—See also Ephesians 5:19, 20.
3 Singing Kingdom songs is one of the ways in which we praise Jehovah. Should we not therefore sing with all our hearts? When we do, we give praise to Jehovah. He listens to our songs that are directed to him even as he does to our prayers. When we really sing out, we can also bring joy to others, and we are benefited ourselves.
4 Give thought to the beautiful words of our songs. These are indeed an aid toward our “teaching and admonishing one another.” What fine counsel our songs contain! By taking that counsel seriously, we can be helped to cultivate the fruitage of the spirit, so as to abound in these and guard against the intrusion of fleshly, worldly influences. ‘Singing in our hearts’ encourages us to serve Jehovah boldly and cheerfully.
5 To get the singing off to a fine start at the meetings, the chairman could announce not only the number of the song but also its theme, or title. He might occasionally note the Scriptural basis for the song and comment briefly on how it fits in with the information being presented.
6 The Kingdom Melodies and also the piano cassettes of our songs are fine instruments for helping our families to get better acquainted with the songs. Playing these as background music is a most enjoyable way for us to become more familiar with our songs.
7 The Scriptures repeatedly remind us of the obligation to praise our loving heavenly Father with song. Let us do so whole-souled. Thereby we can give a heartwarming witness to the stranger who comes into our midst. Yes, let us sing and make melody to Jehovah, even as David of old did.—Ps. 108:1-3.