Apart from numerous references to singing, song and musical instruments in the Psalms (stringed instruments are mentioned in the titles of Ps 4, Ps 6, Ps 54, Ps 67, Ps 76 and a variety of instruments feature in other psalms (e.g. Ps 150)), there are a number of cryptic terms in the superscriptions or titles to Psalms which are thought to be musical terms. Nowadays, there are fixed ways of notating music and Italian has become the musical language used in many scores (using terms which have to be learned by any student of music, such as adagio meaning very slow or presto meaning fast – with alternative meanings offered in this tea towel for musicians!)

Presumably, some of these Hebrew words had similar meanings, not all of which are clear nowadays. Terms such as maskil, miktam, shiggaion, higgaion and alamoth feature in the titles of many psalms, and probably refer to the style or type of psalm.

The word ‘selah’ is found in a number of psalms (e.g. Ps 3:2, 4, 8; Ps 7:5; Ps 24:6, 10), with most versions of the Bible not attempting to translate the term but simply transliterating it. It is thought that the word refers to a technical term connected to musical accompaniment (because it occurs in psalms which have other musical terminology) and because it may have been connected to the Hebrew word for ‘pause’ is thought to refer to a musical pause, perhaps even to an instrumental interlude while there was no singing such as often happens in modern songs. The Amplified Bible adds “pause and calmly think about that” to each verse where selah appears. When we see the word selah in a psalm (or in Habakkuk 3, the only other place in the Old Testament to feature this word), we should pause to carefully weigh the meaning of what we have just read or heard, lifting up our hearts in praise to God for His great truths. “All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name. Selah!” (Psalm 66:4)

We do not need to understand musical terms in order to be able to appreciate the fact that the Psalms are songs, but it is interesting to note the history of music and song in the worship of God’s people. Instruments are mentioned as early as Gen 4:21 (His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes) and the many references to the ‘director of music’ in the Psalms (see Ps 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 31, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 75, 76, 77, 80, 81, 84, 85, 88, 109, 139, 140) give us insight into the use of song and music in collective worship. David appointed musicians and singers to lead temple worship (see 1 Chron 16:4-6; also Neh 12:27-47). Music and song are tools – tools for praising and worshipping God so that we can fulfil our chief aim. It is interesting to note that the last 5 psalms (Ps 146-150) all feature the word ‘Hallelujah’ (‘Praise the Lord’) so many times. To praise God is our chief aim and the songs we find in this book of praise (tehillim in Hebrew, psalmoi in Greek) give us tools for doing this.

Derek Walker says in the February edition of ‘Christianity’ magazine, ‘if we don’t give our minds tangible content to grab hold of, our thoughts will wander.’ Certainly, we need to ensure that our singing is comprised of Biblical truth, which is why it is so good to sing the Psalms (see The Psalms Project, which looks to put all the Psalms to music). He argues that many of our songs do not engage with the physical world enough, but the truth is that when we sing, primarily we need our attention focussed on God. We need to understand that there is no dichotomy between physical and spiritual realities, but we frequently need reminding of who God is and what He has done. Spiritual songs should connect these things with our everyday lives, which is why the Psalms remains one of the greatest sources of song material in the world, because this is what they do so skilfully all the time!

Bob Kauflin, whose book ‘Worship Matters’ looks at the importance of music and song in worship, says ‘It matters not only that we sing but also what we sing.’ Biblical truth is vital in song. We can’t go wrong if we sing about the things we find in the Bible! (There is a surprisingly wide range of topics to sing about there!)

The Psalms tell us that it is fitting and pleasant to praise God through music and song (Ps 147:1, Ps 33:1, Ps 135:3), but they also give us many reasons why we should sing and what we should sing about. Fundamentally, we sing of who God is, reflecting on:

• His love (Ps 59:16, Ps 89:1, Ps 90:14, Ps 92:1, Ps 101:1, Ps 136),
• His righteousness (Ps 7:17, Ps 119:162, Ps 145:7),
• His faithfulness (Ps 71:22, Ps 92:1-2),
• His glory (Ps 138:5)
• His power and strength (Ps 21:3, Ps 81:1, Ps 118:14).

• His saving acts, redemption and goodness to us (Ps 96:1, Ps 132:16, Ps 13:6, Ps 135:3, Ps 145:7)
• His protection (Ps 59:16)
• His mighty acts (Ps 105:1, Ps 98:1)

In the Psalms, we find a whole range of topics, emotions and categories for songs, including lament, complaint, anger and pain as well as joy, exuberance and thanksgiving. We will find something for every season of the soul.

Why do we sing? Singing seems to be a fundamental human response to different circumstances, something that is ‘wired into’ us by God. It doesn’t matter whether we are a nightingale or a crow; we tend to enjoy singing aloud, even if it’s only in the shower for our own benefit!

God is a God who gives gifts to us, and music is one of His greatest gifts. Berthold Auerbach said, ‘Music washes from the soul the dust of everyday life’, and certainly music and singing are one of the ways that truth and emotion are best combined. (Sadly, lies and emotion can also be combined in this way, which is why we have to be pretty ruthless in what we listen to; so much of popular music is filled with lyrics which do not honour God and which can easily distract and even pervert our thinking on a huge variety of subjects, especially love.)

Biblical reasons why we should sing and make music include:

1. Obedience (God commands us to sing (Ps 47:6-7; Ps 81:1-2; Ps 150), and therefore singing reflects our desire to obey God in every area of our lives.)
2. Digging Deep in the Word (When we sing truths from the Bible, we allow God’s word to dwell in us (Col 3:16) and build Biblical responses into our lives.)
3. Building up other people (singing is infectious; it helps other people to see God’s character in new ways and can even be used by God to reach unbelievers (Ps 105:1-2). The corporate nature of singing is powerful and reflects the solid truth that we are called to live for God as a community, a family, a body, not just as individuals.)
4. It is a form of spiritual warfare (see Ps 149:6-9, 2 Chron 20:20-23, Joshua 6:1-27). Lifting up God’s name in praise through music and singing has real power in the spiritual realms which breaks strongholds and brings victory. When we sing in church, we are not simply passing time, entertaining ourselves or enjoying ourselves through music; we are engaging in spiritual warfare by proclaiming who God is and using the sword of the Spirit so that ‘the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ (Eph 6:12) may be defeated.
5. Singing builds us up so that we can face the trials of life with faith. Paul and Silas are unjustly imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel, and what do they do while they’re in prison? They sing! (Acts 16:25) Singing needs to be not just for the happy times when it’s easy to sing, but, like every area of our lives, something we do by faith. We can’t please God without faith (Heb 11:6); there is great power in singing in the hard times as well as the good times (‘Blessed Be Your Name’/ ‘I’m Still Yours’). The lament in Ps 137 that the Israelites felt they could not sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land shows us that singing in troubled times is not easy, but just because something is difficult is no reason to give up. As we engage our wills to sing, not relying merely on emotion but exercising faith, we find that God honours tear-stained songs. (‘When The Tears Fall’, Tim Hughes)
6. We sing because it’s God’s pathway to joy. Sometimes singing gives birth to joy and sometimes joy gives birth to singing, but persistently in Scripture, joy and singing are bound together. You can’t study one of those two biblical themes without encountering the other. (see here.)
7. We sing to glorify God. Singing brings our heart, soul, mind, and strength together to focus entirely and completely on God.  In an age of distraction, singing grabs the attention of all our senses and focuses us on God, uniting truth, emotions and will in ways that help us to live a congruent life.

This week’s Bible study looked at the fact that the Psalms are not only poems (designed to be read aloud and which use a variety of poetic features such as parallelism, metaphor and acrostics to engage our memories and our emotions) but also songs. The Psalms contain frequent references to song and singing as well as to music (see Ps 5:11, Ps 7:17, Ps 9:2, 11; Ps 13:6; Ps 18:49, Ps 21:13, Ps 27:6, Ps 30:4, 12; Ps 32:11; Ps 33:1-3; Ps 40:2, Ps 47:1, 6-7; Ps 57:9, 16-17; Ps 63:5; Ps 65:13, Ps 66:1-2; Ps 66:3, Ps 67:3; Ps 68:4, 24-25, 32; Ps 69:30; Ps 71:22-23; Ps 75:9; Ps 81:1-2; Ps 87:7; Ps 89:1; Ps 90:14; Ps 92:1-4; Ps 95:1-2; Ps 96:1-2, 12-13; Ps 98:1, 8-9; Ps 101:1; Ps 104:33; Ps 105:1-2; Ps 108:1-3; Ps 118:14; Ps 119:172; Ps 126:1-2; Ps 132:9; Ps 135:3; Ps 137:1-4; Ps 138:4-5; Ps 144:10; Ps 145:7; Ps 146:1-2; Ps 147:1; Ps 149:1, 3; Ps 150:3 if you don’t believe me!) They are not the only songs in the Bible (see Ex 15:1-20, Is 12:1-6, Hab 3:1-19, where the prayer ends, ‘For the director of music. On my stringed instruments’ and contains the musical reference ‘on shiginoth’.) Clearly, music and song were an important part of the form of the Psalms and explain why the book is known as the church’s ‘hymnal’ and why music and singing form an integral part of church services, no matter what the church tradition (modern songs, older hymns, antiphonal choral singing of the Psalms etc.)

The health and emotional benefits of singing are well documented (see

http://www.moresingingplease.com/benefits-of-singing and http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/176316.php

for more details.) These include giving your lungs a workout and toning your intercostal muscles and diaphragm, improving posture, improving your immune system[1] and helping with sleep problems (since strengthened throat and palate muscles can help with snoring and sleep apnoea.) Singing works as a free antidepressant, since it releases endorphins, the ‘feel-good’ hormones[2], and acts as an anti-stress mechanism, also helping to improve mental alertness (the Alzheimer’s Society[3] has even established a “Singing for the Brain” service to help people with dementia and Alzheimer’s maintain their memories.) In addition, singing can actually broaden communication skills (singing to babies helps prepare their brains for language[4]), help with memorisation techniques (it’s often easier to remember the lyrics of songs than to learn poetry or prose without music), evoke emotions and help with boosting confidence.

Singing also has significant spiritual benefits, not least when we join together to sing. Corporate singing binds us together, helping us to demonstrate and express our unity. Singing the truth of God’s Word builds us up in faith and helps us to allow God’s Word to dwell in us richly (see Col 3:16, Eph 5:19). We remember far more through song than we do through sermons, in many respects, because the format of a spiritual song is designed to capture essential truth in condensed form. Perhaps the most important thing to reflect upon, however, is that all truth originates in God. God Himself sings (see Zeph 3:17). Ultimately, we worship a triune God who sings (Jesus sang hymns when on earth; one of the consequences of being filled with the Spirit is that we sing!) and He wants us to be like Him. To do that, we have to learn to sing our praises to the Lord, to sing for joy and to praise God’s name in song!

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15669447

[2] http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/emotions/singing-happy1.htm

[3] https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/info/20172/activities_and_services/765/singing_for_the_brain

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/may/08/singing-children-development-language-skills

Further work was done on fitting the fire alarm yesterday, mainly in the community room:

The alarm was tested in the worship room and was very loud, with flashing lights!

It’s a day off today as Slimming World are in the building, so normal service is resumed on Friday!

In addition to all the alarming business going on at church this week (servicing the burglar alarm and fitting a new fire alarm), other things are going on behind the scenes.

Plans for the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival are moving with a swiftness I’ve not often encountered in planning events! This event will take place on Friday 1st & Saturday 2nd September from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Dearne Playhouse (by the doctor’s surgery in Goldthorpe on Washington Road.) It’s hoped that this festival will combine exhibitions of local artistic talent (in any creative form such as painting, drawing, photography, crafts, knitting, sewing, crocheting, embroidery, woodwork, metalwork, flower-arranging, cake-decorating etc.) with performing arts running on stage (Thurnscoe Male Voice Choir will be taking part, and Julie Medlam from Dearne Playhouse is working on dance, drama and singing slots, as well as running a workshop for under-18s in the performing arts on Thursday 24th August) and workshops and demonstrations taking place in the building throughout the event. Examples so far of things being suggested are the use of arts through technology (using 3D printers, for example) as well as having a display of model aircraft flying outside!

We are keen for local residents and groups to be involved in the festival. You can choose to exhibit one item or more, or offer your skills in whatever area of creativity you are gifted in! However, we do need to know what is on offer by 24th March so that we can plan where everything will go and organise a programme of events on stage. Please do let us know what you would like to do. The festival will only be a success if local people get involved and demonstrate to the wider world that the Dearne area is a place where we want to champion creativity and celebrate community.

Other news involves dedication services on 19th February at 10.30 a.m.  (for Oliver Burgin) and on 19th March at 6 p.m. (for Esther Turner). Please pray for both these services and ask God to bless these children and their families.  Because of the dedication service on 19th February, there will be no communion service that morning. There will also be a funeral service on Friday 24th February at 1.45 p.m.

Don’t forget also the Christian Institute meeting at Doncaster Evangelical Church on Beckett Road, Wheatley, in Doncaster on Wednesday 1st March at 7.30 p.m. The Christian Institute looks at how we can bring a Christian influence to an increasingly secular society and campaigns on behalf of Christians in the workplace, schools, the judiciary and government.

Finally, the Women’s World Day of Prayer will be on Friday 3rd March at the parish church in Goldthorpe on Lockwood Road. Time to be confirmed, but it is likely to be in the afternoon. In the evening, those going on the India mission trip will be meeting together to pray and plan, so do pray for this as well – it’s not that long now until the eight of us go to India and we are very excited!