Singing and Dancing Our Way Through

Psalm 81, 88, 92 & 93, 1 Chron 6

Today in the chapter from Chronicles, it was interesting to read that David appointed and put men in charge of the music in the house of the LORD.  1 Chron 6:31 “They ministered with music before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem.”

God had a home again.  A place where the people could go to be in his Presence.  And honour and bring worship and thank to His Name. 

This chapter also lays out the genealogy of Levi, in its various forms and methods.   As a Levite, it was important to be able to draw and claim your clan lines in order to be able to serve.  Some sang, some made offerings, and some had temple duties.  I realized today that this also meant you had a place to live, in a Levitical town set aside by each of the tribes of Israel.  Hmmm.   You were, who your father was, and it determined where you were from, and what you could do with your life. 

I noticed some of the names of the music leaders in the sub-titles of the Psalms.  And I had never made that connection before.   Writers, psalmists recording the vibe of the nation.  The dark days and the bright days.  The nights and the dawns.  The troubles and the deliverance.   The milk and the honey. 

Each Psalm such a different song, and heart sound.  

Psalm 88 sounds like “hello darkness, my old friend”.  Such a bleak song, about being forgotten.  NIV notes: a song from the edge of death, of a life lived in the vicinity of the grave, so troubled have been his years that he seems only to have known the back of God’s Hand.” There is no expression of hope on these lips.   At all.  

But in Psalm 92 we hear “I sing for joy for at the work of your hands”, v4b.  And the other psalms 81, and 93 sing of God’s strength and majesty.  His mightiness and holiness. 

What do people hear when they listen to the sound of our song?   Do people judge us by the song that we sing?  What if you could only sing one song?  Would it be a praise song? A worship song?  A lament?  Would it be a song of recounting glory, or one filled with pleas for help, or a gratitude song?

I think I probably would sing a different song everyday.  I would be eclectic. 

I would hope that our songs are lovely, speaking out of the overflow of our hearts – the wellspring of life.  I think they would be varied: faith songs, journey songs, celebration songs, sorrow songs, searching-hard songs, discovering-joy songs… 

The fact that you and I can sing at all on some days is amazing to me.  That God does such a work and shows up in such a way.   

I see you!

I hear your song!

And that we hear Him.

Like sheep respond to their Shepherd’s voice.

Trusting that the Shepherd hears their sound.

That He will feed them til satisfied.

That He will soothe their aches and bruises.

That He will hold them close to His heart.

And that He will watch over them so they can rest safely.