I love music. I was one of those babies that could sing before I could talk and was dancing not long after entering this world. Growing up, I was always singing along with something: either the radio, or my walkman, or even just the song was that was stuck in my head. I didn’t ever really need to hear music to sing a long, music was pretty much perpetually playing over and over in my head. As Jess will probably attest, this has not changed at all as I’ve grown older.
Even now, as I’m sure y’all have come to realize, I love to sing, and I love to sing loud. Especially when the songs are praises to God, I sing out, and I sing strong. As I’m sure you’ve also come to realize, this does not always mean that I sound good while singing. I am just about tone-deaf, I sing a little through my nose, and I still do not really know what “pitch” is. Luckily for me, Holy Scripture does not say sing pretty. Instead, as our Scripture today attests, we are called to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. A loud and joyful noise, not necessarily a pretty one. God hears our praises and is please by them, no matter the musical quality. My brother once made the comment that if God is pleased by my singing, God must be extremely tone-deaf. But that’s okay. That does not stop me from singing loud and singing proud for my God.
This has always been the case, but I have not always been as comfortable with it as I am now. During services at FUMC Burnet, as I was growing up, people used to turn around and look at me when I sang in worship. I hated it. I felt like a spectacle, when all I was trying to do was sing to my Lord. So, I moved seats, and moved my family with me. Our “designated pew” went from being the back row to the front row. I figured this way, the people behind me could stare all they wanted but I did not have to see them. My worship could continue uninterrupted.
But you know, I have always wanted to be able to do more than just sing along in worship. I have always wanted to make the music that accompanied peoples’ worship, to engage in some way in the leading of worship. So I started working up different songs on my saxophone during the breaks in HS band. At first, I stuck to Christmas songs because they are easy, catchy, and everyone knows them. Yeah, I was that kid in high school that would play Christmas songs in October. Then, to the excitement of everyone in band with me, I moved on to other hymns and praise songs that people knew.
Here’s the problem with the saxophone, though: You have to keep it in tune. And since we all know that I do not have an ear for tune or pitch, it is probably not the ideal instrument with which for me to be leading worship. I have tried guitar and piano, and even though I love them both I just did not have the time or patience to devote to learning them. So I was stuck with singing, to many peoples’ detriment.
Then, in college, I was introduced to the djembe. I fell in love instantly. The simplicity of this drum paired with its dynamic uses drew me in. I bought my own as soon as I was able and I jumped at every chance that I could to play with any and everyone in worship. I had found my instrument to play my part in the song of life.
The Psalms are full of calls to take up instruments and raise your voice in praise to God. The final handful especially are replete with this language, urging everyone to respond to God through whatever musical and worshipful means available: cymbal, gong, horn, clapping, lyre, flute, harp, drum, voices… they’re all here. We are called to raise up praise to God on these and more, as if we were putting on a show for the Audience of One.
But God is more than just an audience in this. He is the Director as well. Did you know that over a third of the Psalms are dedicated to the “Director of Music?” the psalmist understood our lives as symphonies devoted to God: musical numbers counted off by the beat of the Almighty’s heart; melodies developed to carry His love and grace up into the air; harmonies to fill the space of eternity with a message of His mercy. We are the musicians; God is the Director.
So what part do you play in this cosmic song? Do you help carry the melody like a flute, producing beautifully crafted phrases that brighten even the darkest day? Are part of the harmony, adding complexity and depth to the song? Or are you part of the rhythm, pushing the tune forward and causing everyone to clap their hands and tap their heels?
I pray that we might all take up our instruments in the symphony of life, and I pray that our praises will bring a smile to our Director of Music, our Audience of One.
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