Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCA)

Why should we sing the scriptures?

By Colin Howland

Published May 1, 2010 in Witness

Note: This article was originally published in the cover booklet of the 2010 Covenant Choir CD Christ Triumphant.

We can only love someone we know. Not only is this true, but the extent to which we love another is directly related to what (or how much) we know about them. Appearances may make us deeply interested in someone, but sight alone cannot take the place of words and actions of love, which are the true basis for relationship. To put it another way, something about a person needs to be revealed to us in order for us to love them; we can’t simply discover it for ourselves. In this sense, if we write a song about someone we love, we might say the words of that love song are also revealed to us. Each word of a love song is savored and precious insofar as it reflects the true nature of the relationship.

Such is true when we speak about a relationship with God. Much may be known about our Creator through what we can see, “for His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20). However, the true nature of our relationship to Him is recorded for us in the pages of the Old and New Testaments, for through the words of scripture God has chosen to reveal to us His words and actions of love toward us. That love is specifically and supremely displayed through the person and life of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ:

In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.(John 3:16–17)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. (John 1:14, 16)

The Bible makes it clear that seeing, hearing, and knowing Jesus Christ is equal to seeing, hearing, and knowing God: ”Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:1–3).

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9).

As God has chosen to reveal Himself and show His love for us through the words of the Bible, these words from the scripture, therefore, logically become the basis for the love songs which we sing to Him. The scriptures alone record the true nature of our relationship with God. Therefore, we sing of our love for God best when we sing His Word back to Him by faith. With this in mind, we may understand the importance of Paul’s exhortation to the Church that we should “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” (Colossians 3:16).

This recording is full of a variety of songs based on the scriptures, whether they are direct quotations, paraphrases, or theological summaries of a biblical doctrine. Each of them is suitable for use in group singing or for solo, in church or at home. They are here in the hope that the One of whom we sing will be revealed to you, and that you would make His love for you the song of your heart.