Praise for the Lord!

Here at the Queen Way church of Christ, we have two sets of hymnals that we use, and we switch from one to the other every six months or so. We're in that time of transition now. The "Hymns for Worship" books will soon be packed away and the "Praise for the Lord!" hymnals will come out of storage.

I don't have the best voice in the world. I don't sing bass or tenor (although I try from time to time). I'm not a skilled song-leader. But I love to sing, especially when I'm able to blend my voice with those of my brethren in praise for the Lord! Despite the poor quality of my voice (and I'm sure there are other members of Queen Way who feel the same way about their own voice), when 100+ God-fearing saints sing together, it is truly beautiful...but more than that, not only is God praised by our efforts, we are spiritually uplifted.

I have to admit to you that one of my pet-peeves (in the context of worship) is when brethren sing halfheartedly. There are some who don't like to sing (in general). Others say that they just don't have a good voice. Not only must we set aside our own desires and/or preferences and sing because it's the right thing to do...we must, as the elect, learn to LOVE to worship, and to sing.

"Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and praise is becoming" (Psalm 147:5).

And if you'd like to know WHY it's good to sing praises to our God...if you are in need of motivation, simply read the rest of Psalm 147 as the psalmist outlines reason after reason after reason for WHY God is worthy of our praise, and why, as humble servants of this INCREDIBLE God, we ought to relish any and all opportunities to praise His most holy name.

As we here at Queen Way begin to use the "Praise for the Lord!" hymnals, let's live up to the name of the hymnal itself. Let our singing not be cold and formal; let our singing praise the Lord!