Why does the Bible command singing? And what if I don't feel like it?
Because singing does things speaking alone cannot: it teaches, it remembers, and it carries truth down into the body. The Bible's songs come from the sea shore, the prison cell, and the ruined harvest, which means the command to sing is not a command to feel happy. It is an instruction for what to do with truth while your feelings catch up.
This question arose from studying What are God's people supposed to do when they gather?.
Begin by reading
Go into the Word
Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
The first thing a rescued people did was sing
Within hours of crossing the sea, before any law was given or tabernacle built, Israel sang. Miriam took a tambourine and the answer rolled back across the shore: 'Sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously.' Redemption produced music the way fire produces heat. When God saves, His people do not merely report it; they burst into song about it.
Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances. Miriam answered them, “Sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
Songs teach and carry the word
Paul ties singing directly to teaching: 'teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.' A congregation's songs are its catechism; long after the sermon fades, the melody keeps delivering the doctrine. This is also why what we sing matters so much: we are memorizing theology every time we open our mouths.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing, and making melody in your heart to the Lord;Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Singing is commanded for the joyless too
Habakkuk wrote his song on the worst economic day imaginable: no figs, no fruit, no flocks. 'Yet I will rejoice in Yahweh. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!' James gives the same instruction both ways: suffering? pray. cheerful? 'Let him sing praises.' And Hebrews calls praise a sacrifice: 'the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name.' A sacrifice, by definition, costs something. Singing when you feel nothing is not hypocrisy; it is faith offering its fruit early, before the feelings ripen.
For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in Yahweh. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Through him, then, let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name.By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Even a dungeon cannot enforce silence
In Philippi, beaten and chained at midnight, Paul and Silas were 'praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.' Nobody sings in a stocks because it is culturally expected. They sing because the gospel gives them something true enough to sing in the dark, and the listening prisoners heard it. Your song has an audience you may never see.
But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
As you read, you may wonder…
Scripture raises the next question
Studying the Word naturally opens more of it. Follow what you just read: it leads somewhere.
Continue this trail
What is the Spirit's role when the church gathers?→“What is it then, brothers? When you come together, each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has another language, has an interpretation. Let all things be done to build each other up.How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.”Is all of life worship, or only what happens on Sunday?→“Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”What will worship be like in the new creation?→“I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”What is Paul saying about men and women in the church?→“But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.”Explore further
Can I be anxious and still trust God?→Anxiety & Peace trail“Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his presence.Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.”Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in Yahweh. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Worth visiting