On the Backbone-Strengthening Power of Psalm Singing

Let the saints be joyful in glory;
Let them sing aloud on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,
To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishments on the peoples;
To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
To execute on them the written judgment—
This honor have all His saints.

Praise the Lord! (Psalm 149:5-9 NKJV)

One of the unique things about my congregation, as well as a number of other good Reformed churches, is our practice of regularly singing biblical psalms in worship, usually at least one every service. We might sing a psalm relevant to the sermon text, we might sing a portion of a psalm as a confession of sin, or even as a preparation to hear and receive God's word. Regardless, at least one portion of psalm singing takes place each Sunday. Usually more than one, if we can help it!

If that practice is just a nice tradition, or something we do just to distinguish ourselves as Reformed believers, it'd be pretty stupid. But I am increasingly convinced that psalm singing is not just an interesting tradition, or something done for the sake of separating ourselves from evangellybeans and their limp-wristed contemporary songs. No, singing God's songs must be so much more than that! 

One aspect of singing psalms that is sometimes overlooked is that singing psalms makes very clear the nature of spiritual warfare. The Bible is crystal clear that there is a war raging around us, even if we can't always see it. The war between God's kingdom and the powers of darkness. It is not an equal fight. The powers of darkness: the world, the flesh, and the devil, are all rebels within the sphere of God's sovereign power. They can go no further than He allows. But He does give them leash to run with. And with that extra leash length they wage war against His kingdom and servants. 

There are not many contemporary worship songs that deal with spiritual warfare. If anything, they will address it along the lines of "The enemy wants to make me feel bad, but I overcome through God's power and I feel good about myself again." Not a bad statement, just not sufficient to capture the fullness of what's happening. The Christian, as a soldier of Jesus Christ, joins the kingdom of God in warring against the powers of darkness (Eph 6:12). 

If you have never sung psalms before, one thing that will quickly strike you is how many times you will sing about enemies who speak evil against you, or who seek your life. The psalmists are often engaged in battle, crying out to God for victory against their enemies. They are fitting songs to sing as Christians in an increasingly hostile climate. They are good songs to sing every day as you wrestle personally with the temptations of the flesh. They are stirring songs that move you into battle against the sinful world and its powers of darkness. They are triumphant songs that remind you that, although the devil and all his demonic powers oppose you, Jesus Christ has and is gaining the victory over them (Col 2:15). 

So, if you don't already, start singing psalms! These are the war cries of faithful Christians engaging in the struggle. They are the victory songs which Jesus your King sings over you and invites you to sing with Him. Fill your mouth with God's praises, take up the two-edged sword of the Spirit in hands of faith, and prepare to do battle. The Captain of your salvation fights for you, Christian! Won't you take up His battle cries and fight at His side?