What is it about music that people love so much? A song is a powerful thing; it can bring tears to your eyes, a smile to your face, or movement to your feet. When your favorite song comes on the radio, you can’t help but crank up the volume. If you hear a familiar melody without the words, you can sing along from memory. Little children can’t help but bounce and shake to a great beat if they hear one. There is just something about music that speaks to each and every one of us. We are wired to love it.

Because of all of this, it comes to no surprise to me that the largest book in the Bible is a whole book of songs. Yes, I’m talking about the book of Psalms. This book is full of songs written by King David, and other authors, to God. There are songs of prayer, songs of thanksgiving, songs of anger, and songs of grief. Some of the most famous and familiar scripture quotes come from Psalms.

During the summer, the high school Digging Deeper Bible Study spent each Monday night looking at some of the youth group’s favorite worship songs and finding the scripture behind each song, sometimes even looking up the whole Bible story that was referenced in a song. The Bible study was so well received that we decided to keep the study going into this school year.

I want to encourage you this week to do something similar: go find your favorite worship song, crank it up and sing along. Then open up your Bible and find the scripture or story behind it (Google comes in very handy here!). Let that scripture sink in, let God speak to you through it. Finally, listen to your song one more time and let all the scripture wash over you and listen to the Lord!
 

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
 make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.”
~Psalm 98:4-6

Blessings,
Tanya Karn