Sing Hymns I - Spiritual Growth for New Believers

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 104:33 – "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being."

Ephesians 5:19 – "As you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts."

Matthew 26:30 – "When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

Acts 16:25 – "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them."

Learning to Sing Hymns

When a person believes in the Lord, they must learn how to sing hymns. If a Christian goes to a gathering without knowing how to sing hymns, it can be quite a challenge. In gatherings, prayer is often neglected, but singing hymns is perhaps even more overlooked. Therefore, we must learn to sing hymns. Our goal is not to become musicians; rather, we hope to understand hymns, which is of utmost importance.

Chapter 1: The Sensitivity of Hymns

The Bible contains prophecies, history, doctrines, teachings, and commandments—but it also contains poetry. Hymns are an expression of the most delicate feelings of the human heart. A person’s feelings when praying before God do not always reach the same depth and tenderness as when they sing hymns before Him.

God desires us to have a refined and sensitive heart, which is why He has given us various hymns throughout the Bible. In addition to the Book of Psalms, we have the Song of Songs, Lamentations, and even poetic passages found within historical accounts and commandments (Exodus 15:1–18; Deuteronomy 32:1–43). Even Paul, amidst his many doctrinal teachings, included hymns in his letters (Romans 11:33–36; 1 Timothy 3:16). All of this reveals God’s intention for His people to cultivate a tender and refined heart.

Our Lord has a heart that is delicate and tender. However, human emotions can be both refined and coarse. Anger and rage are examples of coarse emotions. Some people may not show anger, yet their hearts remain unrefined. But God desires us to be loving, compassionate, and merciful. He wants us to sympathize with others, for these are signs of a refined heart.

God wants us to sing hymns even in times of hardship, to praise and glorify His name in the midst of suffering, because this reflects the refinement of our emotions. When a person loves others, their heart is tender; when they forgive, their heart is tender; when they show mercy, their heart is also tender.

God’s way of leading His children is to refine their hearts more and more—until their emotions resemble poetry. The more a person learns before God, the more delicate and refined their heart becomes, resembling a hymn; but the less a person learns, the coarser and rougher their heart remains, lacking the beauty of a hymn.

When a Christian attends a gathering, they should be mindful of their presence. If they walk heavily, with no regard for others, they are not behaving like someone who has been taught by God. Even if they sing hymns, their heart does not reflect the nature of a hymn. A person who enters a gathering carelessly—bumping into things, knocking over chairs—does not have the heart of someone who sings hymns.

We must understand that since the day we were saved, God has been refining our hearts, day by day. If a Christian is to live well, they must develop a refined and tender heart. The deepest emotions that flow from within a person before God are what form the essence of hymn-singing. God desires His children to cultivate a heart of sensitivity. We must not hold on to coarse emotions, for they do not belong to a hymn, nor do they belong to the life of a Christian.