The Singing God

It is a little difficult to imagine God singing, isn’t it? We have many references to God “speaking” in the Bible, but He also sings! I wonder what God’s voice sounds like when He breaks forth in song. Bass? Tenor? Baritone? Or is there some indefinable blending of each? Or does He even sound anything remotely like a singing man? John Piper has answered the question, at least for himself:

“I hear the booming of Niagara Falls mingled with the trickle of a mossy stream. I hear the blast of Mount St. Helen’s mingled with a kitten’s purr. I hear the power of an East Coast hurricane and the barely audible puff of a night snow in the woods. And I hear the unimaginable roar of the sun, 865,000 miles thick, 1,300,000 times bigger than the earth, and nothing but fire, 1,000,000 degrees of centigrade on the coolest surface of the corona. But I hear this unimaginable roar mingled with the tender, warm crackling of logs in the living room on a cozy winter’s night.”

Perhaps so, but the real question to answer is what it sounds like, but what He sings and why He sings it! He sings of His love for you! This is the crowning jewel of Zephaniah’s prophecy:

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17 ESV).

Let me tell you the story of “Karen” (not her real name). She is a compulsive eater who struggles with obesity. She has been as much as one hundred pounds overweight and has nothing but contempt for herself. Karen has tried dozens of weight-loss programs. Only one has proven to be successful at all. She lost over fifty pounds and appeared to be well on her way to a happier, healthier life. But, she recalls looking at herself in a mirror and saying, “I’m still fat and ugly. I may weigh less, but I’m still the contemptible failure I’ve always been.” It was no surprise that her weight soon returned. All her life she had been told, “You are what you do. You are what other people perceive you to be. You are how you appear.” Performance, and especially physical beauty, became the measure of her personal value. It seemed as if Karen had every excuse in the world to question the truth of Zephaniah 3:17!

Perhaps you feel a little like Karen; perhaps not because of physical failures, but emotional or spiritual failures. I have good news for you this morning! Read and meditate on the following verses:

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. (Psalm 103:10-13 ESV).

So, join me in a quiet moment and listen… listen to the heavenly aria of God’s unfathomable love for you! He doesn’t just say it. He doesn’t just write it. He doesn’t just tell others who in turn pass it on to you. God sings to you, “I love you, oh, how I love you! My child, I love you!”