They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds …” Revelation 15:2-3

This is one of several songs recorded in the book of Revelation. The first song in the Bible is, “The Song of Moses and Miriam.” It follows the demise of the Egyptian army (Exodus 15). There is the Israelites songbook, the book of Psalms, whose words we still use in some of our songs. But why sing?

Singing, if we do it with the right attitude, is a spiritual activity where we express our love and adoration to God and remind ourselves of his attributes. God doesn’t need to be told he is great, but we need to be reminded, as it helps us keep our own lives in perspective. When we have a correct concept of God’s greatness, we have fewer fears.

When we sing to the Lord he draws close to us as we draw close to him. We lay aside our busyness and connect to him in a more focused way. This provides God with an opportunity to speak into our lives and reassure us of his love and forgiveness.

Several passages in the Bible make a direct link between spiritual warfare and singing. “May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron” (Psalm 149:6-8). Surely these are spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms who the saints are warring against.

Lastly, when we sing as a congregation it reminds us that large corporate worship is a foretaste of heaven.