Music is all around us. Song echoes through creation, resounds in the heavens, and springs from the hearts of those who delight in God. From where does this symphony of sound come? If we were to trace all this melody-making to its start, we would discover that music is not a man-made invention. Rather, the source of song is God himself. He is the Sounding Note, the First Singer, and the Sovereign Conductor.
Author of Creation’s Song
Our God is the author of creation’s song. He wrote into being the whisper of the wind through the trees and composed the crashing roar of the ocean upon the shore. The whole world teems with praise to its Maker. At the dawn of creation, “the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). The psalmist says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).
From morning larks and evening cicadas to roaring waterfalls and trickling streams, from crashing thunder and crackling fire to blowing tempests and gentle breezes, all creation joins in this great hymn of praise. The next time a certain sound of creation catches your ear, consider pausing to praise the One who composed it.
Theme of Heaven’s Song
Our God is also the theme of heaven’s song. Soaring above the melodies of earth, the heavens also ring with worship. Throughout Scripture, we hear angelic beings adoring their God. In Isaiah’s vision, the seraphim cry out ceaselessly, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3). At the birth of Christ, a multitude of the heavenly host announce the Savior’s birth with a song: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14). For a moment, let us remember that when we sing, we never sing alone. Rather, we join the chorus of angels above us and the saints who have gone before us in praise to the King.
Center of Our Song
Still, the people of God sing in a way unlike the earth below and heavens above; we sing as a chosen, redeemed, and beloved people. The Lord could have fashioned us only to speak, but he knew that words alone would not be enough. We were made to sing, and our Maker has placed within us the song of salvation. Prose is lifted into poetry, and speech is transposed into melody, because of our glorious and gracious God. He alone ought to occupy the center of our song.
Throughout redemptive history, God’s people have been a singing people. From the Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1–18) to the psalms of David, from the Christ-hymns of the New Testament to the songs of the saints today, we continue to “sing to the Lord a new song” (Psalm 96:1). The redeemed of the Lord cannot stay silent.
Singing to God and about God is an act of worship, a means of articulating and growing in our faith, and a declaration to the world. This is why Paul exhorts the church to “[address] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (Ephesians 5:19). My dear friends Keith and Kristyn Getty like to say that we sing because we are created to, because we are commanded to, and because we are compelled to. I would add that we are also commissioned to — as we declare to our neighbors and the nations the praises of our God (Matthew 28:18–20).
God of His Own Song
One of the most overlooked aspects of singing is the stunning reality that God himself sings — and sings to express his covenant love for his people. Zephaniah 3:17 declares, “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.” This promise comes in the wake of a series of indictments against God’s people for their sin and rebellion. Yet even in the midst of judgment, the bright promise of redemption shines through — and it does so through song.
In Christ, this promise finds its ultimate fulfillment. Jesus came to dwell among us, to save us. For the joy set before him, he embraced the cross, endured its shame, and entered even into death itself before being exalted in glorious resurrection. The One who sang a hymn on the way to Calvary (Matthew 26:30) now leads his people in song (Hebrews 2:12) and sings over us with joy.
The next time you lift your voice in song — whether alone on the drive to work, huddled with your family in the living room, or gathered with your church on the Lord’s Day — remember this: as you sing, your God sings over you. His song is the song of a Father delighting in his children, the song of a Bridegroom rejoicing over his bride.
Alpha and Omega of Music
The God who makes music is the Alpha and Omega of our music-making. The whole earth sings with praise to its Maker, the heavens resound with praise, the people of God exult in his goodness, and God himself sings over us with loud rejoicing. Every melody and harmony, each lyric and note of beauty, finds its source in him.
One day, we will hear the unrestrained song of salvation as heaven and earth are joined in the song of the Lamb. The apostle John says it best in Revelation 19:6, filling our hearts with anticipation of the song waiting to be sung:
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.”
Desiring God