Singing and Giving Thanks
Text: Psalms 137: 1-4 & Ephesians 5: 18-19

A woman invited a group of her friends to Thanksgiving dinner.
At the table, grandma turned to her six-year-old granddaughter and asked her, "Would you like to say the blessing?"
"I wouldn't know what to say," the little girl replied.
"Just say what you hear Mommy say," grandma said.

The little girl bowed her head and said: "Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

I would like to start by taking us on a trip down memory lane for a minute and go back to the Old Disney Movie - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
There is a famous song that says “Whistle While You Work” the Lyrics are - Just whistle while you work

And cheerfully together
we can tidy up the place
So hum a merry tune
It won't take long
when there's a song
to help you set the pace
And as you sweep the room
Imagine that the broom
is someone that you love
And soon you'll find
you're dancing to the tune
When hearts are high
the time will fly
so whistle while you work
So whistle while you work.

This song written by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey is a perfect illustration of how we can emphasize the fun rather than the monotony of work.

You might be asking yourself why am I talking about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is he reliving his childhood - NO - but I want to talk on the subject of “Singing.”

Music has had a profound influence on the culture of the United States and the world. People all over the world love to sing.
I for one love to sing. Most people love to sing whether or not they can carry a tune. You must understand that there’s something positive... something healthy in the act of raising our voices in song.

In fact, there’s solid scientific evidence to prove that singing is, in fact, good for your body and your mind. Singing can lift our spirits and can create a heart of THANKSGIVING!
In the Bible singing isn’t just good for us it is a command to us. So we need to Keep On Singing!

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 137:1-4 says "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down; yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song, and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?"

James 5:13 says “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.”
Singing provides a direct experience and feeling of happiness. It’s a mood lifter & anti-depressant with no side effects.
Singing can be done to express any of the 12 different emotions interest, surprise, joy, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, hostility, fear, shame, shyness, and guilt.

But when we find singing in the Bible it is usually pointing to times of joy and rejoicing and it is so vitally connected with our worship toward God.
I remember some advice my grandmother Fidler would say when I had to do something I really didn’t want to do – I can hear her say “Sing a song while you are doing it and before you know it you will be done”. She was often heard singing church songs while working around the house.

I didn’t understand it then ... but what she was instilling in me was wisdom because she knew that when you have a song in your heart and you sing that song... it will
change your mood,
affect your attitude,
alter your altitude
and carry you through whatever it is you are going through.

In our text the Children of Israel had been captured and are now in captivity in a strange land in Babylon. While under the oppression of the Babylonians they thought of their homeland and longed to free.
They thought of the former glory they once had and began to mourn and cry utterly for what they had been taken away from. They took their harps and hung them on the tree by the river and refused to sing because of the oppression they were under. They lost their song.
Singing isn’t an option in Scripture. It’s a command:
Colossians 3:16 says “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”.

Ephesians 5:18-19 says “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”

Paul lays out this exhortation to let God’s Word dwell in us richly, and then, he tells us how to live out that command. The first, of course, is teaching and admonishing but then he says singing! Singing is one of the two chief ways in which God’s Word dwells in us richly.
We can study the Bible to learn about God. When we sing songs based on scripture... we also learn about God... for example: we all remember the Sunday School song “Jesus Loves Me this I know for the Bible tells me so little ones to Him belong they are weak, but He is strong”. From this song we learn that Jesus both loves and cares about us AND that He is STRONG ENOUGH to overcome anything we face in our daily lives.

When we sing as a congregation, we build up each other. We are hearing the testimonies of faith all around us! Singing helps to build people up emotionally and spiritually.

Psalm 105:2 says, “Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works”.
When we sing, we declare war against our adversary.

In 2^nd Chronicles 20 we find King Jehoshaphat, who was an extraordinarily strong and wise man, and one who served the Lord with all his heart. He took away the idols that the people had been worshiping and turned the hearts of the people to the Lord.
One day a message came to him that an enemy army was coming against his people.
He at once did the right thing and turned to the Lord asking for help. He told all the people to pray and said that God would fight the battle for them.

"“The battle is not yours, but God’s. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD.”
Early the next morning the people started out to the battle. Then he appointed certain ones as singers to go out in front of the soldiers."

This is the song they should sing,
2^nd Chronicles 20: 21-22 "...And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
Soon it was learned that the enemy had had a battle among themselves and had killed one another."

The Lord had caused the enemy army to be destroyed before God’s people reached them.
The king and his army went down to the battlefield and found so much spoil that it took three days to gather it all up and carry it home. They rejoiced and thanked the Lord for giving them the victory over their enemies that worshiped idols.

When things seem to be going wrong all around you and the enemy threatens you sing praises to God and watch Him fight your battle?
A singing heart... is a heart at war with the evil one and the power of sin.
When you sing, you are spiritually strengthened for trials.
In Acts 16 Paul and Silas are unjustly imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel, and while they are in prison they began to sing and pray and in the midnight hour God opened the prison doors. Now they didn’t leave but the prison guard and his whole family were saved.

I said it is scientifically proven that singing is good for you.
Well, you know I like the numbers and their meaning in scripture.

The number 10 means Divine Order, there are the 10 commandments, the 10 plagues, 10 generations lived on earth before the flood, in Genesis Chapter 1 the phrase “God said” is found 10 times, the 10th day of the 7th month in the Jewish calendar is The Day of Atonement, etc.
Now let me give you 10 scientifically proven benefits of singing.

1. It Relieves stress:- Singing appears to be a stress-reliever. A 2017 study measured the amount of cortisol, the stress hormone, in participant’s saliva before and after they sang. Researchers in that study found that the amount of cortisol was lower after singing, an indication that people felt more relaxed after they had sung.

2. It Stimulates the immune response:- Singing can be a form of exercise that works the lungs and other parts of the body required to project one's voice. Singing may lead to a stronger diaphragm and stimulation of circulation due to the greater amount of oxygen needed to carry a tune.
There’s some evidence that singing may boost your immune system and help you fight off illnesses by producing higher levels of immunoglobulin A, an antibody your body secretes to help you fend off infections.

3. It Increases the pain threshold:- When you sing in a group, whether it’s large or small, the act of collective singing causes your body to release endorphins. This hormone can help promote positive feelings, and even change your perception of pain.

4. It May improve snoring:- Regular singing may change the way you breathe, even when you’re not singing. Researchers in a 2008 study interviewed the spouses of singers, along with the spouses of people who don’t sing. The researchers found that significantly fewer active singers snored.
This led them to recommend regular singing as a potential treatment for snoring.

5. It Improves lung function:- Because singing involves deep breathing and the controlled use of muscles in the respiratory system, it may be beneficial for certain lung and breathing conditions.
Studies have shown that the breathing techniques used with singing may offer benefits for people with the following conditions: chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), asthma, cystic fibrosis, cancer, multiple sclerosis and others. While singing doesn’t treat or cure any of these conditions, you may benefit from gaining strength in your respiratory muscles.

6. It Develops a sense of belonging and connection:- When you sing together with others, you’re likely to feel the same kind of camaraderie and bonding that players on sports teams experience.
One of the neurochemicals released when people feel bonded together is oxytocin. Spontaneous, improvised singing causes your body to release this feel-good hormone, which may help give you a heightened sense of connectedness and inclusion.

7. It Enhances memory in people with dementia:- People with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia experience a gradual loss of memory. Studies have shown that people with these conditions were able to recall song lyrics more easily than other words.
Some the singers found they remembered more than just the lyrics. For some, singing familiar songs suddenly brought back life memories they had long forgotten.

8. It Helps with grief:- Singing in a group doesn’t just help you with physical pain; it may also help with the emotional pain you feel after you’ve lost someone you love.

9. It Improves mental health and mood:- A 2018 study done in the United Kingdom evaluated 20 people in a singing program known as The Sing Your Heart Out project. The participants included people with mental health conditions, as well as the general public. Researchers found that the participants reported improvements in their mental health, mood, sense of well-being, and feeling of belonging as a result of these singing workshops.

10. It Helps improve speaking abilities:- It has been proven that people who have a hard time with speech due to a neurological condition can benefit from singing.
Scientist have found that singing improves the speaking ability for people with: autism, Parkinson’s disease, and even stuttering.
Singing stimulates multiple areas of the brain at the same time. This may enable people with an impairment in one part of the brain to communicate using other areas of their brain.

John 10:10 says “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”. Don’t let the devil steal your song.

Don't Let Persecution Take Away Your Song. John 16:33 says “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”.
There is going to be persecutions that will you’re your way because our adversary is determined to kill steal and destroy you and he will try whatever he can to do this, but when persecution comes our way keep on singing.

Don't Let People Take Away Your Song. John 16:22 says, “And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you”.

Living in this day and age we truly see the depravity of man! Depravity speaks of the fallen nature of mankind. People are constantly hurting each other, you cannot pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV without hearing of some atrocity someone has committed against another.

Sadly, it isn't just the sinner who hurt others, even Christian people hurt one another! So many times, we find that they will lie and gossip about others.
They will do what we would never have imagined that they would do. Don't let people take away your song! Sing anyway!

- Some words of a Song by Kirk Franklin titled (Why I Sing) –
Someone asked a question
Why do we sing?
When we lift our hands to Jesus
What do we really mean?
Someone may be wondering
When we sing our song
At times we may be cryin'
And nothing's even wrong
And when we cross that river
We will sing our song to Jesus
The one whom we adore
I love Your name Jesus
Glory Hallelujah
For the rest of my life Jesus
You'll be the reason why I sing.

I pray that I have given you more reasons to sing. Remember when you sing, you glorify God. Singing has such a unique way of bringing our heart, soul, mind, and strength together to focus entirely and completely on God. In an age of distraction, singing grabs the attention of all our senses and focuses us on God.

Psalms 5:11 says “Let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.” There is an awesome joy that comes upon us when we enter into that secret place of the most High.

often circumstances of our everyday lives literally become a yoke leading us down a path of despair, discouragement and defeat. Singing changes our perspective of our situation and begins to lead us to a place of hope.

The Children of Israel lost their song during their captivity in Babylon, they even refused to sing I want to encourage you don’t lose your song.

Revelation 7:9-10 says, “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb”.
This is just a glimpse of eternity when a great multitude of people from every tribe, peoples, and languages are singing before the Lamb.

On that day, will you be one of the great multitude that no one can number, singing the song of the Lamb, singing his praises?
Until then Keep On Singing.