Epaggelia

The WHAT? Making Melody, being two words in English is actually only one word in your Greek New Testament, “PSALLO” meaning ‘to pluck or twang’. The following NT verses use this word, Ephesians 5:19, James 5:13, 1st Corinthians 14:15 (twice), Romans 15:9. Everytime the point is to pluck at something, Eph. 5:19 the heart. Jas. 5:13 the happy person. 1Cor. 14:15 the spirit & understanding of people. Rom. 15:9 the foreign person.

The WHY? There is a reason for God teaching and instructing us to PSALLO or pluck at. The context of each passage above makes clear why God wants us to pluck at something. Rom. 15:9 in order to praise God’s name for his mercy. 1Cor. 14:15-16 in order to give clarity and agreement with everyone who hears. In Jas. 5:13 in order to show we are happy. Eph. 5:18-19 in order to be filled with the Spirit. 

The HOW? Singing! The Greek word is ODAY, from where we get our English word for “ODE”. Everyone can sing, not everyone can maintain harmony, some can’t even keep a beat, but we can ALL SING. If you are doubtful, just pray about it and try.  Since God is a Spirit, he is not desiring a good physical experience, he is actually desiring a good spiritual experience. He wants to feel your gratitude, love and praise, from your heart.

If God can feel your pain, then he can certainly feel your joy. Heb. 4:15 “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” Also, there is a direct implication that our joy and the joy of the Lord can be intertwined, when Jesus says in John 15:11 “These things have I spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” Singing does indeed MOVE people, which is what some people might need in order to begin the actual “plucking or twanging” of our heart/spirit.

The WHO? Christians of all ages, genders, races & social positions. Romans 15:9-11 & Galatians 3:28, Matthew 21:16. For of such, belong the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of God is righteousness, JOY and peace. Romans 14:17. 

The CONTENT? Last week we looked in detail for New Testament Lyrics. Here is a list of New Testament statements that resemble anthems, choruses, odes or poetic refrains. Romans 11:36, Ephesians 3:21, 1st Timothy 1:17, Revelation 5:12-13, 7:12, 15:3-4, 19:6. Some scholars have suggested that the majority of Ist Corinthians 13, the ‘love’ chapter is a song.

The CONCLUSION: Singing is an obvious act of worship, an expression of our love and gratitude for all that God is, all that Jesus has done, and all the Spirit is doing. No matter how happy or sad we are, we should know Christ wants us to gather together on Sunday to sing. Our determination to do this is pinned on the example of the church in Acts 2:42, but the result is in v47.

There are a number of koine greek New Testament scholars that are convinced Paul wrote these words to Timothy as a type of memory verse, which could be recited in meter and maybe even fit in a tune. Some linguists think the verse is truly a song, some consider it simply Paul’s attempt at writing greek prose. Whatever the case, there are six facts, which Paul states are in direct relation to why the church of the living God is a place that should affect our behavior in godliness (KJV) and/or worship (ISV). It is not a coincidence that there are songs in our hymn books that fit with the theme of each of these six “mysteries”.

1. He was manifested in the flesh – Christmas songs
2. Justified in the Spirit – Resurrection songs
3. Seen of angels – Songs about his temptation, gethsemane prayer and ascension.
4. Preached among nations – Evangelistic songs
5. Believed on in the world – Christian songs of various cultures
6. Received up in glory – Songs about Heaven/Glory

Have you got a song from making melody to the Lord in your heart?

One description of early Christian behavior comes from Pliny, the governor of Bithynia and client of the Roman emperor Trajan. After hearing suspicious reports about the practices and meetings of Christians, he made an inquiry and found that they “were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god” (Letter 10.96). Pliny’s statement harmonizes with God’s word, “sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord” (Eph 5:19; see also 1Cor. 14:26, Acts 16:25). So since this is the case, where are the hymns in the New Testament? How can they be found? Most biblical scholars use the method of form criticism—looking for clues that suggest a biblical passage that had an earlier use other than its current literary location—to locate hymns that have found their way into New Testament texts. These include: parallel statements, vocabulary that is distinctive to the author, the frequent use of pronouns, and elevated prose. Using this critical criteria, we can likely conclude that such passages as Phil 2:5-11, Col 1:15-20, 1Tim 3:16, 2Tim 2:11-13, Heb 1:1-3, and 1Pet 2:21-25 may very well have had earlier literary lives as actual hymns sung by early Christians.

The theme of 2Tim. 2:11-13 is almost like a battle-cry, and we are very familiar with how songs affect soldiers, here is Rick Renners version of it, 

If we are killed like He was killed,

Then we shall live again as He now lives;

If suffering is forced upon us,

Then we’ll reign with Him like nobility;

If we deny or forsake Him,

He will deny us of our rewards;

If we believe not or grow faint-hearted,

Still He abideth faithful.

He cannot, cannot, cannot deny — Himself!

Can you sing with confidence like you are committed to staying in the fight until the victory is yours and the long-awaited prize is finally in your hands?

Rejoicing in the Lord, v4 & v10. Was it possible that Paul sang his “thanksgiving”? v6. For certain, he saw a way to joyfully express his gratitude for other Christians, v1. Can you count the ways and/or opportunities you have in rejoicing? Jesus did this in the Spirit, Luke 10:21-23. Is it possible that he sang these words? There are many different ways people can express “rejoice always”, it must be very varied, since Jesus rejoiced, and Paul wrote this instruction to a church full of different kinds of people, not to an individual. How do you rejoice? Surely you sing on more than just Sunday?

The book,  “Anatomy of an Illness”, describes the author being diagnosed with arthritis that had essentially crippled him. He was told it was not curable. But the doctors were wrong. He found a therapy that, coupled with nutrition and vitamins, all but ended his debilitation. What was it? Watching old slapstick comedy movies like Laurel and Hardy. His objective: laughter. Maybe, just maybe the author had Philippians 4:8 in mind? There are still some decent comedians that maintain a sense of morality. There is even a couple of “G” rated comedy movies still on sale. Not everything the world produces is sinful, some of it is very helpful, see Php. 4:8.

A joyful heart is good medicine. ~ King Solomon (Proverbs 17:22)  Whether you giggle, chuckle, or just laugh out loud, you laugh! Laughter, or simply smiling, releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter that produces feelings of happiness. Researchers in Japan have discovered that laughter actually lowers red blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. Laughter has been shown to have positive effects on the immune system, and reducing platelet aggregation and vascular inflammation. Many health professionals allow this theory in documented journals, suggesting that laughter may also help the overall healing process in cancer therapies. Who knew? That’s easy—God did, and He told you! When you don’t’ feel joyful, when the cares of the daily grind are getting you down, try laughing. Why did our Sunday School teacher, lead us in the song, “If you’re happy and you know it”? Because the Lord’s brother James wrote, “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. (James 5:13) By the way, have you ever recorded yourself singing, and then listened to the play-back? It makes me laugh every time!

There are three abilities God gave humanity, and NOT any other animal in creation. Firstly, the ability to pray, secondly, the ability to laugh, and lastly that ability to sing. That’s right, birds & whales do not sing, they communicate. Scripturally, singing is described in the Bible as pertaining only to stars, God (Zeph 3:17) human beings. Not even angels are described as singing, but they are “chanting”. Many people question the uniqueness of humanity’s ability to sing. It may seem strange to ask if angels sing, people often allude to the Christmas story: “The angels sang to the shepherds when Jesus was born, didn’t they?” The problem is that singing by angels is not mentioned in the biblical Christmas story. In fact, there is very little scriptural evidence that angels do sing.

Probably the clearest passage on this issue is Job 38:7, which says that, at the creation of the world, “the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.” In the parallelism of the Hebrew poetry, the “morning stars” are equated with the “angels,” and the singing is paralleled by the joyful shouts. It seems fairly straightforward: the angels could sing. However, the Hebrew word translated “sang” doesn’t always denote music. It can also be translated as “resoundingly cried,” or “rejoiced.”  Revelation 5 is another passage that may indicate that angels sing. Verse 9 speaks of beings that “sang a new song” in heaven. These beings that sing are the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures—possibly angelic beings, but they are not specifically called such. Then in verse 11 “the voice of many angels” is heard. But now the words are “said,” not specifically “sung.” The words of the angelic host in verse 12 are quite similar to the words of the song in verse 9, but the words of the angels are not explicitly called a song. What about the Christmas story? (Luke 2:13-14) “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God . . . .’” Note, again, that the words of the angels are “said,” not specifically “sung.” Since singing is a type of speaking, the passage does not rule out the idea that the angels sang—but neither does the passage put the question to rest. Perhaps it was more of a “chant” than a melodic song? God has created humanity with an innate connection to music and singing, especially in regard to worship. How do you rejoice?

Many Christians do not praise God, as they should, simply because they do not experience fellowship (sharing) with God and His people to the extent that God wants them to share, so they miss out on the beautiful power, love and unity that promotes praise. The first Christians were DEVOTED to fellowship. Being devoted (v42) to fellowship is seen in many ways, and the end-result is PRAISE. Christians shared in basically 5 different ways:(v42-46)

1, Apostolic teaching (Acts 14:22)

2, The Breaking of Bread (1st Cor. 11:20-26)

3, Prayer (Colossians 4:2)

4, Meals, (1st Corinthians 10:30-31)

5, Possessions & Goods (1st Timothy 6:18-19)

Praising (v47) God is what angels and shepherds did at the birth of Christ’s physical body, now it is what Christians do at the birth of his spiritual body, Lk. 2:13-20. 

How does the church today emulate this?

Jesus & his disciples used a hymn to sing to God, before Jesus gave his body as a sacrifice, Mt. 26:30. Do you know the significance & purpose of praise during solemn moments? Or is praising God only experienced when you are rejoicing?

The unity of Christ and his family/body, is seen by God, while in praise. It is not just a demonstration of unity, it is where unity is experienced. Read carefully Hebrews 2:11-12. Do you realize that the Spirit of Christ wants to praise The Father while his family is praising Him?

Another verse that proclaims the praise of Christ with his body on earth is found in Romans 15:8-9. The past tense and future tense of this passage points us to the reality of our unity in praise, lasting through millennia. Which will continue right on into eternity when Jesus comes again. Should we understand Ephesians 5:19 as…“Singing & Making Melody to the Lord with Your Heart”   or  “Singing & Making Melody with the Lord in Your Heart” ?

v46-47. The basis of Mary’s heart-felt reaction in meeting Elizabeth was her faith in God’s word from an angel. This song of Mary, is similar to the song of Hannah in 1st Samuel 2:1-10. “Magnify” in the greek language is megalunō – “to enlarge something or someone”. Rejoice in greek is agalliaō – “to jump for joy”. So this picture is saying that Mary sang, to make God look great big in her happiness. God’s word to Mary was a promise, and when she met Elizabeth, she saw evidence which assured her of things unseen & a conviction of her hope in the promise of God’s word, see Hebrews 11:1. Her reaction in singing was not because of the angel’s voice in Nazareth, or the trip to Judea, or from Joseph’s love, but actually in her meeting with Elizabeth. Because Elizabeth was already 6 months pregnant, telling her about John (a fetus) leaping within her womb. Assuring Mary that God was big enough to handle any problem the fulfilment of her promise might present.

v48, To be referred to as “blessed” (makarizo) is to be regarded with great respect. This regard does not entail love. Mary is honored but she is not worshiped. Love is the difference. This is not the usual word for ‘blessed’ (makarios) that Jesus uses in the beatitudes. So this prophecy was fulfilled and is kept in an obvious way to this day, as Mary is very well respected in the world. But do we as Christians have respect for her? If we do, how do we show it? Mary will remain the most famous respected woman the world has ever known. There are even statements in Islam’s Koran about the Annunciation, the Visitation, and the Nativity where Mary is referred to as “pure”. James 5:11 has the same word (makarizo) for “the regard”, which 1st century christians & apostles had for ancient prophets and Job himself. In this context, Mary’s status is equated with all faithful children of God. Consider what Jesus says about the greatness of John the immersionist in Matthew 11:11. Mary’s blessedness is indeed global and throughout all earthly generations, being different than ours, but, when we consider eternity, being blessed here is not worth comparing to the blessedness of citizens of Heaven!

v49-55, God’s holiness, mercy and strength, are the virtues of God which Mary sings about. These attributes of God, cause the poor to be helped and the rich to be forsaken. When we sing, these are valuable qualities to keep in mind and be grateful for in our hearts. These songs are not for proud people, but rather, people that fear God, see v50. Fearing God is healthy, but fearing his judgment is indicative of not having the love of God in your heart, see 1st John 4:17-18. There are basically two kinds of fear mentioned in the New Testament. Fear as in deep reverence and awe, the other kind of fear is acting cowardly and afraid. Where is there shown any deep reverence (fear) in our songs of worship today? Some Christians sing like they are timid and scared of being heard. They mutter through hymns like their just humming them. Is this the kind of “fear” God deserves? How do you think Mary sang this song? You should be sure that it was nothing short of beautiful and boisterous! Just like her love for God

We have seen many different reasons for praising God in the past 149 Psalms. The word “praise” is repeated in Psalm 150, thirteen times, and this word is different from “worship”. The Jews were to teach and show the world WHO the true, one and only God is. The Jews were also to exemplify to the world, the type of worship God was worthy of. Today, Christians are now in that position, because of Israel’s rejection & role they filled in the death of Christ. But to praise God, is something anyone can do, and indeed might do without even knowing it. Creation can praise God when a tree is in full bloom, but being totally unaware of this, means creation can not worship God, only humanity has this capacity. You might be surprised to learn that both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, the original words used for translating “Praise” and “Worship” are NEVER interchanged as synonyms when the context is referencing God’s praise or worship. Only one word in the New Testament Koine Greek is translated as a synonym for praise and also used as a word for worship, and it is not in either case, in reference to God’s praise or worship, it’s actually in both cases used in reference to men praising or worshiping each other, Luke 14:10 (worship KJV) and in John 9:24 (praise KJV). All other cases of Greek and Hebrew words for praise and worship are never translated as synonyms. Why? Because Praise is more generic and Worship is always unique in humbling yourself in adoration and/or reverence to God, whereas, Praise exalts God and loves and thanks Him, it isn’t necessarily a reverent, humbling experience.

v1, Inside and outside the Temple, Praise is desired. 

v2, For what God does and who God is, Praise is due.

v3, Both in public (trumpets), and/or in private (strings), Praise is good.

v4, Both excitedly (dance) and/or calmly (strings) Praise is beautiful.

v5, Both distinct tones of clarity, and/or sounds of brash & loud beats, Praise is appropriate.

v6, If life is present, praise is purposeful.

But not all of the above fits appropriately into Christian public “worship”, see 1st Corinthians 14:40, however, everything above does have an acceptable place within the context of personal praise, remember “ALWAYS…CONSTANTLY…IN EVERYTHING…”, 1st Ths. 5:16-18. By God’s provision of everything good & praiseworthy, “we exist for the praise of his glory”, Eph. 1:6.

The word praise is even used in a grammatical play on words by the Apostle Paul, he uses praise in describing who and who is not a Jew, Romans 2:29, but the pun is lost if you don’t know the background. In Genesis 29, when Leah gives birth to a son of Jacob she said, “Now will I praise the Lord: therefore she called his name Judah.” In Genesis 49, Jacob upon his death bed gathers his sons and says: “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.” The Hebrew word for “praise” transliterates into yadah! The Hebrew word for “Judah”, transliterates into yehudah. The pronunciations of both praise and Judah are very similar. Judah originates from another word which means to thank or to give thanks, which is the basis for praise. Understanding that Judah, from which the word Jew is derived, means praise sheds additional light and places more emphasis on Paul’s statement in Romans 2:29. Placing extra emphasis on what is being said is the entire point of using a pun! So a spiritual Jew is real today as the “PRAISER” of God, Rom. 2:29 & 15:11, Php. 3:3, Gal. 6:16

148:8, May alarm some people, but Christ could face the real possibility of storms and still fall asleep, however his disciples had to grow into this kind of faith, Matthew 8:24-27.

148:11-12, From the strongest to the weakest of human beings, our praise is of equal worth to our Creator. Why? Because our praise comes from the same heart, that has the same Creator and he pours out the same love into all hearts redeemed by the same blood, See Galatians 3:28, Romans 5:5

148:13-14, Israel, as God’s faithful ones, have their own unique role in praising God because they know God’s name; they are “close to him” and can tell God’s story, which is another form of praise. But they can never separate themselves from the whole nonhuman creation; they can only join the praise it has already been giving, See Psalm 33:5, and remember Paul understood this continues, read Romans 8:19-23.
149:3-6, From a Christian perspective, our Savior never desired, or desires to praise our Father with instruments, nor swords, but there is a sense in which God is worthy of our praise in ALL of our accomplishments, because without him we would be nothing. The all encompassing providence of God is claimed in John 1:3, and in some mysterious aspect, factually God in Christ gives everything it’s consistency, Colossians 1:6-17. Richard Jones wrote a song on this point: entitled “God of Concrete”

Lord of science, Lord of art,
God of map and graph and chart,
Lord of physics and research,
God of scripture and the church,
Lord of sequence and design,
All the world of truth is thine.

God of concrete, God of steel,
God of piston and of wheel,
God of pylon, God of steam,
God of girder and of beam,
God of atom, God of mine,
All the world of power is thine.

God of tunnels, God of rail,
Lord of highway and the mail,
God of rocket and of flight
Lord of soaring satellite,
God of lightning’s striking line,
All the moving world is Thine.

God whose glory fills the earth,
Gave the universe its birth,
Loosed the Christ from His new tomb,
Saves the world from evil’s doom,
Gives all people grace divine,
All the world of love is thine.

This doesn’t bless or sanction the use of instruments in our worship to God, but it does allow us to rejoice in the talents, resources, devices and even weapons, He gives us the ability to use, for His glory!