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Joyful Singing

There are many ways to express joy: singing, laughter, hugging, cheering, dancing. However, it is possible to sing, laugh, hug, cheer, and dance without joy. We can do these things for pleasure, which is not the same.

In the first instance, the singing is the result of joy. In the second instance, we think that the singing causes joy, although it really causes pleasure. The danger is that we might think that pleasure is joy and also not be able to distinguish between cause and effect.

When the singing in our churches becomes drab, we look for solutions. We get a band with drums, a worship leader, or amplifiers. The singing might improve, or it might just look like it has improved.

A much better solution is to consider that the drab singing is evidence that the saints have lost the joy of God’s salvation (Psalm 51:12). This loss is the result of accumulated, unconfessed, unforgiven sins. Confession of these sins will restore the joy of God’s salvation and, consequently, will restore singing from the heart, not just from the mouth.

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