Psalms, Hymns and Songs

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” (Colossians 3:16 NIV).

Anyone who knows me knows that music is an important part of my life. When my husband and I were dating, one of our favorite pastimes was to play and sing songs around the piano. Recently, I was thinking about what a huge blessing it is to have the hymns that my generation grew up singing, as well as the newer contemporary Christian music. While Scripture is the higher priority, I truly believe God gave us music as a way to worship, but also to express and remember the teachings we learn through his Word.

“Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him…. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King” (Psalm 98:1, 4-6).

A few months ago, my family was going through a difficult time that affected each of us. To me, it felt like we were in a very dark tunnel and I could not see a light at the end of it, but then a song we had sung at church started flooding my mind over and over again. The words came to me and stayed with me throughout that dark time.

The song that kept running through my mind was “Cornerstone,” which is really a new version of the old hymn, “The Solid Rock,” with a new chorus added. The words of the song gave me amazing comfort and helped me to remember that no matter how bad things seem to be, God is always there to give us strength through every situation. Here are the words that kept running through my mind:

“When darkness seems to hide His face,

I rest on His unchanging grace

In every high and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.

Christ alone; cornerstone,

Weak made strong, in the Savior's love

Through the storm

He is Lord, Lord of all.”

Music is a wonderful gift from God and truly has therapeutic benefits. A great example is in the Old Testament, “Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.” (1 Samuel 16:23 NIV).

Whether you like to sing, play, compose or listen to music, I hope you have a psalm, hymn, or song that is special to you and has brought you comfort when you needed it most.