This week two friends informed me of outstanding pieces of music. I found the pieces on youTube and was delighted to listen to them. Music has the power to lighten our spirits and move us to tears. It makes our feet tap and our hands clap. It moves us to get up and dance. Animals don’t sing; people do. Yes, birds sing, but their song is monotonous, the same sound repeated over and over (except for mockingbirds). Music is a precious gift bestowed only on human beings.

Music is divine! Beethoven, speaking of music, claimed, “The vibrations on the air are the breath of God speaking to man’s [sic] soul. Music is the language of God.” In fact, Scripture says God sings: [The Lord] “will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival” (Zephaniah 3:17). In C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, the lion Aslan (God) sings Narnia and the whole universe into being.

We sing to celebrate special occasions like birthdays and Christmas. Parents sing lullabies and lovers sing love songs. Singing is an essential component of worship. We sing at liturgies and prayer services. One fat book in the Bible comprises 150 prayer-songs. Jesus sang. According to the Gospel to conclude the Last Supper he and the apostles sang a psalm. (Matthew 26:30) I wonder what his voice sounded like.

To me, an orchestra and singing with a group are both metaphors for heaven when we will all be united in God: In an orchestra various instruments play together, resulting in one magnificent sound. Likewise, many voices singing together as one make for a lovely sound.

We enjoy listening to music on the radio, CDs, ipods, and the like. We list top ten or top hundred songs and bestow Grammy awards annually. American Idol in which singers vie to be voted best has been a popular show for years.

What a joy it is to create music ourselves by playing a guitar, a piano, or any other instrument. Lessons and hours of practice are worthwhile!

On Facebook a post appeared that listed the benefits of music. Here is what singing does:

• Produces chemicals in the brain that promote peace and joy.

• Improves blood circulation in the throat that increases immunity there.

• Improves immunity throughout the body.

• Sharpens memory.

• Exercises the lungs.

• Improves skin condition.

No wonder so many of the psalms exhort us to sing, like Psalm 95:

O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! (verse 1)

Our “joyful noises” give God glory. No matter what our voice sounds like on earth, in heaven no doubt we will join the heavenly choirs of angels and sing beautifully with perfect pitch.

For your enjoyment and health, here is one of the pieces I listened to this week:

• What is your favorite song(s)? Christian song(s)?

• Do you sing when you are by yourself?

• Do you compose songs?