Isaiah 52:9

“Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.” 

There are many times that scripture indicates that we should sing. The Psalms are laden with indications to “sing a new song” or “make a joyful noise.” But, at least as we read it in English, we often see that as an individual mandate (whether that is what is actually meant). In this verse from Isaiah, though, we have a clear indication that we should sing together. 

One of the aspects I love most about leading worship is people singing together. Whether hymns in traditional services or praise songs in contemporary settings, there is something special that happens when we are engaged in this activity together. 

When we sing together, we share the experience equally. Although there may be someone like me who is helping to lead, this person is doing so as a guide, journeying with everyone else. 

One of the great challenges of making music is that it’s a temporal art form. In other words, it exists only as it is being created, and then it’s gone. This differs from something like visual art or creative writing, that can be viewed for as long as one would like. This is a challenge because we cannot continue to edit it; it is what it is, and then it’s gone. But the same is true of life. We live our lives, and while we can try to do better tomorrow, each moment is gone as soon as it’s arrived. We cannot go back and redo something that happened in the past. 

That’s one of the reasons I think corporate song is so special — it is a paradigm for life. Each of us is doing our part, but we are surrounded by others doing theirs, and taken together, this creates something magnificent, something none of us could achieve by ourselves. When one of us needs to take a breath, the music continues, as others continue singing. When one of us doesn’t know how this goes, others who’ve sung this song before are there to help us. Even if our individual voice is weak or maybe we don’t sing all the right notes, it’s okay — we are surrounded and carried by the help of each other. 

That great community is what I believe God wants for us all. 

Let us pray.

God, we give you thanks for the community around us and of which we are a part. We know that, as independent as we sometimes are, we must rely on each other. So, when we sing together, let that be a reminder of the support that surrounds us and the greater purpose in which we are participating. Let us help others when we can and graciously follow others when we need, but may we always remember that we are on this journey together, and we offer the praise we create to you, O God. Amen. 

This devotion was written by Dwight Dockery and read by Julie George.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.