When God Sings

“Music to my ears”.

No one ever says, “that was a lecture to my ears”, or “that was a sermon to my ears” or even “that was a class to my ears”. It is always “music to my ears”. There are some words so delicious, so heart-poundingly felt, news so glorious and inspiring, that hearing it can only be likened to music-to our ears.

Good news is music to our ears. It is best heard sung, not announced, taught, nor even preached.

David is the only person labeled as one “after God’s own heart”. Heady title. How did that happen? He was a warrior- killed a Giant in an unorthodox way, and many thousands more. God is a bit of a warrior but I don’t think that earned David God’s highest compliment. David was also a king. Israel had many of those and he stood out. Yet his moral foibles were among the worst of any religious leader they ever had. David may have been the very first “wise guy”. As you read his advice to his son, Solomon, on how to “consolidate” his kingdom it reads like a script from a mafia movie. “Wise up son and get rid of the competition”. And he proceeded to snuff them all out.

But his first gig was as pastor, of sheep, not a church. David spent his formative years outdoors, and except for the sheep, he was alone. Alone and listening. That is where his heart was cultivated. Listening, quiet, silent.

David was a composer/musician/singer/poet. Those attributes, I firmly believe are what made him God’s “heart messenger”. Music is the best expression of God’s own heart. All heart language has melody. And no one has ever expressed God’s heart language more movingly and accurately than David. He captured, elevated, and penetrated God’s own heart and sang it back to us, in hymns, in poetry, in song.

Music to our ears.

Since His words are living, active, and penetrating, they are never more marvelously so than when they are put to music. God doesn’t shout nor lecture nor preach His heart language. He sings it. With so much noise around us, clamoring for our attention if not for our souls, music, exquisitely and enthrallingly, even charmingly invites us to listen. Stop, listen. There is something vastly richer going on and your heart needs to pay attention.

Music to our ears.

Shakespeare, in “The Twelfth Night” wrote: “If music be the food of love, play on; give me excess of it”. And in “Merchant of Venice”: The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not mov´d with concord of sweet sounds…Let no such man be trusted.

Music pumps life into our tone-deaf souls. The lyrics are essential, but elevated by the rhythm and melody of the composition. As Shakespeare says, it moves us, and it is in us. Musiclessness is not to be trusted, neither in life nor religion. Words, His words, especially when sung, become transcendent. It is what nourishes our relationship with the divine.

Arthur Rubinstein, the greatest pianist of the last century, said; “You cannot play the piano well unless you are singing within you.” There is a song to be sung within each of us. And it is the original composer, poet, and musician, God who not only conducts that music, He sings to us.

And it is like music to our ears.

“Music is God’s gift to man. It is the only art of heaven given to earth and the only art of earth we take to heaven”. Charles W. Landon

And so Acappella, 8 days, 5 concerts, 4 worship services, and 14,000 miles traveled. It’s not only about the numbers, it’s about the music, the hearts, our hearts, and the hundreds and hundreds of exuberant, young, expectant, longing, weary, old, quadruple-by-passed, barely pumping, vibrant, vivacious and barely under control hearts. You gifted us. You touched, renewed, provoked, penetrated, CPR´d, and pumped life into our hearts. We were made more alive and have been changed. We will never think of or experience music the same way again.

Poets, musicians, composers and singers. You are music to our ears. And hearts. A group after God’s own heart. And ours also. We hear Him in your voices.

God sings to us.

Jerry, his son Kris and wife Gail barely survived three
exciting, invigorating, fascinating, hilarious, moving, inspiring, profound, silly, transformational, sensational, unequalled, harried, soothing, emotional, unbelievable, eye-opening, heart-rendering, tender, unforgettable, unregrettable, beautiful, grateful days with Acappella in Brasilia as a part of their tour of churches in Brazil this past summer. They served as guides and translators for the group and their wives. He wrote the above as a tribute to their voices and ministry. And to the original Singer.