Families Sing Together

Families Should Sing Together!
Psalm 118:15 - “The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.”
Philip Henry, father of the legendary Matthew Henry, believed this text provided a biblical basis for family singing (Beeke, Family Worship,13). When I’ve encouraged fathers to begin the discipline of Family Worship, I always say, “Have a Bible and a hymnal.” This often receives wide-eyed feedback: “You want us to sing? There are only three of us right now?” My answer is always, “Yes, and sing loudly.”
Why is singing an important part of family worship? First, it is part of worship generally. Paul instructs the Colossians, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). When we gather on the Lord’s Day, we sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Music is catechetical. It teaches our hearts with warmth and reverence. Further, songs are easily memorized and may be called upon by the Spirit when we most need encouragement. Second, singing produces emotions. We Presbyterians get a bad rap for being uncomfortable with our emotions. Music is meant to stir us and connect the words we sing to specific emotions. One cannot sing, “It Is Well with My Soul” without feeling contemplative and comforted. Likewise, one cannot sing, “Amazing Grace” without gratitude to God for the grace he has worked in our lives. “Come Ye Sinners” offers hope and grace to the soul afflicted by a sense of one’s sins and sorrows. I would hope you would be moved by what you sing. The overall effect of singing together is joy that we sing as one. I may have had the best week of my life, but my sister in Christ may have had the worst week of hers. When we gather to sing, her song of sorrow is not hers alone. My voice added to hers becomes a unified prayer for the God of all comfort to see her and hear her plea. How much more so as a family where we are daily aware of our failures, joys, trials, and sorrows? We need to sing out our God-given emotions to a God who delights to hear his children’s songs. Third, singing as a family produces a family culture of praise and trust. Children learn most by watching their parents. Parents are sometimes painfully reminded of this. Randy Atkins captures this in his song “Watching You.” His little boy bows his head and prays “to God like he was talking to a friend.” Atkins asks, “Son now where’d you learn to pray like that?” The boy replies, “I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool? I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you.” Our children will learn to sing and delight in singing as they see us model it for them. Finally, the hymns and psalms we sing teach them to value sound theology in their music. This will serve them well when they leave home and find a church for themselves. They will be able to discern how a church views worship by the faithfulness of the songs they sing.
Here are a few suggestions on singing at home:

1. Get over it - yes, it will be awkward. Yes, if you are like me, you may be off-key or mess up a lyric. Yes, it might seem a little silly. Get over it! The only ones watching are your family. Be safe in that company and raise your voice in praise to God.
2. Sing from a hymnal - Buy a copy of the Trinity Hymnal or the Sing Hymnal by the Getty’s.
3. Sing Psalms - You can buy a Psalter; The Book of Psalms for Worship is fantastic, or you can get a copy of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal. The Hymnbook of the Church has historically been the Psalms. There is no worry over the lyrics for they are grounded in the inspired word of God.
4. Make use of technology - The Trinity Psalter Hymnal App includes the tunes for all hymns and psalms. You can play this if the tune is unfamiliar or to assist you in your singing. You can pull up Spotify or YouTube for music if it will help.
5. Pick a family hymn or psalm - I heard of a pastor who raised his children with a “family psalm.” They sang it every evening. It became so vital to his family's piety and practice that when his grandchildren visit for Thanksgiving or Christmas, they request to sing it. This creates a bond between the family and the act of singing. We have a special family hymn that we know by heart. We can sing it in good times and bad. It is a covenant reminder of God’s faithfulness to our family.
6. When the time is short - I always recommend having a “long” and “short” family worship plan. In my family’s current life, we are busy with after-school activities. This means the evenings become shortened, with dinner to be eaten and homework to be finished. If family worship needs to be shortened, don’t cut singing. Simply sing the Doxology or the Gloria Patri.

These are just a few suggestions to get you started. Remember, the Lord has gifted you with an instrument, your voice. Raise it up in faithful adoration and praise, and use it to his glory. Its result will be for your good.