Do we need help? Hope? Healing? Sometimes only a song will do
By Dean Collins
Sometimes only a song will bring help. And in that moment hope and healing begin.
I’ve noticed over the last several years that the words of Scripture contained in worship songs and hymns are what bring me hope, ease my anxiety, and ground me so that my feet are on solid ground again.
I read lots of Scripture every day. I pray every day. I meditate and write from Scripture every day. I listen to sermons and read various commentaries and articles about spiritual things every week. All of this helps me find wisdom, guidance, and clarity. But it is the psalms, the hymns, and the spiritual songs that bring nearly instant relief to my mind and spirit.
I can’t count the times I have participated in a worship service quietly, my mind engaged during worship and listening to the sermon when seemingly out of the blue one line from one song grips me. In these moments I cannot sing, and emotion wells up as I sense the Holy Spirit bringing healing and hope to my soul. It is a catharsis that I believe is a gift from God.
This experience can happen while driving and listening to a random playlist of Christian music as well. Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs are gifts from God to help and heal us.
Gift of hope
In Isaiah 12 there is such a gift, given first to the children of God in Isaiah’s time and then also to us today. Isaiah had already told God’s beloved that judgment was upon them and that they would suffer under Assyrian rule and bondage. Isaiah had already told of a coming child who would be born of a virgin and be called Immanuel. The Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace was promised.
Before anyone would see this day of redemption, the Babylonians would dominate Assyria, and the children of God would live in exile in a foreign land. A remnant would remain in Jerusalem. But here in Isaiah 12, there is the interjection of a psalm of praise and thanksgiving given to touch heart and soul and give God’s children a reminder, a hope, and a promise of overflowing wells that would refresh God’s beloved for all time.
Songs of deliverance
Isaiah’s psalm of praise would likely have brought the songs of deliverance from the exodus to mind for oppressed people of God. The children of God needed a reminder that God had once before brought deliverance from Egypt and the Jewish pilgrims watched and sang about how the horse and rider were conquered as the waters flooded over them after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt.
This psalm of Isaiah was also similar to many lines from many psalms of David, which also remind us not to be fearful but to trust in the Lord with heart and mind. Centuries later after the resurrection of Christ, the apostle Paul would tell the church in Ephesus to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
The Holy Spirit throughout history guided prophets, kings, and apostles to include songs of praise throughout Scripture. These psalms and hymns often came to the saints of old during the middle of persecution and captivity. Deliverance and rescue were promised and would be fulfilled. And in the middle of our stress and struggle, our sickness, and our bondage, God knew we needed to sing and be served by songs of hope.
Those of us who have followed Jesus for decades are blessed to have so many Scripture-filled songs to help us recall and reclaim the promises of God. For those newer in the faith, don’t miss the blessing and importance of listening to and singing Scripture-inspired songs. These songs often bring healing, encouragement, and a reminder to hold tightly to the hope we have in Christ.
Lord, thank you for the powerful comfort that comes to us through your Word, both written and sung. With the prophet Isaiah we declare today that God is our salvation, we will trust, and we will not be afraid; for the Lord God is our strength and our song, and he has become our salvation. In Jesus’ name, amen
Your time with God’s Word
Isaiah 12:1-6; Psalm 138:1, 27:1; Exodus 15:21; Ephesians 5:19-20 ESV
Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash
To receive daily posts delivered directly to your inbox, complete the form at the bottom of our home page.
