God in song

There are many ways to learn about God and worship our Lord. It is sad that some folks focus on reading Scripture and/or listening to sermons. In fact, I can't think of anything that penetrates our stony hearts better than a good song!
Consider some of these lyrics from old favorites:

"Now thank we all our God
With heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom His world rejoices;
Who, from our mothers' arms,
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today. --Rinkart and Cruger 17th Century

"A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing" --Martin Luther 16th Century

"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shieldeth thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen How thy desires e'er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?" --Joachim Neander 17th Century

"The God of Abraham praise,
All praised be His name,
Who was, and is, and is to be,
And still the same!
The one eternal God,
Ere aught that now appears;
The First, the Last: beyond all thought
His timeless years!" --Thomas Olivers, 18th Century

When we say that inspiration closed with the book of Revelation, we cut ourselves off from everything that has followed! From the context and notations recorded in our Bible, we know that the Israelites sang many of the Psalms. After Christ celebrated Passover with his disciples, we read: "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." Matthew 26:30 (NIV) So let's make sure we are employing every means available to us to learn about our God and fulfill our need to worship and adore Him/Her.

*The above selections were taken from Hymns for Worship published by Evangel Press in 1963.