Raucous Melodies
Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious. Psalm 66:2 NASB
Sing – What to do after shouting. Sing. Ah, you remember? We started with rūaʿ (shout). We yelled out the battle cry of God and heard the earth echo our cry. We jumped on the tidal wave, undulated with the earthquake, sizzled with the lightning and rode the thunder. We blew the shofar until it cracked. But what then? What happens after the raucous cacophony of praise? Well, according to the Psalmist, that’s when we sing. First, lots of noise. Then melodies.
The Hebrew verb is zāmar. Herbert Wolf makes an interesting point:
The song of praise first occurs in Ex 15:2, where Moses celebrates the victory over the Egyptians at the Red Sea. The verb is used in Jud 5:3, the song of triumph written by Deborah to commemorate the crushing defeat of Sisera and his mighty chariots (cf. Ps 68:4 [H 5]; 32 [H 33]). [1]
Did you make the connection? The “song of praise” is initially, and subsequently, associated with victory in battle. Ah, now we know why we start with rūaʿ and end with zāmar. The songs we sing aren’t isolated spiritual nursery rhymes or (what’s worse) the bleached cantatas of Pollyanna pilgrims. No, sir. These are victory songs, filled with jubilation and intensity over God’s great works. No Silent Night nonsense comes from Moses’ lips. No Little Drummer Boy bull can be found in Deborah’s lyrics. This is Battle Hymn of the Republic stuff.
Is God your hero? Has He rescued you from overwhelming odds? Did He show up when you needed reinforcements? Did you make it to the other side of the Brook? Well, then, SING! Get those words out in 100-decibel chords. Turn up the volume. Rockandrolla to God. And notice how your feelings change. Remember, the verbal form of zāmar (to sing, to make music) is an imperative. A command! DO IT! Shouting and singing is not a suggestion. Oh, I’m sure people around you will be a bit uncomfortable. Perhaps you’ll feel squeamish at first. But your backup choir is thunder and lightning. It’s the best stage show on earth.
Oh, by the way, the entire book of Psalms has direct connections to singing. “A number of terms are found parallel to zmr, including šîr “to sing” (Jud 5;3; Ps 27:6; 101:1; 104L33) rānan, “to shout for joy” (Ps 71:23; 98:4), yādâ, “to praise” (Ps 57:9 [H 10]; 33:2), and hālal, “to praise” (Ps 149:3). The close relationship between zmr and “praise” is reflected in the fact that the Hebrew name for the book of Psalms (which translates the Hebrew mizmôr) is “Praises” (tĕhillîm).”[2]
Time for some music.
Topical Index: sing, zāmar, battle, victory, Psalm 66:2
[1] Wolf, H. (1999). 558 זָמַר. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 245). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] Ibid.
