Ephesians 5:19

"Speak out to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise with voices [and instruments] and making melody with all your heart to the Lord" Ephesians 5:19

Praise God... when I read this verse, I thank the Lord for His people. I am surrounded by so many wonderful people doing just what Paul says we should do. But... it hasn't always been like this from the beginning of my new birth, in Christ. No, this message was to "me", first... it wasn't until "I" started speaking out to others the way Paul says here, that I really started feeling the experience of this. Christ's love and grace was there from the beginning... yes, and He put special people in my life to help me grow, but when we get a hold of this revelation, here in verse 19... to speak out to one another, it's like a fire that spreads outward and finds it's way back.

Psalms, or Psalmos, originally meant a touching, and then a touching of the harp or other stringed instruments and became known as the song sung with music accompaniment. Hymns, or Humnos, refers to a song of praise, a song in honor of God or generally to a song with religious content. Praise, added here in the Amplified version, is because together, Psalms and Hymns in "songs", or Oide (from aido = to sing), always signified praise to God... actually, it was a generic term for any words sung or for songs in general. This is important because the original use of singing was to respect gods, period... of course "we" know there have never been but one true God. And so in our reaching out to one another like Paul says, it is in "Praise" of our God... The only God... whom first loved us, still loves us, and made a way to re-connect with us through Jesus Christ.

Now, listen to the key to this "Praising"... Paul continues, "...making melody with all your heart to the Lord". Cymbals are great, harps, guitar... whatever, but it's not the size or the sound of the cymbal... It's not any eloquence you or I may bring to the melody... the melody to God is in "all of our heart" to the Lord.

Let's pick up with Ephesians verse 5:20 next time.

I love you.