Making Melodies to God

Making Melodies to God

Praise the Lord with the lyre;
  make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
Sing to him a new song;
  play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,
  the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
  the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

Our soul waits for the Lord;
  he is our help and shield.
Our heart is glad in him,
  because we trust in his holy name.

Psalm 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21

I’m teaching myself to play ukulele. On the face of things, this tracks: I grew up surrounded by music; my mad-scientist great-grandfather invented instruments; and every year for my husband’s birthday, I give him a stringed instrument (a mandolin harp, a sitar, a banjolin).

Except, while my family might be talented, my musical repertoire – until recently – extended about as far as playing the theme song from Four Weddings and a Funeral on the piano. Badly.

In my defence, I do play a mean radio.

And I love to sing. Harmonising in the car? I’m ready to embarrass myself at traffic lights. Disney sing-a-longs? Hit me with that whole new world. Church fundraisers with punny-named cover bands? Shut-up and take my money. (Looking at you Parental as Anything, Gringo Star, and Nuns n Roses).

But there’s nothing quite like singing en masse. If you’ve sung in a choir, or gigged with 5000 people at the Hordern, then you’ll know the feeling. And I reckon the composers of the psalms knew it too. In fact, there’s plenty of research showing people associate community and spirituality with congregational singing.

There’s a saying (often attributed to Augustine) that “he who sings, prays twice” and I think there’s truth to that. The psalms were likely written with group singing in mind, and they give us – individually and communally – the language to express to God our feelings.

Psalm 33 begins with an instruction to rejoice in and praise God. And to do so with a ten-stringed lyre. For Augustine, the ten strings symbolised the ten commandments. Whether we sing, pluck strings, or use our mind-bodies to give thanks to God, this Psalm shows us that our praise and thanksgiving are connected to our trust in the LORD.

Throughout Psalm 33, we are given examples of God’s word and works. When we remember the power of God’s word in creating the world, and remember that God has fashioned each one of us – God sees us, God knows us – then we know we can trust in the LORD.

The final few verses are replete with synonyms for trusting God: “fear,” “waits,” “help and shield,” and “hope.” As I write this reflection, nations are bombing each other, families are fleeing their homes, and I am overwhelmed with grief, uncertainty, and a sense of powerlessness.

I don’t have any easy answers. And I don’t know what to do with the disconnect between living in wartime, and still getting up in the morning and making my coffee like nothing has changed.

But I do have hope. Hope and trust in God’s steadfast loving-kindness. Hope that God will let justice flow, like letting there be light and speaking the world into being. Hope that it won’t always be like this. Hope in the waiting of Advent. Hope in the life-giving gift of Jesus.

And in the meantime, I’ll join my joint-church ukulele group, sing God a new song, and try – this time – to play skilfully on the strings.

Erin Martine Hutton is an ordinand with the Baptist Association and serves as the Moderation and Inclusion Manager at the Australian College of Theology. She has lectured in Integrative Studies, Christianity in History, and Old Testament at various theological colleges. Currently, Erin is pursuing an interdisciplinary PhD that explores the Song of Songs as a model for the primary prevention of domestic and family violence and attends Berowra Baptist church.

This devotional is part of a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2024 reflecting on the life-giving, thirst quenching justice of Jesus we long to see flow across these lands. A justice overflowing with love and compassion, bringing forth hope, healing, nourishment and flourishing for all.

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