Two years ago, I charged into January resolved to sing every verse of one hymn each day. As with many personal resolutions, I folded this into the edges of my days, where homeschool and other responsibilities could not crowd it out; this meant some late nights when I ran downstairs to hastily sing a hymn before crashing into bed, meeting the bones of the resolution and completely missing the heart.

My rousing success drove me to a better decision, frankly borne more of necessity than conviction: sing during the day with my kids. I picked a hymnal, we sang a song or two after our Bible time, and we added a bookmark. Repeat the next day.

From these humble beginnings, we have now finished singing through a few hymnals and moved our singing to a time when we can regularly sing as a whole family. Singing is critical to our worship, one of our favourite family habits, and among my dearest memories.

But why should you care? Frankly, if it is just my words or nostalgia, you shouldn’t. It is not just my words. Singing threads the entire Bible.

  • Angels sang when God laid the foundations of the earth (Job 38:6–7); angels sang when Jesus took human flesh and was born in a barn (Luke 2:10–14); angels sing around the throne to the Lamb who is worthy (Revelation 5:8–14).
  • God Himself sings (Zeph 3:17).
  • People in awe at God’s working sing (Exodus 15; Judges 5; 1 Samuel 2:1–10; 2 Samuel 22: Isaiah 12).
  • People in desperate situations sing (Psalms 13, 22, 42–43, 88; Acts 16:23–26).
  • God gives songs, not words alone, to remind us of His way (Deuteronomy 31:19–22; 32), to be a striking testimony to unbelievers (Psalm 40:1–3; Isaiah 42:5–12), and to encourage and challenge other believers (Ephesians 5:18–22; Colossians 3:16).
  • God gave us an entire book of the Bible, Psalms, as a hefty hymnal with songs ranging from lament to repentance to worship.
  • Redeemed people will sing transcendent, resounding praise uniquely their own (Isaiah 35; Revelation 14:1–3; 15:2–4; 19:1–8).

This is not all, but this is enough. The Bible is clear; the habit is simple—sing.

Start simply and immediately. Make a playlist of your favourite songs and hymns, taking the time to sing one song along with your Bible reading time or before bed. I recommend you buy a physical hymnal if you can, ideally one that you sing from at your church. Hymnals allow you to sing far more songs than is practical for a church to regularly sing. Rich doctrines have been carefully set to singable melodies that allow you to meditate easily. Take full advantage of others’ gifts and use these tools. The goal is worship. Identify your barriers to worship and remove them.

Some anticipate getting new and better voices in heaven. Certainly we will not deal with limitations of health or endurance or strength. Heaven will at last reverberate with the song of the redeemed! But I believe the greatest change in our praise will be due to better eyes, seeing Jesus as He truly is (1 Corinthians 13:12), and having true hearts and whole selves (Psalm 17:15). If we are honest, our attention and interest regularly falter sooner than our voices. Never again in heaven. We will join “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might forever and ever!’” (Revelation 5:13).

Singing characterizes redeemed people. Start simple; start today.

Favourite hymnals available on Amazon:

(Don’t overlook secondhand options!)

While you wait for your hymnal, here are some of my favourites you could try:

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