Psalm 95: 1-2 says:  'Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.'

We are called to worship God both in our daily lives (see Romans 12: 1-2) and also as we meet together (see Colossians 3:16).  Worship is about showing worth to God and our love for him, through our attitudes and our daily lives but also as we come together for corporate worship.  Music is a wonderful gift from God and forms an important part of our corporate worship at Emmanuel.

When the composer J.S. Bach's Bible was found, notes were seen written in the margins. Some of these were about music. Next to 1 Chronicles chapter 25, a chapter listing the musicians and singers trained in music 'for the Lord', Bach wrote 'This chapter is the true foundation of all God-pleasing church music'.  Next to 2 Chronicles 5:12-13, Bach wrote 'In devotional music, God is always present with his Grace.'

There is something very powerful about music and as Bach shows in his Bible, the Bible is full of examples of how music has been and is used by God and how people have used music to help them worship him. 

In a recent advert for a lunchtime harp concert,  we were reminded that the harp is used as a

way of calming Saul .  A harpist also plays over Elisha as he prophesies. Trumpets are used as a  symbol of God's presence and many instruments and voices are mentioned in the Psalms (many of them dedicated to the director of music!) Music is mentioned in the first book of the Bible (Genesis 31:27) and in the last book (Revelation 18:22) and is a powerful way we can all join together to lift up the name of Jesus.

So, as we worship together (whether that is through music or other aspects of our services) let us pray that this worship together on Sundays and in communities spills out and overflows into our daily lives of worship.