Sing for Me
(Ken Reyes)
Listening to the Song of the First Singer
LYRICS (Click to minimize)
You spoke the world into existence
You breathed against the void’s resistance
And as you sang, the stars gave harmony
But you alone composed the melody
Sometimes I lie awake at night
My aching soul cries out in fright
The silence only magnifies my fears
I need a song to know that you are near
Sing for me, O Lord
I need to hear your voice
Sing to me, O Lord,
A song to calm the noise
Sing for me, O Lord,
Composer of all galaxies
Sing to me,
Author of all melodies
O Lord, please make this life a symphony
A song of beauty in a minor key
And as the movements come and movements go
Sing to me a song you only know
My life may cry under its dissonance
But you alone restores its resonance
I hear the elegies sing out for me
But from the dark I know you’ll set me free
Sing for me, O Lord
I need to hear your voice
Sing to me, O Lord,
A song to calm the noise
Sing for me, O Lord,
Arranger of all memories
Sing to me,
Author of all melodies
You’re the one who inspires my lungs
You’re the one who gives life to my tongue
So I sing, Oh I sing
Without you my search is endless
Without you my heart is restless
So I sing, oh I sing
For you
Sing through me, O Lord
My breath to be your voice
Sing through me, O Lord,
A song to calm the noise
Sing through me, O Lord,
Conductor of the astral hymnodies
Sing to me,
Author of all melodies
Songwriter: Ken Reyes
© 2019 Ken Reyes
CCLI License #632898
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Hebrews 11:3 (ESV)
We all confess that God created the world with His Word. But how often do we consider the profundity of this statement?
It is tempting for Christians to separate the Creator from His creation. We often discuss God in theological terms, yet we lose all sight of the Maker when we discuss nature. We have dichotomized science, the study of God’s handiwork, from the Lord of the Universe. How then are we to join in the universe’s song of love to the Father?
One of the most beautiful passages of fiction is brought to my mind here, in which C.S. Lewis beautifully imagines the creation of the world as a song. In the eighth and ninth chapters of The Magician’s Nephew, Lewis describes Aslan, the God-figure of Narnia as singing the world into existence:
In the darkness, something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it . . . Then two wonders happened at the same moment. One was that the voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could possibly count. They were in harmony with it, but far higher up the scale; cold, tingling, silvery voices. The second wonder was that the blackness overhead, all at once, was blazing with stars. They didn’t come out gently one by one as on a summer evening. One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leaped out . . . If you had seen and heard it, as Digory did, you would have felt quite certain that it was the First Voice, the deep one, which had made them appear and made them sing.1
– C.S. Lewis
What beautiful imagery! We sing because God first sang to us. It is like witnessing the very first appearance of Jesus Christ Himself, as the Word of God who brought the earth into existence. When our ears are opened to the song of God to His creation, only then can we respond in praise.
Let us live constantly in response to the First Singer! If all our lives are songs, then may our songs be written by the Master Composer. In times of joy, let us echo God’s song. In times of sorrow, let us listen for God’s quiet song. It is no small fact that music is one of the first things people turn to when they are grieving. But instead of consuming worldly, popular music, what if we attune our ears to God’s own song, revealed through creation, Scripture, and most perfectly in Jesus Christ?
May we ever live united with the song of our Creator!
1 Lewis, C.S. The Magician’s Nephew. HarperCollins, 2005.