day no. 16,337: singing psalms may wake sleeping lions

“Because the final reward is found in the resurrection, in the city to come, and not here, we are set free to attempt great things here. To different kinds of cowardice this looks positively reckless, but reckless in different ways. Some are afraid that our psalm singing will wake up the lions, while others are afraid that the psalm singing will stop the mouths of those same lions.” — Douglas Wilson, Empires of Dirt

Some would rather remain lame than run with the big dogs. Some prefer the peace and quiet of being irrelevant to the sweat and tears of making a difference.

Singing psalms may wake the sleeping lions, but it also just might shut them up forever.

Let us sing like we mean it and leave the results to the Lord. Whether our worship draws fire or causes fire to fall down from Heaven, let us sing like we know the words. We are Christians. We know the Word. We have placed our hope in His life, death, and resurrection not so we can avoid our life, death, or resurrection, but so that we might attain to them. 

Romans 14:7-9

For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Some powers and principalities slew soundly under the assumption that Christianity is a thing of the past. But when we sing so that they can hear it, they wake up well aware that we haven’t gone anywhere and must still be dealt with. This may lead to more trouble for us, but only because we’re finally troubling them.

Any light worth it’s salt is proud to give the darkness fits and considers it a badge of honor to be so bright as to have shade thrown at it. But the dark doesn’t stick.

John 1:5

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

If the darkness decides to dark even harder, it can’t win. The darkness is fading and the light is growing ever brighter.

Proverbs 4:18-19

The path of the righteous

is like the light of dawn,

which shines brighter

and brighter until full day.

The way of the wicked

is like deep darkness;

they do not know

over what they stumble.