Shepastor: "Have You Lost Your Song?"

5Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
6They spread a net for my feet—
I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.
8Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
10For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
11Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 57: 5-11, NIV


The Hebrew writers did not have one word for the term “praise,” but rather they used various, specific words, depending upon the message that they were attempting to convey to the reader and or listener. In Psalm 57, the Psalmist uses the Hebrew term, “Zamar.”

Zamar means "to pluck the strings of an instrument, to sing, to praise; a musical word which is largely involved with joyful expressions of music with musical instruments.”

Back in the late 70’s/ early 80’s an R & B group named Earth, Wind and Fire had a song called, “Sing a Song”

The lyrics said,

When you feel down and out
Sing a song, it'll make your day…

Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles and James Cleveland declared,

Without a song the day would never end
Without a song the road would never bend
When things go wrong a man ain't got a friend
Without a song…

...I'll never know what makes the rain to fall
I'll never know what makes that grass so tall
I only know there ain't no love at all
Without a song

Even Elmo, in his dvd, “Welcome to Grouch Land,” sings the 70’s group the Carpenters tune…

Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud
Sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad
Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don’t worry that it’s not
Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song



All of these songs have a common theme – songs of the heart greatly contribute to the health and sustainability of life. Proverbs 17:22 declares, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Proverbs 18: 14 declares, “A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?”

It appears that the Psalmist had every reason to have a crushed spirit. Enemies had stolen “his song.” In verse 4 of our text, Psalm 57, the Psalmist declared,

4I am in the midst of lions;
I lie among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords

The Psalmist describes his circumstance as being “amidst lions, ravenous beasts, men whose teeth are as spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp as swords… He’s in a bad place. Have you ever experienced the pain of being attacked by mean spirited people? Not necessarily physically attacked, but having your character attacked, your name dragged through the mud, your motives questioned, your every move considered suspect. Have you ever experienced a jealous co-worker or sibling, an insecure mentor or boss, an envious relative, a cruel bully – if you have, then you can relate to the psalmist.

The pain inflicted by the tongue sometimes lasts years longer than any bruise caused by a physical punch. The feeling that someone is waiting to pounce on you, so to speak by speaking cruel words, or by plotting to get you removed or in trouble can break your spirit and make you feel sick. The Psalmist said that these enemies seemed to be as ravenous beasts – their treatment of him felt like a wild animal was tearing him from limb to limb. He was in some serious pain – He had lost his song but not for long. Something happened within the Psalmist. He began to speak in His native Hebrew language and declared, “Zamar!”

Zamar means "to pluck the strings of an instrument, to sing, to praise; a musical word which is largely involved with joyful expressions of music with musical instruments.”
He stepped over the pain of attacks and climbed up to platform of his soul and began to pluck the strings of his heart and declared,

5Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
6They spread a net for my feet—
I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

In the text you see the instruction, “Selah” that is not to be spoken or pronounced, it is an instruction to pause and think about what was just said. The Psalmist said, “They spread a net for my feet – I was bowed down in distress – they dug a pit in my path – but they have fallen into it themselves.” And then, he stops and thinks about what God has done and declares…

7My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.

The Psalmist declared with strength, faith and determination – “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast, I will sing and make music.” You have to make up your mind to get your song back! Much in life will try to steal your song. Much in life will threaten to break your spirit, to crush your dreams, to laugh at your vision, to press down, your enthusiasm, but you’ve got to declare like the Psalmist – “Zamar!” I Will sing and make music.

Keep a song of faith in your heart. No matter what comes your way – declare, “Be exalted O God above the heavens, let your glory be over all of the earth.” In other words, the Psalmist was saying, “God be exalted over my enemies, over my situation, over my pain, over my circumstances – let your glory be over EVERYTHING that concerns me!” The Psalmist made up his mind that he was going to sing his song. He said, “Zamar!” My heart is going to be an instrument – your goodness, mercy, glory and grace is going to pluck the strings of my heart and I exalt you in my life – I exalt you in my spirit, I exalt you above all that would seek to cast me down and I will praise your name! The Psalmist declared in so many words – I will not let you steal my song!

Sing your song – exalt God in your life. Proclaim God’s glory unto yourself – exalt God in your life – refuse to accept the enemies report – Isaiah raised the question, “whose report will you believe?” Get your song back! Sing your song. Stop letting the mean spirited attacks of your enemies to pluck your heart strings. Instead, shout, “Zamar” and proclaim – “Be exalted O God above the heavens, let your glory be over my life!”

Post a comment or send me an email at Shepastor1@hotmail.com

Until next Wednesday,

In Faith, Hope and Perseverance,
Pastor Chris
www.shepastorchris.org