Judges 5:1-3 Then sang Deborah and Barack….Praise ye the Lord…. I will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel..
Chapter 5 is known as Deborah’s Song, one of the oldest poetic songs in literature. The Lord had just given them victory over the enemy. The response of Deborah was to praise the Lord by singing and playing music with instruments. The victory song was accompanied by joyous celebration. It proclaimed God’s greatness by giving God credit for the victory.
Ideally, Sunday worship could be structured like this: we sing hymns and songs of praise and thanks to God after we have heard the Gospel message. Praise is a most helpful response to hearing the Good News of Victory in Christ. This order would be instructive for how we live our daily lives: begin the day in the Word with prayer, repent and believe the gospel, and then spend the rest of the day in an attitude of praise and thanksgiving, making melody in your heart to the Lord. Think about how much more blessed the days will be. The spirit of praise and song accompanies our daily work and play, and we are reminded of what great things the Lord has done for us. Songs of praise are continuous responses to the never-ending blessings of God’s presence, victory, forgiveness, and life.