Sheryl Brady - The Significance of a Song

On your way down, tell somebody the significance of a song. This significance of a song you really cannot hardly overlook. You can’t talk about worship, do a series about worship, or deliver messages about worship without bringing up the name of David. David was a true worshipper, and what’s so cool about the Bible is that every time you see the name David, we’re talking about the same David. It’s not like you have to decipher whether it was this David or another David; no, he is the David who has been mentioned nearly 800 times in the Old Testament and about 70 times in the New Testament. What I found out about worship with him is that it was not something he did occasionally; worship was how he lived. Worship was a lifestyle for David; it was a decision he made. He chose not just to talk about worship or tell people to worship. Have you ever been at the mercy of worship leaders who only harp on how you need to worship? You look at them and think, «If you would worship, I might just follow you right in.» But sometimes, people get so busy telling others to do it that they don’t do it themselves. To live the life of a true worshipper, you have to reach the point where you become more God-conscious and less self-conscious. A lot of people don’t worship because they’re so self-conscious. They wonder, «What if I raise my hand the wrong way? What if somebody happens to look at me when I do?» So we have all of this self-doubt. «Well, I just don’t do it like that, Pastor BR. That’s not me; that’s not who I am. Y’all go ahead; I’ll just wait.» But wait a minute, this is not about you; this is about Him. It’s about what He wants. Tell somebody, «Give the man what he wants.» Put my mic back, if you will, like it was. Give the man what he wants. David, even though he was a man and knew who he was—he knew he was Israel’s King—also understood that before he was Israel’s King, he was God’s worshipper. What has always impressed me about David is that, even though he was a king, he didn’t care about rank when it came to worship. You know, I don’t even know if it was me or Pastor Joseph or Pastor Travis or Pastor Chris. Someone was talking about David and how he was bringing the ark back, and how he got to the place where his wife, Michal, watched from a window. She was humiliated because he was going so crazy in worship that he ended up stripping off his clothes and worshipping in the street with common people. Here he was, the king, and she was totally insulted; she thought it was horrible because she had never seen her father, Saul, worship like that. What I love about David, and still do as I think about it, is that he only cared about rank on the battlefield. When it came time for battle, that is when he cared about rank. But in worship, he said, «I am one of y’all, and I am a worshipper.» He used his words so articulately. I love that about him because he could talk his way straight into the heart of God. Even when God was upset with him, he could still talk his way into the presence of God. He had a way with words, and he not only talked but sang his way into the presence of God. He had many titles, but one of his titles is the sweet singer of Israel or the sweet psalmist of Israel. As a matter of fact, there was not a prophet, there wasn’t a priest, and there wasn’t a king in all of Israel’s history who was more involved with musical expression in worship than David was. He was the first. David had the ability to express his innermost thoughts and feelings through song. David had a way of saying things that made you think, «That is exactly what I’m trying to say!» Have you ever been around someone who talks, and you think, «That’s what I mean!»? I mean, I didn’t have the words to articulate that, but I get it; that’s exactly what I wanted to say. Well, that was David. David knew how to articulate his feelings to God. He said, «Lord, how are they increased that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be that say of my soul, 'There is no hope for him in God.'» Then he pauses and says, «But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; you are my glory, and you’re the lifter of my head.» Psalm after psalm after psalm was written by the psalmist David. When music is anointed, it releases miracles; it releases the miraculous. When music is anointed, it releases fear, anxiety, torment, tension, anger, and frustration. How do I know? Because I’ve walked into the middle of it many a time.