Benefits of Singing in Harmony

“The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:“He is good; his love endures forever. Then the temple of the Lord was filled with The Cloud”.2 Chronicles 5:13 NIV

The Cloud, otherwise referred to as the Shekinah Glory, denotes the dwelling or settling of the presence of the Lord. In celebrating the completion of the Temple built by Solomon many musicians joined in to sing in concert, “All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the Lord was filled with The Cloud” and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God” (2 Chronicles 5:12 -14). As Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

But not only does singing together bring on the presence of the Lord. His Glory is also reflected in long term health benefits. Research shows that when a choir sings, the singers not only harmonize their voices, they also synchronize their heartbeats. The scientists believe the synchrony occurs because the singers coordinate their breathing which in turn regulates the pulse rate. "The pulse goes down when you exhale and when you inhale it goes up”. This guided breathing during choir singing has the effect of bringing down blood pressure and boosting immunity, they claim.

So join the choir and sing to the Lord for both your spiritual and physical health!

“Music creates order out of chaos: for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent, melody imposes continuity upon the disjointed, and harmony imposes compatibility upon the incongruous” Yehudi Menuhin