Of all the freedoms we have lost during this pandemic, I think it is the freedom to sing together as God’s people that I have missed the most. It is also the recovery of singing that I feel most excitement about as we anticipate the move towards normality.

There is really nothing quite like it, when the roar of the redeemed seems to shake the walls and even dismantle them brick by brick. The wonder of our God and of his Son, and the captivating power of the gospel – these things should be spoken of, but they must also be sung. How else can we express our happiness in God? How else can we experience the release of thankfulness unless we do it through song?

Singing is an irrepressible instinct. That is why I can’t stop my children singing, supplying their near-constant soundtrack to the Haslam home. That is why sweaty men in pubs slosh their beers and praise their team with loud song. That is why you can’t stop yourself when that song comes on.

Jesus said it. He said that there’s an inevitability to singing. When some of his followers were praising God loudly as Christ entered Jerusalem, there was an objection from some angry and red-faced religious fanatics who wanted Jesus to put a stop to it (thinking it was blasphemy). Jesus replied: I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.

And you have to have a stoney heart in order to suppress this instinct. Because it bubbles up from inside you in contemplation of the beauty of Christ, like the pressure in a subterranean spring. It bursts out with love and joy. And it helps bring that joy to its fulfilment and satisfaction. In other words, the singing not only expresses your happiness, but completes it.

So, as we eagerly anticipate the liberty in regathering that is happening in the weeks to come, let’s not miss the beauty of this moment. You were made to sing, and then to experience the chorus of praise coming from God’s people, surrounding and lifting you out of yourself and into the very throne room of the Lamb.