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Songs in the Bible

“I will recount Your name to My brothers,
In the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise.” —Hebrews 2:12

Various songs are included or mentioned in Scripture.

• Songs of Moses (Exodus 15; Numbers 21:17; Deuteronomy 32; referred to in Rev. 15:3)

  The first recorded song that was corporately sung by the men of the nation of Israel is in Exodus following a massive Divine miracle that they witnessed.

  “I will sing to Yahweh, for He is highly exalted;
  The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
  Yah is my strength and song,
  And He has become my salvation;
  This is my God, and I will praise Him;
  My father’s God, and I will extol Him.
  Yahweh is a warrior;
  Yahweh is His name.
  Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
  And the choicest of his officers are sunk in the Red Sea.
  The deeps cover them;
  They went down into the depths like a stone.
  Your right hand, O Yahweh, is majestic in power,
  Your right hand, O Yahweh, shatters the enemy.
  And in the greatness of Your exaltation You pull down those who rise up against You;
  You send forth Your burning anger, and it devours them as chaff.
  And at the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up,
  The flowing waters stood up like a heap;
  The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
  The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
  My desire shall be fulfilled against them;
  I will draw out my sword, my hand will dispossess them.’
  You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them;
  They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
  Who is like You among the gods, O Yahweh?
  Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
  Fearsome in praises, working wonders?
  You stretched out Your right hand,
  The earth swallowed them.
  In Your lovingkindness You have guided the people whom You have redeemed;
  In Your strength You have led them to Your holy habitation.
  The peoples have heard, they tremble;
  Anguish has seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
  Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
  The leaders of Moab, trembling seizes them;
  All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
  Terror and dread fall upon them;
  By the greatness of Your arm they are still as stone;
  Until Your people pass over, O Yahweh,
  Until the people pass over whom You have purchased.
  You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance,
  The place, O Yahweh, which You have made for You to inhabit,
  The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
  Yahweh shall reign forever and ever.” —Exodus 15:1-18 LSB excerpt

• Song sung by the children of Israel when God gave them water in the desert wilderness in Beer

  “Spring up, O well
  The well, which the leaders dug,
  Which the nobles of the people carved out,
  With the scepter and with their staffs.” —Numbers 21:17-18

• Song of Deborah (Judges 5)

• Song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2)

  My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.

  There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

  Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

  The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

  The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

  He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them.

  He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

• Song of David in 2 Samuel 22, and his various songs in the book of Psalms

• Song of Mary in Luke 1:46-55

• Song of Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, in Luke 1:68-79

  “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
  because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
  He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
  in the house of his servant David
  (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
  salvation from our enemies
  and from the hand of all who hate us—
  to show mercy to our ancestors
  and to remember his holy covenant,
  the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

  to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
  and to enable us to serve him without fear
  in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

  And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
  for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
  to give his people the knowledge of salvation
  through the forgiveness of their sins,
  because of the tender mercy of our God,
  by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
  to shine on those living in darkness
  and in the shadow of death,
  to guide our feet into the path of peace.” —ESV

• Angels in Luke 2:13, 14 (possible song)

• Song of Simeon in Luke 2:29-32

• Song of the redeemed in Revelation 5:9, 10

• Song of Solomon (see: Song of Songs)

• Song of the Lamb referred to in Revelation 15:3, 4

• 245 male and female singers mentioned in Nehemiah 7:67

• The book of Revelation mentions songs of joy, thanks, or praise (perhaps as many as 27) which take place during the future 70th “Week” described by Daniel, the Tribulation, the 2nd Coming of Christ, and the Day of the Lord and the Millennium—all surround the coming physical Kingdom of God.

  …the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp… And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slaughtered, and You purchased people for God with Your blood from every tribe, language, people, and nation. —Revelation 5:8-9 NASB excerpt

  and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. —Revelation 14:3 ESV

  And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! —Revelation 15:3 NASB