CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC By Carolyn Sue Swackhammer        Music has had an effect on people and their emotions since way back in history when the first man began to put sounds together to form a melody.  Music can excite and soothe you.  It can bring feelings of love, compassion, melancholy and intense emotional upheaval.      In the days of Saul, the first King of Israel, music was the only thing which would soothe the rage of a tormented, dis-obedient king gone mad.  Young David and his Psalms were the only things that would bring peace to Saul’s tormented mind.

I have heard it said that music with a fast beat has been known to  affect the beating of the human heart causing it to skip a beat at times.  On the other hand, music with a smooth melodic rhythm can calm one’s nerves; put crying infants to sleep and calm savage animals.      A song is words put to musical notes that further convey the feelings of the author.  By listening to the tempo along with the words, a message is delivered.  At times, that message is the state of mind  the author was in at the time the song was written.      God had a message He wanted to share with His people.  So God created “The Song”, Jesus Christ.  The Song which taught us of God’s love.  Love to be given and received toward God’s people.  As with any music, there are those who like it, and those who don’t.  When people don’t like the song they hear on the radio, they change stations or turn the radio off.  But that doesn’t stop the music!  Even with the radio turned off, the station is still broadcasting the music loud and clear.  Just waiting to be turned on and listened to.      You just can’t stop the music.  As long as someone is playing and someone is listening, the song goes on.  The more you listen, the better you like it.  The more you like it, the more you long to hear it.      When you listen to a song you like and start singing or humming along, you find that the melody stays with you.  You keep singing or humming the song, even after it has stopped playing on the radio.  It just stays on your mind.  Repeating, over and over.  You never get tired of The Song.  No matter where you are, you just can’t forget it.      “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”.   That’s what the Bible says in Ephesians 5, verse 19.  To me, this is saying that I can sing to make myself happy when I feel sad.  That my life and how I live it is a song of tribute unto The Lord.  God wants us to be happy.      The next time a song makes you feel so good, and you want to clap and sing along, go ahead!  You’re “making a joyful noise unto the Lord”.  Keep singing The Song and help others to join in by singing The Song to them.  Tell them of The Song of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.  Tell them how they too Can’t Stop The Music.