Around 30 years ago…I know, I’m telling my age…my family started attending a little country church. This church had a youth choir and asked my sister and I if we’d like to be in it. We said sure and this voice came out. It was totally unexpected – especially to me. When I tell this story about how I started singing I always say that the most amazing part is that I wasn’t afraid to sing. I could stand up there in front of people and sing. I knew, even then at around 15 years old that this voice, this ability to sing was for the Lord alone, for His Glory.
The phrase “Sing for the King” came about several years ago, I used it as my signature line like people use “sincerely” and “yours truly”…I would write:
Sing for the King,
Christy Hoagland
The song began in my car on my way to work, I even have the voice memo somewhere of me saying “Christy, write a song called ‘Sing for the King'”. I know, I’m silly but this is how I song write. A word or phrase or melody pops into my mind or heart and I sing it into my phone. Later when I sit down to write the song I go over my phone notes, anything I’ve written down and spend time in my Bible finding scriptures that correspond with what song I feel I’m supposed to write. Usually that’s how it goes but sometimes I will simply be reading the Word and put the verses to music especially the Psalms.
Sing for the King is about singing praises to our King, He alone with worthy of our praise and adoration. The bridge is taken from Psalm 47:6-7 “Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!” I changed the last word ‘psalm’ to ‘song’. God’s Word is the best lyrics, full of truth and hope and who He is.
I wrote this song the day after I wrote Be Still but it transformed musically in the months that followed. I emailed this song to my ministry partner, Johnny and shared it with James and they both thought that it would be a great ministry name. And that’s how “Sing for the King Ministries” got its name. Over the last few years doing prison ministry and seeing the incarcerated pour their hearts out before the Lord in song, the name seems to me to be spot on.
Sing for the King
Verse 1
You are my hope, you are my peace
You are my joy, You are my King
Verse 2
You are my rest, You are my strength
You are my love, the reason I sing
Chorus 1
Sing for the King, Sing for His Glory
In Everything, Jesus is worthy
Sing for the King, All of creation
Exalt Him in praise, He is deserving
Chorus 2
Sing for the King, Sing for His Glory
In Everything, Jesus is worthy
Sing for the King, All of creation
Exalt Him in praise, with adoration
(Bridge)
Sing praises to God, sing praises
Sing praises to our King, sing praises
For God is the King of all the earth
Sing praises with a song
(Tag)
Sing for the King, Sing for His Glory
In Everything, Jesus is worthy
©2016 Christy Hoagland (ASCAP Sing for the King Publishing)
Christy Hoagland 