Spirit Covenant, I have some thoughts on the psalmist gift of which you obviously have been given. I, too, have been blessed with this wondrous gift and have operated in same gift for over 4 decades. Over time I have learned a few things that I believe you need to be aware of and most importantly to pray about, asking God for the truth concerning this gift you've been given in how He would have you escape the snare of misuse of worship/praise unto Him. There is great controversy surrounding this subject and my motive here in sharing these insights stems from a sense of responsibility in knowing you will need to face these concepts eventually, my hope is that your gift will not become tainted nor prostituted due to the issues I will describe.
When someone who is a gifted psalmist takes sole credit for the spiritual songs they are given saying "MY music" or " the songs I have written", I get an immediate "red flag" also known as "a check in my spirit" and I immediately find myself correcting them. God gave you those songs as a gift, thus give Him the glory. It can seem awkward at first insisting to others who may ask, "Did you write that song?", for you to reveal that the Holy Spirit inspired you, gave it to you, however God leads you when you pray about it,will serve you much better in the long run. If you seek the truth you will be shown how to give God the glory for what can be a most difficult gift in keeping a pure heart and mind in knowing what God approves of and what He does not allow when it comes to worship songs written by the Holy Spirit through you. When you give the gift back to God asking Him to purify your motives bringing the usage of this powerful gift under His authority alone,you will find a greater anointing will follow. Do not misuse the anointing of God, it can become tainted,twisted and used for evil.
You need to be aware of, or simply beware unholy ambition. Unholy ambition is a terrible thing to get snared by, as is the not so subtle self promotion,which is evidenced when we seek attention and praise from men in the sharing of our gift. When you are just starting out, you tend to be super enthusiastic which is normal. Usually the psalmist gift is accompanied by the desire to perform the gift. While you are writing a song of worship to God are you content to worship Him in private,in your closet, with no-one else hearing it but God, forever, if He so ask it, or are you already thinking about "your audience" and how you might perfect it for them to notice you and your gift.
Don't get angry, you know these things have to see the light of day if you are going to have victory over the many problems that will come with being gifted in this way,at this time (a time when musicians and songwriters are revered, literally worshipped and idolized ) here on planet Earth. Satan hates the worship of God and will anything he can to contaminate or destroy this wondrous gift. As a gifted worshipper,as one who is inspired by God to write new songs of worship and praise,you have an important (possible future) responsibility as one who may be called upon to lead others in worship. Leadership comes with a greater judgement in what we represent and stand for or against as it will influence the "little ones" you do not want to lead astray. Do you believe that music written in worship to God, for God, should be made to serve mammon? You must prayerfully consider whether you are even allowed to take back the gift God gave to you,why did He give it, so that you and your brethren could offer it back up to Him in holy worship and praise.When I say take it back I mean this ,it belongs to God ,it is directed to Him it is unto Him you are singing, right? So how can you ever justify taking it back and handing it over to mammon?
Charging a mandatory price for a divine gift given freely to you ( Freely freely, you have received ,freely freely give) is just wrong. There is a change that happens at that point,and those who have spiritual ears can hear the difference.The music once passed through the worldly system of buying and selling,then takes on a counterfeit anointing,those who listen and come into agreement with the worldly system of awards and competition have been blinded to what they are actually doing ,prostituting the most intimate of communion with God available to mankind , our ability and practice of worship.
In seeking to please God in the operations of your gift, you must earnestly desire to be purified by His holy fire, no performance or competition can be more important than to actually obey Him, than to be in His perfect Will in this. The majority will not agree, they will try to justify the Christian Music Industry, and /or the practice of self promotion. Most folks gifted similarly are drawn into this type of thing because it is accepted everywhere,isn't it? No, the path is narrow and there are few that find it. Ask God to reveal whatever unholy ambition you might have, ask Him to help you desire the truth at all cost. This is important. I would be held responsible for you not being given a chance to hear,read,know the truth,so you could reconsider your plans or your dreams of "success" in this area if I stayed silent. Worldly success or God's favor and delight in handling Worship as He intended it . You must choose who you will serve, God or mammon.
Enjoy the gift, give God the glory and share it as He gives you leave to do so. It is all about blessing God first and his people and you will be blessed as a direct result of this. I know from experience that one's own voice can be so beautiful that the lines blur that are to be drawn between why I am singing and playing,whether singing prophetic songs,new songs,older favorites original or not, is it to get the incredible high as the resonance and reverberation surges through the fiber of my very being, and hearing the soaring greatness as I perform flawlessly even/especially when alone with God something that I do for Him or me? I do not know if there is proof of this,perhaps some of the scholars will know better than me,wasn't Satan when still named Lucifer in charge of the worship in heaven when he became so full of himself? Some food for thought.
