Do Angels Sing in Scripture?

I read a quote from John Darby that angels do not sing in scripture, but rather stand and praise God.

I realized some time ago that Luke 2 does not say that the angels sang to the shepherds, though I have heard this idea in old Christmas songs. Some of the lyrics I have sung that angels spoke in scripture were spoken as praises.

Job speaks of the morning stars singing. That might refer to angels. My wife said that Lucifer was the worship leader in heaven.... I mentioned that was based on a number of assumptions. Traditionally, certain king of Babylon and king of Tyre scriptures were interpreted to refer to Satan at some ancient point in history. That seems speculative and more related to tradition than the text of scripture, IMO.

Can you find examples of angels singing in scripture or make a strong case for the idea that some passages support the idea that they did? Is there any reason to think that God might have enabled humans to sing but not angels? Are angels the morning stars who sang?

You are correct ...they do not sing nor do they have wings.

Revelation 5:8-11
When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they *sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth

Probably the only reference in scripture to the stars, aka angels, singing. I don't believe this is a metaphor. In scripture, stars is sometimes used as a reference to angels.

7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

And they are all male...

Good scripture for discussion.
Are the living creatures, cherubim, and also the seraphim 'angels'?

Maybe Darby used the term 'angel' narrowly.

I do not think the women with stork wings are called angels.

The 4 living creatures refer to those who have been redeemed in Christ.

Here is their song:

“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”

We see the creatures here in chapter 4:

Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”

Ezekiel saw this creature in Ezekiel Chapter 1. Here is a verse from that chapter:

"The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and also the face of an eagle."

Of course, Zeke is seeing the creatures from the perspective of earth. John is seeing the creatures from the perspective of heaven. Heaven is the most complete vision. The creatures refer to the redeemed in Christ.

Ezekiel 10
I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of lapis lazuli above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim. 2 The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.

3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty[a] when he speaks.

6 When the Lord commanded the man in linen, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out. 8 (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like human hands.)

9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz. 10 As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about[b] as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. 12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. 13 I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.” 14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River. 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.

18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like human hands. 22 Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.

If Moses was given instructions to make the earthly tabernacle in the likeness of the heavenly original. ( I think he was)

Ex 25:20
The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another;
toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.

Ex 37:9
The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces one to another;
toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim.

In addition to the Cherubim having wings....there is also Isa 6:2 which speaks of Seraphim’s having wings.

But the Bible never mixes these with angels. Angels, whenever in concretion most always are in the form of man.

I too was going to post about Ezekiel 1 & 10 to show these "cherubim" have wings.



And the following passage is interesting as well, in this regard:

Psalm 18 -

6 In my distress I called upon the LORD;

I cried to my God for help.

From His temple He heard my voice,

and my cry for His help reached His ears.


7 Then the earth shook and quaked,

and the foundations of the mountains trembled;

they were shaken because He burned with anger.

8 Smoke rose from His nostrils,

and consuming fire came from His mouth;

glowing coals blazed forth.

9 He parted the heavens and came down

with dark clouds beneath His feet.

10 He mounted a cherub and flew;

He soared on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness His hiding place,

and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

12 From the brightness of His presence

His clouds advanced—

hailstones and coals of fire.a


13 The LORD thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded—

hailstones and coals of fire.b

14 He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;

He hurled lightning and routed them.

15 The channels of the sea appeared,

and the foundations of the world were exposed,

at Your rebuke, O LORD,

at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.


16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

He drew me out of deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,

from foes too mighty for me.




[bold, color, and underline emphasis mine]





Now... to find out whether or not they are ever shown (in Scripture) to "sing" (that is, if the OP desires to narrow his question to the "cherubim" / "living creatures," specifically)





[the word in v.10 - H3742 - https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3742.htm ]

The cherubim are not called angels are they?

'Seraphim' also means 'serpents', or burning ones. It could have been a vision of winged serpents. I'm not sure how they covered their feet with their wings.

I don't know of any passage that calls cherubim, seraphim, or the women with stork wings in Zechariah's vision 'angels.' 'Angel' literally means 'messenger', but it does seem to be used for a certain type of heavenly creature, at least in heavenly writings. And of course, I am translating both Hebrew and Greek terms when I write 'angels.'

There is Job 38:7
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Does 'sons of God' exactly equal 'angels.' The LXX seems to equate the concepts if it interpreted the same manuscript as seen in the Dead Sea Scrolls in Deuteronomy 32:8. Are morning stars angels?

Are literal stars conscious beings that can sing? Are angels stars? Are some angels stars? Are some stars angels?

Not specifically, no. But it is not an unreasonable assumption to make

Though depending how you interpret Ezekiel 28:14? Some interpret it to be about Satan.

You were the anointed cherub who covers;

Well you can take this with a grain of salt I understand. One of the first dreams I ever had was I was looking at my self and I had a huge smile on my face and the me I was looking at looked up towards the right so I looked up and saw a beautiful sky full of stars and a very deep blue and from the right to the left these angels crossed the sky singing.

Now as the angels crossed the sky they had wings. I can't describe the music...oh I've never heard anything like it before. Now at that time I never knew angels had wings. But the next day I was on the phone with a person that had a bible study we went to and asking her to pray. Oh I prayed so hard to have that dream again but never did. That was like 45 year ago yet was like yesterday. That music.. what was so odd was its like there were instruments yet none. I know that doesn't make sense but that's the only way I can describe it

What we do here for Him came from heaven it was no born here. So angels and things no one has names for sing dance... all heaven all creation sings praises Him. They don't have to all want to. I heard one man say he sings awful and thought God might not like hearing him sing. He said the lord told him "I made the sparrow and I made the crow and I like hearing both of them". To God that crow sings just as beautiful as the sparrow.

Ezekiel 28:12-15 NKJV

12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you."

Was the King of Tyre in Eden? No. But Satan was.

Gabriel is an angel, and he is seen flying swiftly in scripture.

Daniel 9:21
Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

This angel can fly as well.

Revelation 14:6
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

We're not talking flying like Superman here. We're talking wings.

The reason people think he was the worship leader in heaven is because of Ezekiel 28:13-19. In which it states

"The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created."