1 Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. – Psalm 96:1-2
1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. – Psalm 98:1
“…newness usually causes us to respond actively rather than passively and eliminates the dullness of routine.” – Jonathan Jones
Can you imagine only having one song to sing to God for the rest of your life? Which one would it be? I know…impossible. What if you could pick 5 or 10? Would it really be enough? Would those few songs convey all that you’d want to say? Would those few songs be meaningful in every season of life? Would those few songs cover the breadth and depth of the character of God, His bountiful blessings, and His glorious grace? I’d venture to say that while we all have a handful of favorites, there’s no way we could fully express our praise, appreciation, thankfulness, and love for God if we were limited to a skimpy catalog of old songs.
So, is this another push by some pastor to throw away all the old music of the church and only adopt the new, contemporary stuff? Absolutely not! Singing a new song isn’t about the age of the song or musical style at all. Singing a new song is about celebrating Jesus – what He has done, is doing, and will do! We can sing a new song every time we experience the mercies of God – remember, they’re new every morning. We can sing a new song when the Holy Spirit who is alive and working in our lives brings about transformation in our minds and hearts – because He’s the one who produces fruit in us. We can sing a new song every time we respond with faith and perseverance through the trials and circumstances of life – because we know He works everything for good. We can even sing a new song in our pain and sickness – because Jesus sent us the Comforter, His Holy Spirit, to live in us and be with us 24/7.
What new song will you sing? Maybe for you, discovering the newer music being published will communicate your experiences and how you feel in a fresh and exciting way (click here for a playlist of newer songs). Maybe for you it’s discovering some of the heritage hymns of our movement that convey the timeless truth of God in ways you’ve never heard or known (click here for some heritage hymns). Maybe for you, it’s simply you sharing words and a melody that’s never been put to paper or heard by human ears before – but it’s pouring from the depths of your soul straight to the ears of Jesus.
Whether you sing really well or have a singing voice that Jesus loves, each of us are called to sing a new song. You see, singing to the Lord a new song isn’t about its age – it’s about our response to the new content He gives. And as long as we’re alive to experience new content we have a new song to sing! While we can find comfort in the old songs we know, we are commanded to sing a new song. And we respond in obedience not because of our musical preferences but because we are a redeemed people who have received grace, mercy, and abounding love from the One who bled and died for our salvation and rose again to defeat death and give us eternal life with Him!
May this 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting do a new and powerful work in your life that leads you to new songs and living out the words D.O. Teasley penned 118 years ago: “If I had 10,000 lives in which to praise Him, I could not enough my blessed Lord adore.”