A New Song

“He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God…”

Psalm 40:3a

“Oh sing to the Lord, O sing God a new song… “

I love to sing.  In fact, one of the things that drives Linda crazy is that I can burst out into unexpected song just about any time and anywhere. It also drives her crazy that I only know the first line to many songs, and most of the time I will get that wrong too.  What’s more I will take well known songs and make them songs about people we happen to be with   However, as she will tell you, when I am going around singing, even if I am singing nonsense, that is a sure sign that I am relaxed and feeling good about life.  Just ask youth that have gone with me on mission trips.  That will all remember how I woke them up early each morning sing as loud as I could “So rise and shine and give God the glory, glory…” 

What I particularly enjoy is singing in Worship.  For me Sunday morning worship and in particular singing in worship is “Spring Training” for heaven.  When we sing in God’s house He is warming us up for eternity when we will be singing day and night before God’s throne.    I really struggle looking around a sanctuary and seeing people, usually men just standing there.  I know that some of them don’t like music, and many of them are just plain shy about their singing.  They are afraid that they can’t sing well.  My opinion is, so what?  I operate by the philosophy, “If you are going to sin, sin boldly.”  I apply that to my singing, “If you are going to make a mistake in a song, make it loud and no one will notice.”  One of my kids favorite stories is hearing me mix together two verses from a familiar hymn.  Instead of singing “Have no fear little flock…” I sang out “Have NO CHEER little flock…” Everybody in the church heard me, turned, saw it was me and laughed. 

It doesn’t bother or embarrass me at all.  God, you see, has given us great reason to sing and sing with gusto.  The Psalmist says it here - “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God…”  Think for a moment of all that is “new” about the song God gives us to sing.   First of all its new because its different than any song this world gives us to sing.  For God’s new song is not selfish or lustful or greedy or degrading.  His new song is not at all focused on us.  It’s focused on Him.  The new song is a “song of praise to our God.” 

What’s more this new song is about the new thing that God has done in Jesus Christ.  Jesus is what makes the Christian faith different from every other religion.  In every other religion we are told to do something to make up for our sin, to earn our way back to God.  Because we can never do enough or be good enough that makes every other religion a real burden.  We are told to do what we can’t.  In Jesus God has done something news.  He has done for us what we can’t do.  He has come down to us, taken on flesh and blood, lived the perfect life we can’t, then paid the price for our failures by His death on the cross and finally been raised to life again to bring us back to God.  He does it all freely for us.  Wow!  If  Jesus isn’t reason to sing, I don’t know what is. 

God’s new work doesn’t stop there. Then He comes down into our lives.  He calls us to Himself baptism. He washes us clean.  He gives us His Holy Spirit.  He makes us new.  And every day His forgiveness and grace give us yet another new beginning.  One day He will make everything new and give us a new heaven and a new earth to live in forever.  “If anyone is in Christ Jesus He is a new creation.  Behold the old has gone and the new is come.”

Nothing expressed the new work God is doing in your heart and mine than to sing… to sing about Jesus… a new song worth singing every Sunday and every day… singing at the top of your lungs, unashamed, wanting everyone to hear – a song of praise to our God!  

“For God is the Lord and God has done wonders…”