“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth.” Psalm 96:1
The Psalmist instructs all the earth to “sing to the Lord a new song” (96:1a) because the Lord has revealed new blessings which are “the good news of His salvation from day to day” (96:2). “All peoples” need to hear this good news about God’s “glory” and “wonders” in creation which show that He is greater than all the lifeless “idols” that people tend to worship (96:3-5). All peoples of the earth are to “give to the Lord the glory due His name” because “He is coming to judge the earth… with righteousness” which will provide “salvation” (96:2) or deliverance from His enemies (96:7-13). The Lord Jesus Christ will fulfill these verses when He returns to earth with His church at the end of the Tribulation period to reign over all the earth during His Millennial Kingdom (cf. Revelation 19:7-20:6).
I was captivated this morning by the command to sing “a new song” to the Lord. Several times God commands us to “sing a new song” to Him (Psalm 33:3; 96:1; 98:1; 149:1; Isaiah 42:10). As God reveals new blessings to His people, they are to respond by singing a new song which praises God for those blessings. Failure to sing a new song when God is doing something new in our lives is disobedience and can lead to a loss of joy and admiration for the Lord in our worship.
But when God’s people obey the Lord and write and/or sing new songs to the Lord which reflect the new manifestations of His grace toward us, He will reveal more of Himself to us (cf. John 14:21). Also, there will be an increase in our praise to Him and “many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord” (cf. Psalm 40:3). Being sensitive to the new manifestations of God’s grace to us in our songs to Him will increase our “fear” or admiration of Him and lead us to “trust” in Him more in our daily lives, and it can also lead the unsaved to “trust in the Lord” Jesus as their Savior. Hopefully, no Christian wants to hinder unsaved people from coming to faith in Christ because of a music style preference.
Contrary to what many Christians think, music style is not sacred to the Lord, but the words (lyrics) are sacred to Him. God enjoys all music styles (old, new, fast, slow, loud, soft, etc.) because He created them and He loves diversity (cf. Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16)! Just because we do not like all music styles does not mean God does not like them all. What matters most to God is not the music style, but that the songs we sing are offered up to Him “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).
All of us have our music preferences, but as we look back at history in the Old and New Testaments (cf. Exodus 15:1-17; Psalm 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isaiah 42:10; Revelation 5:9; 14:3) and in the Church Age, songs changed as the Lord revealed Himself and His workings in new and different ways. Singing a new song to the Lord enables us to experience and express the new manifestations of His grace in our lives in more meaningful ways.
As I look back at my Christian life the last forty years, some of the most intimate times of worship with the Lord were when I learned a new song which expressed the new things He was doing in my life. I especially enjoyed it when the worship leader in our local church would write and/or lead us in a new song that reflected the new manifestations of God’s grace in and through our local church. Praise Jesus for those who capture the new things He is doing in the songs they write and/or sing!
When is the last time you sang a new song to the Lord? Take time today to draw near to Him by singing a new song to Him that expresses something new that He is doing in your life. To find a new song, you can use google and search for “New Christian Songs.” Since God continues to create new and refreshing songs for His Church, you should have no trouble finding one to enhance your worship of Him. One of my favorites right now is “Raise a Hallelujah.”