God Speaking

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things” – Psalm 98:1

We all have our favorite songs we love to sing. Old hymns have a special place in our hearts and probably if you conducted a poll, Amazing Grace, would be right at the top. As children we also had little choruses that we could sing with gusto over and over, and who of us haven’t had to read that same old story to a little one who keeps begging, “Read it again”. We love repetition. So why is the Lord asking us to sing a new song?

Perhaps the answer lies in the second part of the verse. Perhaps we forget when we so enthusiastically sing to the Lord that the reason is “for he has done marvelous things”. Perhaps we forget how worthy is the one we serve. Perhaps our walk with the Lord has become so repetitious we are just putting one foot after the other as we have always done.

Learning new songs requires effort. Any sort of change takes us out of that comfort zone. Change can be frightening. We like to be surrounded with familiar things. How many times have you witnessed opposition to change in churches? You have heard the cries:

• “we have always done it this way”
• “what was good for my folks is good for me”
• “we don’t want any newfangled ideas here”

When the Lord asks us personally to sing a new song, we have the same fears. He may be asking us to take a big step in faith to branch out into an avenue of service we have never tried before. We may have a string of reasons why that is not a good idea:

• “I am too shy”
• “I could never speak in public”
• “there must be other more qualified people”
• “Who me?”

Or have our songs lost their sparkle lately? Has our prayer time; our worship become stale? Is the Lord longing to hear a new song filled with the joy of knowing him? Are we willing to….

“…burst into jubilant song …” – Psalm 98:4

Or perhaps today your song may be a sad one. Sometimes circumstances can be so overwhelming they rob us of the ability to sing joyfully so that singing that sad song over and over becomes a habit we cannot shake off.

The Lord is always on hand to overcome anything blocking our joyful walk with him.

The re assurance comes in this verse,

“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God” – Psalm 40:3

The Lord will provide the song; we have to be ready to receive it. We have to have the courage to sing our new song.