I have spent several days thinking about what to say on this topic of singing and have decided to narrow my thoughts to the following. This Psalm, as well as Psalm 96 and 98, starts with "Sing to the Lord a new song." I must confess that I prefer the old music that I know; the ones I have learned to sing that move me, that seem to connect me to God. The Bible does not remind us to sing old songs because our inertia is to connect to that which we already know.
So, why should we sing a new song to God? Psalm 40 gives us a clue. As we wait patiently for the Lord to deliver us from some difficulty, "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see [his deliverance] and fear the Lord and put their trust in him" (Psalm 40:3). These new songs are to be a testimony of new rescues and fresh manifestations of his grace toward us. But great care must be made that we keep our focus on God because of his great love for us in Christ. There is a growing body of new songs that lose this focus and speak more about us than they do about God.
Prayer
Lord, I believe you created us to sing; to "sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever" (Psalm 89:1); to sing of the "immeasurable riches of your grace in kindness toward us in Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 2:7). Thank you for the beauty of music and song.
No comments:
Post a Comment