Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. (Psalm 33:3 NIV)
God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise. (Psalm 47:5-7 NIV)
Over and over and over and over in the Bible God’s people – you and me – are commanded to praise him. Often these praises come through song, but our shout, our service, our prayers, our speaking or testifying, and our acts of justice and kindness are also ways of honoring God.
I wasn’t able to attend a recent local worship conference, but I’ve been watching the videos online and thinking about song. Not just a particular group of notes, rhythms, and (possibly) words, but the concept of song as emanating from God, given to us through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, and given back to God in praise and worship. Psalm 40:3 (NIV) says, “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” God places the song in our spirits, and then when we sing it as an act of worship, he uses it to bless us and bring others to him.
Repeatedly in scripture we are called to sing a “new song.”
“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.” (Psalm 96:1 NIV)
“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 NIV)
“Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it…” (Isaiah 42:10 NIV)
I wonder why God continually needs “new” songs. He who created all the sounds of the universe, animals, and plants – from the microcellular level to the starts light years away from each other – needs US to create new songs?!?!
YES! Even in heaven the creatures and the saints are gathered together.
“And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders.” (Revelation 14:3 NIV)
Today, let us pray that God’s Church would continually be creating new songs of praise and worship.
Elohim Tehillati (God of My Praise),
We sing praise to you who rides across the highest heavens and whose voice thunders mightily. We proclaim your power, your awesomeness, and the strength you give to your people. Day after day we remember your works of love, grace, and mercy towards us, your children, and we thank you and praise you for your kindness to us. Today we pray for your church in all nations to be creating new songs of praise to you. May our actions and our words be “songs” that honor you. May the musical songs we create be filled with your Spirit and your Truth. We pray that Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God) will pour out into congregations, worship teams, and individual worshippers to release your holy songs into the world. As you did in the time of King David, anoint the minstrels and psalmists of our day with the sounds of heaven brought to earth. Stir up and develop this gift of songwriting within your Church so we are continually singing a new song of praise to our God. And into those sacred song spaces, pour out your GLORY, we ask in Christ’s name. AMEN.
Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord,
to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,
who thunders with mighty voice.
Proclaim the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the heavens.
You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God! (Psalm 68:32-36 NIV)
And the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers—were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets. The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words:
“He is good!
His faithful love endures forever!”
At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God. (2 Chronicles 5:12-14 NLT)