Slideshow image

With the start of a new year, with hope in our hearts, it is time to sing a new song…

PSALM 149 1-4 (taken from The Passion Translation)

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
It’s time to sing to God a brand-new song[
so that all his holy people will hear how wonderful he is!
2 May Israel be enthused with joy because of him,
and may the sons of Zion pour out
their joyful praises to their King.
3 Break forth with dancing!
Make music and sing God’s praises with the rhythm of drums!
4 For he enjoys his faithful lovers.
He adorns the humble with his beauty
and he loves to give them the victory… Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

* * *

God loves to receive the rejoicing and praise of His people expressed in song, especially a new song. This new song can come from an old saint as he or she gains fresh awareness of God’s love and grace.

What does it mean to sing a new song to the Lord? “New” in Hebrew (chadash) means fresh, renewed. When we sing Him a new song, we are worshiping and praising Him but also renewing our minds and souls by remembering the great things He has done. Now that all the beauty and tradition of Advent and Christmas is over and we are sliding down the long tail of winter, it can be difficult to find joy. We might feel in need of a renewal of faith, a rescue from the doldrums of spiritual lethargy. Remember, God loves renewing our body, soul and spirit.

So that all his holy people will hear how wonderful he is!...

It is spiritually regenerating for each of us to offer praise to God; we want to stand up and be counted as one of his children.

And may the sons of Zion pour out their joyful praises to their King…

God is the Maker of all humanity but is recognized as King only over His own people. Realizing this can be a source of incomparable joy to all of us who know that we could never hope for a ruler greater in love, wisdom, and power.

For he enjoys his faithful lovers…

If God is so rich in grace and mercy that He takes pleasure in His people – despite all their sin and weakness – it is truly a cause for great rejoicing.

He adorns the humble with his beauty and he loves to give them the victory...

Everywhere we see the great ones among men despising the humble and leaving them in their low condition. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5). He makes the humble beautiful with salvation.

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Consider the statement “sing to the Lord a new song.” Three Psalms start with these words and several contain some close variation— Psalms 33:3, 96, 98, 144:9 and 149. Why is this the case? In Psalm 40 we get a clue. The psalmist has “waited patiently for the Lord” for some deliverance. God hears him, and rescues him, and one of the things He does for him in the deliverance is “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God”.

Do you feel as though you have been waiting for something to happen or for a solution to a problem to be given you? Is your heart heavy with something that has robbed you of spiritual joy? Do you long to feel close to God and sense Him walking beside you? Sometimes we just have to start in the direction we want to go. Sing a new song. Still yourself and remember all that God has done in your life. Renew your spirit, mind and body by spending time in worship and prayer. From there, ask God to give you a fresh awareness of His love and grace. He has promised that He will do all this, because He loves you.

Here are two prayerful pieces to listen to and sing with:

Sing Hallelujah to the Lord
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks7HY4gob2A

I Love You Lord
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hyBJwTKmQ8