A NEW SONG

By Rev. William Claire Greiner

PSALM 149

1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and His praise in the congregation of saints.

2 Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp.

4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation.

5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;

7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;

8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;

9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all His saints. Praise ye the LORD.

Someone once said, “There is no music as sweet as that of a car starting on a cold morning.” Ah, but there is a sweeter music, and that is the music of heaven which warms the heart and gets us going for God.

Christianity is a singing religion. Atheism, on the other hand, is songless. It has nothing to sing about. The funeral notices of Robert Ingersoll, the noted agnostic, stated, “There will be no singing at the funeral.”

It was the singing of Christian martyrs going to their deaths that shook the Roman Empire to the fact that a new and revolutionary force was coming into being.

God created music. Someone once said, “Everything beautiful really belongs to God. The only beautiful music the Devil has, he stole.”

There are seven notes in the musical scale. Seven is the number of perfection and completion. All other pitches in the musical scale are only variations of the seven. When the musician uses the eighth note he goes back to “do” and starts over. Man named the notes, but God fixed the sounds, even as God fixed the days of t he week and man named them. The musical scale is a perfect thing which man did not create but which he discovered, just as man did not invent the law of gravity of the multiplication table.

The nearer man comes to God, the sweeter should be the music. And as God’s mercies are new every morning, so, too, are the songs for our pilgrimage.

In Isaiah 42:10 we are exhorted to “Sing unto the LORD a new song.”

I. THE SONG OF THE REDEEMED SINNER

In Psalm 40:1-3 David testifies, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.”

The first song of the child of God is that the soul set free.

David says God brought him up, God set him up, and God tuned him up.

One preacher who used this passage as his text titled it: “Out of the mire and into the choir.”

Dr. A. J. Gordon, the great preacher in Boston , told of seeing a young boy in front of his church, carrying a rusty bird cage in which were several field birds that the lad had somehow managed to capture.

“What are you going to do with those birds?” Dr. Gordon asked.

“Oh, I’m going to take them home. I’ve got a couple of cats that would love to play with them,” the boy responded.

Taking pity on the birds, the pastor said, “Son, I’ll give you two dollars for those birds.”

Without hesitation, the boy accepted the money and handed the cage to the pastor.

Dr. Gordon, in retelling the story, said he took the cage behind the church and opened the rusty cage doors. He said, “The birds went singing into the blue, and they seemed to be singing, ‘Redeemed! Redeemed!’”

That is the song of deliverance.

“O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless His name; show forth His salvation from day to day” (Psalm 96:1,2).

II. THE SONG OF THE REJOICING SERVANT

“Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous; for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the LORD with the harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise” (Psalm 33:1,2,3).

The Psalmist says that for the child of God, joyful praise is like breathing. It is new every morning. Yesterday’s praise doesn’t suffice for today.

Notice David says “sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise” (Psalm 33:1,2,3).

As a child growing up on the prairies of western Canada I became aware of a lovely bird called the meadow lark, and to this day I marvel at its music. It is one of nature’s most pleasant melodies. Its song has been described as "cheerful and flutelike, rich and gurgling, confident and assured with a series of bubbling notes that accelerate toward the end." The meadow lark’s voice has a range of eight to ten notes, and they are known to sing double notes, often harmonizing with themselves. From dawn to dusk they praise the Creator.

The meadowlark is not forced to sing. It sings because it has a song to sing. It is its nature. So, too, for the child of God, singing the praises of the Creator should be as natural as breathing.

It is especially meaningful that the meadowlark builds its nest on the ground and lives among the grasses and weeds and thistles of the prairie. It is an austere environment and certainly not what we would consider inspiring or conducive to singing.

Yet, regardless of its environment, that little bird sings as though it lived in a tropical paradise. What an example for us who claim to be believers in Jesus Christ! Regardless of our circumstances, the humblest dwellings can become hallowed ground and cathedrals of joy, whether it’s a cabin, a hospital room, or a tent. The meadowlark often sings in the midst of wild roses, but the thorns do not deter the bird from its joyful song. The meadowlark, perched on a dry tree branch or a fence post, sings all day long. Its songs vary and range anywhere from four to eight minutes in length. What a concert of praise— song after beautiful song!

The Psalmist said, "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34:1). "My tongue shall speak of Your praise all the day long" (Psalm 35:28).

In Psalm 57:7, he testifies, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise." His heart was fixed. It was not just a temporary emotion of the moment. Praise wasn’t a sudden impulse, but a way of life.

In Acts chapter sixteen we read of Paul and Silas in prison. They are enduring the "thorns" of their captivity. But they are not sedated or silenced. "At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God; and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosened."

“He giveth songs in the night” (Job 35:10).

The famed musician J.S. Bach said, "All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the soul's refreshment; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hub-bub." He headed his compositions: "J.J." "Jesus Juva" which means "Jesus help me." He ended them "S.D.G." "Soli Dei gratia" which means "To God alone the praise."

III. THE SONG OF THE RIGHTEOUS SOLDIER

“O sing unto the LORD a new song; for He hath done marvelous things: His right hand, and His holy arm, hath gotten Him the victory” (Psalm 98:1).

With each victory, David sang a new song, recognizing that it was God who won the victory.

“I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee. It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword” (Psalm 144:9).

The story is told of a famous organist who was giving a recital in an eastern church. The instrument was not supplied with air electrically but the air had to be pumped by hand by an assistant. A young boy was engaged to do this for this special occasion. Everything was going along fine until the lad put his head around the side of the organ and whispered, "We are doing pretty good, aren't we?"

"What do you mean by 'we'?" objected the organist. A few minutes later, in the midst of a beautiful strain, the organ suddenly stopped giving out any music. Desperately the organist tried all the stops. No use.

Then again he saw the head of the boy bob around the corner, a broad smile on his face. He said, "Now do you know who I mean by 'we'?"

We need to pray: "Dear God, please help me always to remember that I cannot live a meaningful life alone and I cannot do your work alone. Help me always to appreciate the work of others and support them as they support me. And help me always to remember that all that I am and have comes from you. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."

WITH EACH VICTORY THERE’S A NEW SONG, WHETHER IT IS VICTORY IN SUFFERING, SORROW OR SOLITUDE.

“He causes the widow's heart to sing for joy” (Job 29:13).

“And in the night his song shall be with me” (Psalm 42:8).

IV. THE SONG OF THE RANSOMED SAINTS

“And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 55:10).

“And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:9-12).

What a song that will be when the saints of all the ages join their voices in exalting the Lamb upon the throne. Praise God, I’m going to join that ransomed chorus, and I pray you will, too.

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