Tag Archives: Sing a New Song

A New Song

Living in the Spirit

November 2, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 98

O sing to the Lord a new song,
   for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
   have gained him victory.
The Lord has made known his victory;
   he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
   to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
   the victory of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
   break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
   with the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
  make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord. –Psalm 98: 1-6

I am more than ready to sing a new song, but it must be the right song. I am tired of hatred and violence and the attitude that if I say it, it is true. I want a new song that spreads the love of God while not using God as one more trick in a political scheme for power.

The new song I want is actually a very old song reaching all the way back to Leviticus 19:18, You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Jesus added an exclamation mark to this commandment in Mark 12:28–31.

Singing a new song, restoring an ancient one requires intentionality. Humans naturally develop habits making life somewhat simpler. All habits are not good. Over time and with changes in our lives some habits take our time but are no longer meaningful to our lives. We need to develop positive habits making it impossible for us not to love our neighbors.

Prayer: Lord, make us uncomfortable with the bad habits we have picked up in our lives, and crowd those bad habits out with new habits singing a new song.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Sing a New Song

Advent

December 22, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 98

O sing to the Lord a new song,
   for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
   have gained him victory.
The Lord has made known his victory;
   he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
   to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
   the victory of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
   break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
   with the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
   make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord. –Psalm 98:1-6

I am ready to sing a new song or, for that matter, to sing at all. My church returned to in-person worship in September, and our choir was present in masks and socially distanced, but it was a joy to hear them sing. We are trying to be very diligent about following such precautions because we do not want to go back to our homes and computers. Yet we learned much from experience. We continue to live stream our services because those homebound enjoy the service. We have added hybrid Sunday School with people in the classroom and some on Zoom. Singing a new song has its challenges but is also rather refreshing. I attended a seminar on worship several years ago where the speaker said it was essential to maintain some routine in worship, or people would spend most of their time figuring out what was happening and forgetting to worship. It was equally necessary to insert one change somewhere in each service so people would not go through the motions and forget to worship.

As we move closer to Christmas Day, let us add something each day to our routine to remind us what we are celebrating and why.

Prayer: Lord, teach us a new song as all kinds of challenges overcome our lives. Help us meet each one with the knowledge that You are with us. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Singing a New Song

Living in the Spirit

August 14, 2020

Scripture Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

In her later years, my mother went to the early service at her church because it was the “traditional” service. She still said to me once that she liked the new songs, but she did wish that they would sing some of the old songs occasionally. I went to a memorial service at my church yesterday, where the congregation was led in singing The Little Brown Church in the Vale. It was one of my favorite songs as a child, and I doubt that I have heard it since my childhood. The song is more sentimental than theological. I googled it and discovered it had a verse I do not remember ever singing, and we did not sing that verse at the service, but I think it was meant to be consoling comfort for her family and friends.

There, close by the church in the valley
Lies one that I loved so well
She sleeps, sweetly sleeps, ‘neath the willow
Disturb not her rest in the vale

Progress in faith is as vital as it is in all aspects of life. We do need to work toward growing in wisdom and truth. Paul talks about maturing, like children. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, (1 Corinthians 3.2) Paul, in the scripture above, assures the descendants of Abraham that God has not rejected them. If we review all of chapter 11, we learn that Paul is making a case for the inclusion of Gentiles in the faith just as they are. Remember that Christ’s followers, during Paul’s ministry, were another sect of the Jewish religion. I cannot imagine the challenge of dealing with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus had on dedicated members of the Jewish faith, much less expecting them to accept people they basically considered unclean.

Who do we identify in our world today as unclean, although we would never use that word to describe them? How much of that do we justify by our faith? I, too, love to sing the old songs, but now is a time to learn a new song, of love and acceptance of all of God’s people.

O sing to the Lord a new song;
   sing to the Lord, all the earth. Psalm 96:1

Prayer: Lord, help us all lift every voice and sing* in support of justice and mercy for all as we grow in the wisdom and truth of your love. Amen.

*From Lift Every Voice and Sing by J. Rosamond Johnson anf James Johnson

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.