Gerritt Schuitema Persecutor & Mocker transformed to Faithful Believer

I find this to be, perhaps, one of the deepest theological points of the bible and the very culmination and outpouring of our faith. 

This is why we as believers were created, as it is written:

'This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.' - Isa 43:21

The key words there are 'shall shew forth my praise'. Now, why is this so important? And what is this new song? First, what isn't it?

It is not 'necessarily' a written song. Although doubtless it could be, this is not what the verse is describing. In fact if you look closely at when words like this appear, you will often find it in this context:

'Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?' - Isa 43:18-19

This 'new song' is almost always in this context. This 'new thing' God has done, is written of in this way, 'Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.' - Isa 29:14

Does any of this sound familiar? This new thing is the gospel. It is sending his Word to dwell among us. To live the life we could not live, dying the death we could not die, satisfying the Justice we could not satisfy, overcoming the darkness we could not overcome. To rise from that which we could not rise from. To ascend to where we could not go, and yet, now he invites us where we do not belong, according to His righteousness and goodness and not our own.

As it was written, 'For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.' - 1 Cor 1:18-19

And in another place, 'Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.' - 2 Cor 5:17

This 'new song' is a direct result of being saved, of being washed by the blood of Jesus and being filled with His Holy Spirit (John 3:3,5-8; Ezekiel 36:25-28), it is the outpouring of His Spirit from our lives, for in another place, our King testifies 'He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.' - John 7:38. Out from God's people, pours God's own Spirit. This is why our Lord Jesus spoke saying, 'I receive not testimony from man' and 'I receive not honour from men.' For Jesus said of the Spirit 'He shall glorify me'. Therefore, this 'new song' is the Spirit empowered, Spirit led, Spirit infused testimony and praise pouring forth from a child and new creation of God, for such is the Spirit of prophecy (Rev 19:10). This deposit of the Holy Ghost, IS THE MARK that you belong to God (Rev 7:2-4) and as such we sing His 'new song' (Rev 14:1-4). Therefore, this 'new song' is the evidence of your 'new nature'. It is not just in words, but also in our actions. As Paul said 'you are a new creature, old things have passed away'. 

This is what it is to wield the sword of the Spirit. Read through Revelations 2 and Rev 3 carefully. Notice, when the Word of God speaks, the Spirit speaks. For such is what comes from the mouth of the Word. And the Word is in us, that is, the hope of glory, Christ in us, 'for greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world'. And if Christ is living in us, He speaks, and what flows from His mouth is His Spirit, and His Spirit is a raging fire, a stream of brimstone (Isa 30:27-33), a double edged sword (Heb 4:12-13) with which Christ Jesus beats down His enemies (Rev 19:11-21) and calls His sheep to Himself (John 10:3-4). To demonstrate:

It is written, '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.' Psalm 40:1-3

Here, this 'new song' draws His sheep. It is 'praise unto our God', which 'many shall see' and 'shall trust in YHWH', for we were in 'an horrible pit' and he 'brought us up' and 'out' and 'sets our feet upon the rock' and established our way. Therefore, we praise Him and rejoice in Him, in who He is and what He has done. This 'new life' sings a 'new song' of God's awesome works as well as His perfect and just nature (Rev 15:2-3, Ex 15:1-21). But there is a flip side, another edge to this sword. Just as a wonderfully happy couple, whom are always commending each other and lifting each other up in public to those around them can have the effect of 'turning off' people around them, being 'too' lovely with each other, getting along 'too well' for people who then avoid them, being enflamed with jealously for that perfect relationship, so too can this song of satisfaction and praise turn away others.

The psalm you quoted in your question, is one of my favorite, but it is the sharp edge of the sword, read the whole, it is written:

'Praise ye the LORD, sing unto the LORD a new song... Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King... For... he will beautify the meek with salvation.... Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand. To execute vengeance... and punishments... To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD'

We 'praise him', with our 'new song' by which we 'rejoice in him' for His mighty works, and are 'joyful' in who our King is (Rev 15:2-3); For He 'beautifies' us with Salvation, via His blood and His Spirit, covering us with a covering of white raiment (Isa 61:10-11; Rev 7:13-17). Therefore we are joyful and sing even on our beds, for we always sing this song, when we sit in our home or when we walk by the way, or when we lie down or when we get up (Deu 6:4-7). This is THE mark of God, that we are His (Deu 6:8), for He is our great reward (Gen 15:1). Therefore, 'let the high praises of God' be in our mouth, as a song, and yet, 'a two edged sword in our hands', to execute and bind those who run away from the light, lest they come to the light and their evil deeds be reproved (John 3:19-20).

CS Lewis once said '“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation'. This concept is loaded, but in more simple terms, we praise things because doing so completes our joy in that thing. 

Consider this, what is it you lift up and praise in conversation throughout the day? What do you talk about with friends and family? Maybe the game last week, whether football, baseball, hockey or the like? Maybe the newest movie you've seen or the latest episode of your show? Maybe it is a new band or even a new video game? The idea from Lewis, basically says the reason you share these things and talk about them, is doing so completes your joy in that thing. Are you ecstatic your team won the cup this weekend, if so, you will share it with others and in doing so, you will 'top off' as it were, your ecstasy and joy. This makes a lot of sense, and if we are honest with ourselves, what is it we talk about and praise all day? This, is exactly how we discover what is in our heart, for Christ said, 'for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh'.

So, what flows from your heart? Is it selfish desires and indulgences, is it video games and movies, TV's and new cars, or is it the amazing work of our Lord and what he has accomplished for us? We place our joy in things that rot and decay, and as or joy diminishes, we run the race for new things, while all along God has done THE new thing, in Christ Jesus our King, His Word, and He is worthy of our praise! And I dare you to try and run this fountain dry. You will find, as many a saints of old can testify, that this fountain is unlimited, and the water is refreshing to the soul and like milk to the bones.

This is foundational. This does not mean we do not wrestle. We wrestle against powers and principalities, and against our old man, our old nature. But the old nature and the old man must be brought to the cross, and not just brought to it, but put upon it. 'For if we be dead with him, we also will be raised with him', that 'we might know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings'. Christianity is not about a list of do's and dont's. Truly blood washed, spirit empowered saints, have 'new affections', they love and desire 'new things', they are 'new creations', behold, old things have passed away, new things God declares. This is the foundational truth of the promise of God in Christ, new creation, a new heart, new affections, new life, and a new family in the new Jerusalem, with God and the Lamb forever. 'For greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.' 

I rest on one word, 'and the Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple' - Mal 3:1

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Christ Jesus be with you all.

May 22 2016 • 4 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Chris Button Retired Fire Captain, sinner saved by Grace

Also mentioned in Psalm 33:3, 96:1, 98:1. The notes in my study Bible for Ps149:1 indicate that the " 'new song' usually denotes dynamic intervention not previously experienced by the writer." Notes for 33:1 say the new song "might be one newly composed for a special occasion or it might simply mean a new experience of God's acts through the singing of this psalm. So yes, it could mean composing a new song of worship. Or since the Israelites sometimes worshiped by experiencing historical events as if they were happening at that moment, the "new song" might be a new way of reliving a particular event

In the Southern U.S. (and probably elsewhere) we have a saying that goes something like this. "I'll bet he's singing a different tune now." The context of this is that someone has had a radical event happen in his life and because of this, he acts differently. Because of this life altering event he can no longer sing the same song because it doesn't apply. Perhaps this "new song" is a way of saying "I've had a life changing experience with the Creator of the entire universe so I cannot remain the same. I will sing a new song because my desires have changed."

If you feel the Lord leading you to compose a new worship song, go for it!

Hope this helps.

May 22 2016 • 6 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Shirley H. prayer warrior

Exodus 15:1 - 21 contains the first psalm or song of length in the Bible. Moses and the children of Israel sang the song to praise God for their salvation from Egypt. They call God, a man of war, they express that there is none like Him. God is glorious, merciful and shall reign forever.

If we advance to Isaiah 42:10, "Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth..." We see that this new song celebrates another exodus. This time the exodus from Babylon.

The book of Psalms contains references to several new songs. See for instance Psalms 32:10-33:3; the writers contrast sorrow and joy. The sorrow of the wicked is contrasted to the joy of the forgiven sinner. Psalm 40:3 God puts a new song in my mouth David says. In his trial he is renewed by God and he can't help but sing!

Psalm 96:1,sing to the Lord a new song. Psalm 98:1 sing, a new song for He has done marvelous things. 144:9 the Lord preserves and prospers His people. And Psalm 149:1 praise and a new song are offered when all are gathered for worship. The praise denotes a oneness of mind.

Revelation 5:9, "And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open the seals..."

The Bible has many new songs. As believers, each day gives us the opportunity to sing a new song to Our Lord full of praise, and thankfulness for all His Mercy and Love.

May 23 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Glenn Harrell Bi-vocational Minister, writer

NEW SONG TO SING

Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs all constitute the musical palate for believers in the Church. (Ephesians 5:19-20) 

If we use the Old Testament as a guide, they may be set to many different tunes and played/accompanied on many different instruments.We can safely assume that all talents and instruments may find their place in the New Testament Church when arranged and led by believers intent on worship that is self-less and non-aggrandizing to humans.

Every day, new songs are written to God and our Lord Jesus Christ in response to who he is and all he has done for us all.

Each week, old tunes and texts are re-introduced within a church body. "WOW--I love this new song", says the teen. The text they heard and loved was written in 1774 by Charles Wesley. The music was written in 1830 by Rowland Prichard. The Hymn is "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus". This great combo, along with thousands of other songs, is NEW every time it is sung by a newcomer.

Imagine a man who has lived outside of Christ for all of his 60 years. How many new songs will flood his world and bring him delight?

The picture is not all pretty though. For human nature is to create idols and to preserve feelings as if re-living them will remove the need to have a new song--a fresh walk in Christ daily. Human nature has created money markets that have turned the New Song into new cash flow. Money changers still exist today.

Surely, this command to "Sing a new song unto the Lord" is also meant to requite this beast called commercialism, vain sameness and ritual deadness. All of these may bind a people in bondage to the past or a misuse of music and text that stains the church and weakens her witness.

When strong biblical leadership is absent, the performers often come out of the wood-works. Worship and congregation are transformed overnight into performer and audience. 

What are the other results?

--Each congregation may sing the new song to death as if no other song may supply a sufficient connection with the soul and spirit.

--Each believer may become prejudiced towards his/her new song or music preference as if no one else in the church matters. Let the style wars begin!

--Each ego-starved performer uses the church as a platform for their new career in Pop-Jesus-Rock stardom.

--Music is elevated to a place never meant to be and personalities are presented in worldly fashion.

Solution: "My friends, when you meet to worship, you must do everything for the good of everyone there." I Corinthians 14:26

New song or old--none are to be used in an attempt to upstage God. None are meant to become a substitute for the Word of God and a personal faith in Christ.

What we leaders work towards is a healthy balance of Spirit and Truth.

"So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding." (I Corinthians 14:15)

What we leaders work towards is a mature body. "Until we are united by our faith and by our understanding of the Son of God. Then we will be mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him." (Ephesians 4:13)


Singing and praying require both logic and emotion--never one ruling the other but rather each informing the other.

New songs and new prayers alike are reflective of our connection to new creation and our God who remains new, yet unchanging.

June 17 2016 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report