Sing to the LORD a New Song! Psalm 98 Concert Services December 4, 2016 Pastor Robert Hein

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1 Sing to the LORD a New Song! Psalm 98 Concert Services December 4, 2016 Pastor Robert Hein Dear Fellow Recipients of God s amazing grace, I have a Bible trivia question for you to consider. What is the first recorded song in the Bible? Already back in Genesis chapter 4 we learn that one of Adam and Eve s descendants named Jubal was the father of all who play the harp and the flute, but no song is listed for us there. No, the first recorded song in the Bible is actually found in the book of Exodus chapter 15. It was a glorious song of victory sung by Moses and his sister Miriam and the Children of Israel in celebration of their deliverance from the Egyptians. Remember, when the Israelites were boxed in with the Red Sea on one side and the Egyptian army pursuing them on the other? Pharaoh s army intended to destroy them. But God miraculously delivered his people by empowering Moses to part the waters of the Red Sea so that the people could cross over on dry land. Once they reached the other side, Moses lowered his staff and the waters swept over the Egyptian army, completing destroying it. To praise God for his grace and mercy and deliverance, Moses and God s people lifted up their voices to sing this new song, dedicated to the glory of God on this special occasion. I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God and I will praise him. In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance the place, O LORD, you have made for your dwelling. Exodus 15:1-2, 13,17 Yes, this beautiful song of Moses is the very first recorded song in the Bible. Now here s a second Bible trivia question for you. What is the last recorded song in the Bible? That glorious song is found in the book of Revelation. In his vision John saw Jesus as a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. Each of the 24 elders fell down before the Lord and sang this new song, Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain to

2 receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever! Revelation 5:12,13 Did you notice what these two songs had in common? In both cases God s people praised the Lord for the marvelous things he had done for them, and spoke of the even greater things he would do for them. That s what a new song is. It s not about how old the song is or when it was written. Rather, it is about the content of the song. A new song is a song Christians sing to proclaim the good news of our Savior and to celebrate his gracious blessings. In the Bible you and I are often encouraged to sing a new song. In our devotion today from Psalm 98 the Psalmist writes, Sing the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things, his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. In our concert service today, and in our worship services throughout the year, we love to sing new songs. Again, I am not speaking of when the hymn was written. Some of our hymns and our liturgical songs are actually very old, dating back to the early Christian Church. We may have sung them 100 times already. But they are still new songs because they point to Jesus and celebrate the blessings he won for us on the cross. Those kind of songs never get old. Now whether we use an ancient song or one just recently composed, the criteria for our music for worship is the same. Number one, the words need to be faithful to Scripture, and number two we want to focus on Christ and the blessings of the Gospel. The focus of our music is not on us and how we feel, but rather on God and what he has done for us. Often our songs are simply putting God s Gospel promises to music. Martin Luther once said that next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. He added hymns to the worship service and wrote many hymns himself, because he believed that music can express the truths of the Gospel in a powerful way.

3 If you page through our Christian worship hymnal, you will find our hymns divided into several different categories. Our hymns, like our worship services, follow the different seasons of the church year. You know, this time of year it s popular to say that Jesus is the reason for the season. Well in truth, Jesus is the reason for every season; every season of the church year, and every season of our life. During Advent we sing songs of anticipation of the coming king O Come, O Come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel. During Christmas we proclaim Joy to the world, for the Lord is come. During Lent we change to a somber tone as we walk with Jesus to the cross to watch him offer his life as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. We see him stricken, smitten and afflicted, see him dying on the tree. These sad new songs remind us of the high cost of our redemption and express our gratitude to Christ for his gracious love. And so we love to sing, Thousand thousand, thanks shall be, dearest Jesus unto thee. We also love to sing new songs on Easter. Our custom here at Good Shepherd is to sing the Hallelujah chorus each year as part of our victory celebration. I can t think of a year of my life in which we didn t sing, I know my Redeemer Lives, what comfort this sweet sentence gives, as one of our Easter hymns. These songs never get old because they express the great joy and incredible gratitude which overflows from our hearts as we declare the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. The Apostle Paul encourages us all to sing a new song when he writes, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 Our hymnal also includes new songs focusing on faith, trust, justification, commitment, Christian love and so much more. Now please don t think you need to limit the use of these hymns only to our worship services. No, you can use them at home also in your personal devotions as prayers and expressions of the faith, hope, love and gratitude which pours forth from your heart. This is very important to remember. Singing new songs is not an activity limited merely to church on Sunday mornings. No, the Lord wants us to sing new songs in daily

4 living, as we thank God for his blessings and joyfully speak of his goodness to others. Remember what Jesus said, You are the light of the world! Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 Singing a new song not only glorifies God; and provides a positive witness to others; it also benefits us personally. Let s face it. At times we can get worn out and torn down by the stresses and strains of life. Health problems, financial challenges, political unrest, conflicts in our relationships, troubles at work, and other concerns can weigh heavily upon our hearts. If we are not careful, we can turn into grumpy complaining Christians. Such a gloomy attititude does not honor Christ or offer a positive witness to others. The best way to lift our weary spirits and change our gloomy outlook on life is to sing a new song, to remember again what great things God has done for us and to praise him for his goodness. Spend some personal time in the Word each day and you will find plenty of reasons to be thankful. Therefore, before we count our bills and our burdens, let s remember to count our blessings and thank the Lord for every one of them. This doesn t make all our burdens disappear, but it does give us the attitude adjustment we need to handle these burdens with patience and perseverance, and with God s help, overcome them. And sharing God s promises with others is a great way to encourage the hurting people around us in their time of need as well. Yes, let us daily sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things for which we are glad! Amen.

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