oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. [psalm 98:1]
why we sing.
new believers and those not raised in the church often comment at how foreign the worship service is: people singing in unison–some with eyes raised, some bowed to the ground, some with hands raised, some in tears, all in worship. this isn’t worship of a singer or a band, but of the unseen presence of the living God.
then moses and the people of israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,
“i will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
the Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him. [exodus 15:1-2]
david tells us:
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples! [1 chronicles 16:23-24]
and over and over in the book of psalms we are exhorted to sing, sing sing (70 times in 61 verses)!
at the end of the age, there will be a new song to sing–it will echo in our ears for eternity:
and they sang a new song, saying,
“worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.” [revelation 5:9-10]
singing is something that like God, is eternal–there will be many things (good and bad) that pass away when this world does, but singing will not, worship of our King will not–singing is a way for us to participate in the eternal act of worship, something that will be familiar to us a million years from now. today, make a point to bow before the presence of the Lord and sing the praises of our King Jesus, he has saved us from sin, death, and the wrath of the judgment that is coming on the world-he has done marvelous things!
when we’ve been there ten thousand years,
bright shining as the sun,
we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise,
than when we first begun
~ce