A New Song

August 24

Job 30-31

Psalm 96:1-6

Proverbs 21:5-6

2 Corinthians 12

A New Song

“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.  Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day.  Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all the people.  For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods.  For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.  Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and glory are in His sanctuary.”  Psalm 96:1-6 NIV

Most scholars attribute this Psalm to King David as part of the songs he composed for the ceremony bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16).  It is an universal invitation to worship the one true God because of His glory, His marvelous deeds and His greatness.  In 2 Samuel 6:14-15, we are given more details about David’s heart of worship, “And David was dancing before Yahweh with all His strength, and David was girded with a linen ephod.  So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of Yahweh with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.” LSB  David was the king of Israel and he was in the streets dancing, shouting and singing in praise to his God.  David was so caught up in worshipping and praising  God that he didn’t even know anyone else was present and he didn’t care what anyone else thought.  This was true, unadulterated worship, just him and God.  He recounted attributes of God and acknowledged that He alone was worthy of praise.  He then compared God to the gods of the other nations saying that they were mere idols.  His God was to be feared because He was the one and only true God.  No one compares to God.  He is set apart and deserves our praise and worship.  David instructed the Israelites to sing a “new song.”  His mercies and deeds are new every morning so every song of praise can be new. We can never exhaust the reasons to praise Him.  Our praise should be based on what He is doing for us now, not just what He has done in the past.  Praise and worship should be individual, based on our personal experience with God. 

Worship styles vary depending on the denomination and individual church you attend.  Some churches have loud music, guitars, and drums while others sing hymns with just a piano or organ.  Worship style is not something that is clearly laid out in Scripture so there is room for personal preference.  Some people are moved in worship by quiet, reverent songs while others, like David, dance with all their might.  Some people prefer hymns while others like more contemporary songs.  God is not as concerned with the volume or rhythm of the songs as He is with the heart of the one worshipping.  I don’t think He cares at all how good we sound. A heart that is truly worshipping and praising Him sounds more beautiful to His ears than someone who has a skilled singing voice that is performing to impress others or someone who mindlessly mumbles the words while thinking about something else.  When is the last time you truly worshipped God for who He is?  I would encourage you to prepare your mind and heart the next time you worship so that you can offer a sacrifice of praise to Him because He is worthy to be praised.