A New Song for a Faithful God

By Dean Collins

The speed of AI has made it much quicker and easier to know our preferences than it used to be. Okay, I’ll say it: back in the day, a human had to listen, watch, and remember in order to know your preferences. Now AI can track our online interests and seems to know more about us than we know about ourselves!

Back in the ’90s, I had a weekly meeting with three friends at a diner in East Point, Georgia, called the Sportsman’s Grill. I had frequented this small restaurant as a student more than a decade earlier, and when I returned to the area, I discovered the same waitstaff and cook from more than a decade before. It didn’t take many visits before the wonderful waitress who always served us would look at each of us and say, “The usual?” She knew our preferences and was eager to accommodate us.

There are positive benefits in business to knowing a consumer’s preferences. Meeting a customer’s preferences may be good for revenue, but it may not actually be good for the consumer. As consumers, we often make choices about what we consume or do that work against our health and general well-being.

Part of our preferences has to do with predictability and familiarity. We are comfortable when we know what is coming. Those of us who choose to attend worship services regularly often bring our preferences to church with us. Some prefer sitting in the back of the auditorium rather than the front. Some prefer to get to church early so they can visit with others. Others prefer to slip in at the last minute to avoid any interaction. And, of course, some prefer the old hymns and fewer instruments, while others prefer newer songs with melodies and instrumentation similar to their favorite genre.

In the first line of Psalm 149, we are called to “sing to the Lord a new song.” This isn’t the first time Scripture has instructed worshipers to sing a new song. The phrase appears repeatedly throughout Scripture. But what exactly does it mean?

While Jeremiah 6 encourages us to look for the ancient paths and walk in them, Scripture also repeatedly calls us to sing a new song. There are many songs in Scripture, and the largest collection of them is the book of Psalms. We know the church has sung these songs for centuries, and we should continue to do so. They connect us not only to God but also to the heritage of our faith.

So what is the purpose of singing a new song to the Lord? Is God simply challenging us to let go of our preferences? While we probably could use a little less stubbornness about what type of music the church sings, I don’t think that is the primary purpose of this phrase.

When Scripture calls us to sing a new song, the emphasis often seems to be on responding to God in a new way because of what He has done. The “new song” isn’t necessarily a newly written song. It can be a fresh expression of praise flowing from a renewed awareness of God’s goodness, faithfulness, mercy, and salvation.

Psalm 149 doesn’t just tell us to sing a new song. It immediately calls God’s people to be glad in their Maker and rejoice in their King. It describes dancing, music, praise, and joy. The new song seems to be more than a different melody or set of lyrics. It is a renewed response to the God who is continually at work among His people.

Jeremiah reminds us in Lamentations that God’s steadfast love never ceases and His mercies are new every morning. God is not merely someone who acted in our past. He is continually at work in our lives. And if God’s mercies are new every morning, perhaps our response to Him should not always be yesterday’s response.

How many times has God given us new adventures, new blessings, and rescued us from different situations? Maybe singing a new song is as simple as becoming aware that sometimes our ways of interacting with God have become routine. We can sing the same songs, say the same prayers, read the same Scriptures, and attend the same worship services without stopping to recognize what God is doing in our lives today.

Perhaps today is a good day to stop and find a new way to express our gratitude and love for the gift of God’s presence. Maybe the new song God desires from us isn’t something we need to hear from the worship team. Maybe it is the fresh praise that rises from our own hearts when we recognize a new work of God in our lives.

God didn’t just love you or rescue you long ago. He is active right now and desires for us to acknowledge Him and enjoy Him now and forever.

Father, thank You for the reminder that You continue to bless us in so many ways. We praise You and thank You for who You are and for Your many gifts. Thank You for Jesus, who has made us a part of Your new creation. Help us not to allow our relationship with You to become routine. Give us eyes to see what You are doing today and hearts that respond with fresh gratitude and praise. Today, we will seek new ways to worship You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
Psalm 149; Jeremiah 6 ESV

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