READ: Psalm 96
Verse
chosen for meditation: Psalm 96:1-3
1 Oh sing to the Lord a
new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord,
bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among
the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
REFLECT
This
Psalm was taken from David’s joyous song when the ark of God was brought to
Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16:8-36). As noted by Spurgeon in the Treasury of David,
The 1st half of David’s song was omitted in this Psalm, likely
because that part referred to Israel and the design of the Holy Ghost to place
the 2nd half of the song in Psalm 96 was to give forth a triumphant
hymn for the Gentiles (and the rest of us), to celebrate the conversion of nations
to God in gospel times (and the future for us). This is apt, following from
Psalm 95, which describes the stubbornness of Israel and the consequent taking
of the gospel from them, that it might be preached among nations who would
receive it, leading to them being won over to Christ, as described in Psalm 96.
Psalms 95 and 96, thus make a good pair.
This
psalm is a call to worship God and a call to missions, to declare the glory,
the righteousness, the love of our God to those yet to know Him (v3). It gives
a similar vibe to the Christmas song “Joy to the World”, which celebrates God’s
sovereignty and the gift of Jesus. Not surprisingly, the writer of the song got
part of his inspiration from Psalm 96. As it stands, we should then relish and
celebrate this call to mission (like how we sing “Joy to the World” with such fervour),
rather than view this call with a sense of dread and chore. This is because we
all truly desire to see the reuniting of God and His creation, and should want
to contribute towards that glorious day.
RELATE
Despite
the missional emphasis, I’d like to look more into why we should accord such
praise to such a God. What is it about our God that deserves such singing from
all the earth, that should drive us to eagerly share about Him to others? And
what does it mean to sing to the Lord “a new song”? These reflections are
fitting as we usher in Maundy Thursday today, Good Friday tomorrow and celebrate
Easter this Sunday.
The
opening verses invite the world to sing and why we do so is given in v2, as a
response to God’s saving work. Not only is our God powerful and wise beyond
comprehension, but he is so upright and loving that He saves us and destroys
evil. He always does. When the people sang this, they think of the many times
God has gone before them, going into battle and intervening for them. This is
why even against all odds, facing huge fortresses and battle-hardened enemies,
victories were obtained because God intervened and saved them. The call to sing
“a new song” is actually to sing about some new thing that God has done (in
those times, saving them).
I
didn’t think too much of the words “new song” previously. Part of that may be
because I’m also apathetic towards the many new things God did for me. Reading this
reminds that GOD’S MERCIES ARE NEW every day, hence we sing unto Him “a new song”.
Of course, that does not mean we compose a new song for every blessing we
identify. I surely do not have that gift. What it means though, is that we
recognise how amazing it is: the act of intervening for us each day, still doing
His saving work, from day to day. The high regard we accord to these acts
should be similar to that of a gifted genius composer, who has the gift to
conjure new songs and would be so grateful to do that, every time God does a
new thing.
Surely, all of us can recall a few good things we do for others. What
are they? Do we continue in that now? Are these a one-off? Why don’t we do them
continually? How much energy is needed to sustain doing those good things to
different people, consistently? Just thinking of it makes me tired. We see then
that most of us can’t sustain these acts, yet we are at the receiving end of
such, if not even greater goodness from God, consistently. Note that
difficulty, that commitment and be at awe at how it is still continuing. Doesn’t
that deserve a praise with the value of a new tribute song?
There’s
a new song mentioned in Revelations 5:9-10. The new thing there is Christ’s
atonement for us, the exact reason why we commemorate Good Friday tomorrow. Let’s
grasp the gravity of this grace act. By "grasp", I mean seeking to internalise and understand this act fully, such that it drives us to not
only give true unreserved worship to God, but to extend this grace and love to
so many who still crave and need it.
REST
Two songs (not new, but quite old actually), to
remind us of God’s never ceasing love, and to sing “a new song” in response.
1) “I Will Celebrate”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNrk06FAdkE
2) “The Steadfast Love of the Lord”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PemhmovZRec
Thank
you God, for your new mercies. Thank you Jesus, for your loving sacrifice.
Chris Chong
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