Skip to main content

Come, Sing A New Song

O sing to the Lord a new song, 
for he has done marvelous things. 
His right hand and his holy arm
 have gotten him victory.
(from Psalm 98)

When The Faith We Sing, a new songbook, was published I discovered there were several types of new songs.

Some of the new songs, such as "Down to the River to Pray", had been around for a long time, but singing it was a new experience to me.

Other songs, such as "Where Children Belong" were new because they were recently composed, so I had to learn them.

The oldest “new” song to me is the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:1-42 because I hadn't realized it was a song.

Psalm 98 is an extremely important psalm anchoring the collection of “the LORD is king” enthronement psalms so it’s considered “the theological ‘heart’” of the Psalms.

The possible origin of Psalm 98 was a response to the exile crisis with the “marvelous things” referring to God leading the people out of Babylon in what amounts to a new exodus.

The message being, just as God’s presence was in the Exodus, so God’s presence is may be seen in the return from the Babylonian exile, so a new exodus that invites the singing of “a new song”.

The victory, it seems to me, is that God is present among us doing what God does: working toward salvation through justice.

This means I can sing a new song of hope in the crisis of our fractured world because God is present doing what God does.

I can also sing a new song of hope and healing for people living through a personal crisis because God is present doing what God does.

I discovered retirement is its own personal crisis because of a lifestyle change, but learned to sing a new song of retirement because God was present doing what God does: offering new life.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grantchester's Warning

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, the owner would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (from Luke 12:32-40 ) I regularly watch Grantchester; a murder mystery set in 1950s England. The main characters are a local detective and an Anglican priest who, as a team, solve mysteries set in the town. Two aspects of Grantchester impress me. First, the simplicity of the 1950’s police communications done by a landline phone and not cell phone. Second, the simplicity of daily life with little television and fewer possessions allowing the characters to focus on their vocation of detective and priest. This simplicity is more than a nostalgic return to the “good old days”. Instead, it’s a Shaker type of simplicity where austerity allows freedom from distractions to focus on worship and community. Today’s distraction-filled world has seemingly countless activ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ruler of All Earthly Kings

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. (from Rev. 1:4-8 ) About 17 years ago I wrote a letter to the people in the United Church of Underhill. The purpose of the letter was to explain I was retiring at the end of the Conference Year. I felt the time had come for me personally to move on and for the church to grow with a new pastor. I secured a moving company while the church formed a search committee as we both prepared for the inevitable. This is the nature of the book of Revelation, as recorded in 1:4: “John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia.” This is Revelation’s context: it was written for the benefit of particular people at a particular time for their particular situation. John’s letter narrates a drama about God’s imminent invasion of the “kingdom of this world” ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Every Christian's Journey

"When he was at the table with them,  he took bread, blessed and broke it,  and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened,  and they recognized him." Luke 24:31,32a To me there there all kinds of road trips. They all have similarities such as destinations and travel experiences. Years ago Elaine and I took a camping trip out West. We drove Utah's Route 12 between Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon National Parks. This part of the road trip meant enjoying God's beautiful creation. One of the experiences we still laugh about was the constant daily lunch menu of PB&J sandwiches. Luke's major theme is traveling the Way. In the gospel, Jesus travel TO Jerusalem. In Luke's Acts, the disciples travel FROM Jerusalem proclaiming the Word Empowered by the Spirit. On the Emmaus road trip from Jerusalem, two disciples, probably Cleopas and his wife, experience a stranger's presence. The stranger reveals himself as Jesus by explaining what was said about him in the ...
Post a Comment
Read more