Sing Something New

Transcript

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[0:00] It was a lot of fun actually preparing this sermon this week. It's often a lot of fun. It's good to learn new things and all that, but this is a psalm of just pure joy. And yeah, it brought a lot of pure joy to my time. So I hope it brings a lot of pure joy to your hearts too.

[0:22] Let's jump in to Psalm 98. I'll be reading from the NLT version today. Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory. His holy arm has shown his saving power. The Lord has announced his victory and has revealed his righteousness to every nation. He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel. The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

[0:56] Shout to the Lord all the earth. Break out in praise. Sing for joy. Sing your praise to the Lord with the harp and melodious song. With trumpets and the sound of the ram's horn. Make a joyful symphony before the Lord the King. Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise. Let the earth and all the living things join in. Let the rivers clap their hands in glee. Let the hills sing out their songs of joy before the Lord. For he is the Lord. He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the nations with fairness. Let's pray.

[1:39] Our great God, we thank you for all of who you are. God, we come to you today with hearts full of praise. God, would you speak to us this morning, speak to our hearts and to our minds. And God, would you bless the words that are spoken. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[2:05] So, when I was nannying, I once made the mistake of letting my nanny children just take out every pot and pan in the house and bang them together and have a parade. And I don't know if I've ever had a headache quite that painful as I did that night. But we had a really good time just banging pots and pans all around the house. And it lasted for way longer than it really rightfully should have.

[2:34] But I just think of this Psalm where it says, bring out this symphony of trumpets and ram's horn and hearts and song. And I think of God's people just banging pots and pans and making as much noise as they can and just being exuberantly joyful before God. And I think about how God never gets a headache at the end of the night. Because he just delights. He delights in that sound. So, today we have the great joy and honor of looking at Psalm 98 and looking at the themes of worship and joy in the Christian life.

[3:12] In a world that's often overrun with challenges and uncertainties, these elements of worship and joy are pillars of strength. And they guide us through these really dark times and into the radiance of God's presence.

[3:29] So, oftentimes we have only our joy, hope, and love in the midst of these painful times that sees us through. And we can remain positive and hopeful because we know that God wins in the end. And we know that God has already won through Christ. So, now as we dig into Psalm 98, I hope that our hearts can be stirred and our spirits lifted by this transformative power of just coming before God in worship and being. And the joy that comes from coming before God in worship.

[4:04] Now, we really can't read Psalm 98 without considering the power of worship. Because it's in our worship that we hallow the name of God as Jesus instructed in the Lord's Prayer. And it's in worship that we enter into and embrace the presence of God.

[4:26] Psalm 98 begins with this reading. It's a resounding call for all of us to come to worship. It says, sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. And worship is not just some ritualistic practice, but it is instead a profound encounter with the living God. It's an expression of gratitude for the marvelous deeds he has performed in our lives. And when we enter into his presence, we are not just a mere reflection of God's presence. We are a reflection of his presence with singing and praise. We align our hearts with this divine rhythm of his love and grace. So this is something we see all throughout scripture. I feel like it's one of the basics of Christian life, but somehow it's one we tend to get away from. If we aren't very intentional about it, worshiping can slip to the back of our minds. I think of that song, I'm Coming Back to the Heart of Worship. And the story behind how, I don't know if that's the title, but that's like the main phrase.

[5:36] Anyhow, the story behind that song is that at one point the writer just felt that worship was false and fake. And he was just going through the motions. And so he took the time to just really come back to the heart of worship. And the heart of worship is the heart of Christianity.

[5:56] It's at the center of our Christian walk, and yet we can sometimes get into a routine with it. So there are tons of places in the scripture that coincide with Psalm 98. There's Psalm 95, verses 1 and 2. O come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving. Let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise. I really like that joyful noise because I think all of you by now know I really, really, really can't sing. But I love to sing. I just do it like alone where I can't injure anyone.

[6:44] But this is a joyful noise. God doesn't care what you sound like. He doesn't care if the noise is obnoxious. He just wants you to come with your whole heart and soul. And make a joyful noise. And here it is again, Psalm 100, verses 1 and 2. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing.

[7:09] And then there's 1 Chronicles 15, 16. David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.

[7:28] Ephesians 5, 19 to 20 says, Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[7:48] That one's beautiful because you're giving thanks always. But the song you're singing is with your heart. And I feel like there are moments in prayer when, even when we're silent, when we can feel our hearts singing out within us. And that is what God looks forward to and delights in. There's Colossians 3, 16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

[8:26] There's Isaiah 55, 12. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace, the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. I don't know if anyone else wants to...

[8:46] It's the best part of the song. Then there's James 5, 13. Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Both, as we discovered in our discussion on lament this spring, lament is equally praise. God wants us to worship him even in times of lament. Those are important too. Psalm 66, 1 and 2 says, Shout for joy to God, all the earth. Sing the glory of his name. Give him glorious praise.

[9:25] Psalm 153 to 6 says, Praise him with trumpet sound. Praise him with lute and harp. Praise him with tambourine and dance. Praise him with strings and pipe. Praise him with sounding cymbals. Praise him with loud clashing cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord, praise the Lord.

[9:50] And then Zephaniah 3, 17 says, The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love. He will exult over you with loud singing. And so we loudly sing, whether in our hearts or out loud with our mouths, we loudly sing to God just as he loudly sings over us. I want us to take a moment to just let that sink in, that the reason we praise is because God takes care of us. We have a God that isn't just distant or controlling or power hungry. We have a God that delights over us. And how often have you just sat with the thought that someone so great is singing, singing for you? That's an amazing thought.

[10:51] Now Psalm 98 doesn't just call for the same old worship in the same old way. Worship of our living God cannot be stagnant or passive. Psalm 98 specifically calls for a new song to be sung, something fresh. Worship as living and active as the living God that we serve.

[11:17] And this new song that the Psalm calls is generally understood by these Psalm scholars to refer to a special genre of songs. Now some talk about a particular festival that celebrates the acts of God. And we don't necessarily know which festival that this Psalm is referring to, but it is a possibility that that's what they were doing, is preparing for a festival of praise. Now this new song that is to be sung, is one that is sung after a particular experience of God's gracious deliverance. And to put it another way, the new song does not merely mean to compose a Psalm composition about the same old things, but rather the new song means to write and sing a song that has to be new because God has just done something new, such as a new activity, or a new act of deliverance, or a new act of grace, or a new act of forgiveness, or a new act of blessing. There are songs years and years and centuries and millennia old that talk about God's acts of deliverance, but every morning God makes a new act of mercy and grace. And so we sing a new song about the new things that he has done. And there are several places in the Psalms that talk about a new song. But the newness of this type of song can be especially seen in two places.

[12:59] It can be seen in Isaiah, in Deutero-Isaiah 42. In this song, the anonymous prophet of the exile sings a new song announcing and giving thanks because the Lord was moving to restore the Judean exiles to their home. The Lord was moving to open the eyes that are blind, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, from prison those who sit in darkness.

[13:32] This is a new thing God was doing, and so they had to sing. And a second place where the newness of the new song is seen is at the start of Psalm 40, which is a song of thanksgiving that a person sings. After having experienced personal deliverance. The new song here is the song of thanksgiving that the psalmist sang after the Lord had lifted the singer out of the desolate pit.

[13:59] And we've all experienced the desolate pit at some point. We don't know if we've experienced it in the same way as the psalmist, but it's extreme distress, the desolate pit. It could have been extreme physical danger, or it could have been emotional anguish. But we've all had a desolate pit, and God lifts us out of those desolate pits.

[14:29] We worship God today because he has made us new, and because his mercies are new every morning. As Paul wrote, So if anyone is in Christ, there is new creation. Everything old has been new. Everything new has passed away. Everything has become new. Every day God does new works in our lives and in the world around us. And sometimes it feels more obvious than others. So I've probably talked about it before, but one of my favorite spiritual disciplines is doing the daily examine.

[15:06] And it's for that reason, because in the daily examine, you take time to look back on your day and simply notice. You notice where God showed up all day in the big ways and then in the little ways that may have originally, when you were going through it, escaped your notice.

[15:26] And this draws us closer to God in worship. And so every day we can write these new songs to God as we notice him and draw near to him and worship him. In worship, we surrender our worries and fears and burdens at the feet of Jesus.

[15:45] Because we have worries and fears and burdens. And we're allowed to give them to God. It's a moment of vulnerability where we lay bare our souls before God, trusting in his unfailing love and mercy. Through worship, we enter communion with God. We experience his presence in a way that is tangible. As we lift our voices in adoration, we're drawn into the depths of his love. We find solace and strength in his embrace. True worship has a way that transforms us from the inside, from our soul, to the outside. And as we gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, as we just focus our hearts on worship, our perspectives shift. Our priorities change. Our bodies realign with his kingdom purposes.

[16:44] In the presence of God, we become renewed and restored and revitalized for the journey ahead. As we embrace the transformative power of worship, we're invited to create in ourselves a spirit of joy in every aspect of our lives. In a world that's plagued by pain and negativity and despair, we can embrace joy, and it becomes a beacon of hope in our darkness. Verse 4 tells us to Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth, reminding us that joy is not just a fleeting emotion, but one that is constant and steadfast and an anchor for our soul. And again, it's not fleeting because it can't be crushed by sadness. It can't even be crushed by deep, deep pain.

[17:42] Joy persists even in the painful moments. We have hope because of what God has done. And now, I know that we recently finished this series on lament, and joy will not negate lament. You can do both. In fact, I think the two go hand in hand with each other. We have joy because we know that even in our pain, God is near and God is just. Joy does not deny the existence of trials and tribulations, but helps us to focus on the promise of God's faithfulness in the midst of them. It's an attitude of resilience that refuses to be defined by our circumstances, but instead finds strength in the hope of Christ.

[18:28] Now, putting our joy in Christ encourages unity and harmony in our relationships, and it enables us to extend grace and forgiveness to one another. It is a starting point for reconciliation and healing, and it breaks down the walls of division and builds bridges of love and understanding. When we look at life with a joyful heart, we discover the beauty of God's purpose unfolding in every situation. Even in the midst of uncertainty, we trust that God is working all things together for our good, making this beautiful tapestry, of redemption and restoration.

[19:11] Joy is the deep-seated assurance that we are loved and cherished and redeemed by the Creator of the universe. And Psalm 98 paints this beautiful picture of joyous celebration as all creation rejoices in the presence of God. And the source of our joy is found in the salvation we have received through Jesus Christ. It is a gift freely given. It is grace, poured upon us, and that empowers us to live with confidence and assurance even during the hard and uncertain times.

[19:47] And that joy is only multiplied when we share it with others in the fellowship of believers. That's why we come together on Sundays. We come together to live life together, so that we can experience lament together, and we can also experience joy together.

[20:06] And so, as we gather together in community, we experience the fullness of joy that comes from being united in Christ. And finally, joy is the natural outflow of a surrendered heart. So when your heart delights in obeying God's commands and walking in His ways, when we align our will with His will, we discover this deep joy that goes beyond our circumstances, and it sustains us through every season of life. So as we reflect on the incredible truths of Psalm 98, may we be inspired to cultivate a spirit of worship and joy in our daily lives. May we never cease to lift our voices in praise to God, knowing that He delights in our worship and rejoices over us with singing.

[21:01] May we embrace the power of joy, choosing to see the world through the lens of God's love and grace. And may the joy of our Lord be our strength, guiding us through the darkest times and leading us into the fullness of His presence. Let's pray.

[21:19] God, we thank you that you have constantly and every day done new works, and your mercies are new every morning. God, would you cultivate within us a new song that we would sing out at the top of our lungs, that we would make a joyful noise every day, simply because of who you are. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.