Psalm 96:1-4 "O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. (2) Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. (3) Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. (4) For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods."
I placed more Scripture than usual this morning. I probably should take this
approach more often because Scripture explains itself. I'm thankful that God
ordained preachers to expound upon the Word of God. I don't mean this to sound
prideful at all, but I love to preach - When the Lord blesses me to preach. It
is a wonderful gift to be able to read the Word of God and sense the Holy
Spirit speaking to you concerning the words that you read. I say all that to
say: God is very specific and very plain spoken. We tend to make it more
difficult than it is.
So today, God is saying to us that He created music and we should use it to
give glory and honor and holiness unto the Lord. The object of our affection
when we are singing should be the Lord God Almighty. We are to use music to
show the great things the Lord has done for us, beginning with the fact that
Jesus loves us enough that He died for our sins. We are to use music to declare
the glory and majesty of our Lord. We are to honor HIM with our music and
singing. When we have the objective of glorifying God in our music, then every
song becomes a "new song".
I close with these words from that same 96th Psalm, "Honour and majesty
are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. (7) Give
unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and
strength. (8) Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring
an offering, and come into his courts. (9) O worship the LORD in
the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth." (Psalm 96:6-9)
I hope we all have this melody in our hearts all day today....
There's within my heart a melody,
Jesus whispers sweet and low:
"Fear not, I am with thee; peace, be still,"
in all of life's ebb and flow.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus–
sweetest name I know,
fills my ev'ry longing,
keeps me singing as I go.