Psalm 149:1-4 ESV Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise in the assembly of the godly! 2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! 3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre! 4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; He adorns the humble with salvation.
Psalm 42:10-11 NIVSing to the Lord a new song, His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them. 11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.
Observation
When we first surrender and embrace the sacrifice Jesus made for us, a new song rises like the water from an artesian well. An artesian well is one that brings deep water to the surface without the help of a pump because the water is under pressure in an aquifer (a deep reservoir). Jesus replaces the old sin-filled reservoir with His new life-giving water. To me, this is like that first experience of the release of all the sin, guilt, fear, and sorrow that held us captive. A new song of praise, joy and freedom gush from the aquifer of the new Spirit of Christ in us. Our expectations about this new life and what it will be like soar like the water gushing up from the artesian well.
It is then that the Enemy comes and begins his work of stealing, killing and destroying. He whispers to us, “If God is so good, how do you explain this (pain, death, sickness, the ravages of war, and so on)?” “If God is so good, why doesn’t He stop all of this suffering and make your life easy and painless? See, He doesn’t really care about you!” “Do you really think that a holy God would forgive and adopt YOU after all that you have done?” Satan will do all he can to get us to silence the new song and blame God for all the evil that Satan perpetrates upon humankind – and he is very good at deceiving us. If he can’t get us to blame God for the evil, he will get us to become angry at God for not preventing it. Satan is sly and skillful at deception.
Impact on Me
So, these verses are about the new song that we receive when we embrace salvation and begin the redemption process. It is a song of joy, praise and the new life we receive. It is a song for all circumstances – good and bad. The temptation when difficulty arises is to revisit my old life song of sin, shame, sorrow and defeat – a song written when I lived outside of the unforced rhythms of grace, hope and faith provided by a life in Christ. I remind myself that Jesus told His disciples, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV).
So, Jesus never promised me that following and serving Him would be easy. He said to take up my cross, to turn the other cheek, to love my enemies, to forgive 70×7, to go the extra mile, to wash other’s feet, to love as He loves (1 Cor 13) – all the while singing my new song of salvation. He wants me to sing this new song while humbling myself and becoming a sacrifice to bring about His will and purpose in my life. The only way this is possible is that He also promised to go with me, to never leave or forsake me, to provide me faithfully with the Holy Spirit as teacher, comforter, strengthener, advocate, protector and so much more.
Devotion
Lord Jesus, I rejoice in You, the One True God, Almighty, Eternal, Who loved me so much that You sacrificed Yourself to redeem me and fill me with a new song full of grace, love, redemption and peace. It is remarkable that You want me to be part of Your work here on Earth. I want to be an artesian well of Your joy, peace, love and power so that others will find salvation, healing and deliverance because they meet You in me. When difficult circumstances arise, may I run to You as my shelter and strength all the while singing that new song You have placed in my soul. Let me never grow tired of singing Your praise. “Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise in the assembly of the godly!” Make it so, in Jesus’ name.
Pressing On In His Footsteps 