Isaiah 42:10-20 Click here for the reading
Sing a new song to the Lord!
Isaiah and the psalmist (Psalms 40, 96, 98 etc.) repeat this anthem. New songs are necessary. They help us articulate in new ways the same old song. I recently was reflecting on the hymn, "I love to tell the story."
"I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest;
And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song,
’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long."
The new song reflects the old story.
Yet in every community I have ever served, there is always a fear and hesitation of singing new songs. We don't know them, we are unfamiliar with them, they don't sound great right off the bat. We are much better off singing the 5 songs we like.
But the end of this hymn of praise, Isaiah articulate the reason the new song exists: "You hear with your ears but you really don't listen."
New songs help us hear God's word again, for the first time.
Lord, open our ears to not only hear you but to listen to what you are saying.
Isaiah and the psalmist (Psalms 40, 96, 98 etc.) repeat this anthem. New songs are necessary. They help us articulate in new ways the same old song. I recently was reflecting on the hymn, "I love to tell the story."
"I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest;
And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song,
’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long."
The new song reflects the old story.
Yet in every community I have ever served, there is always a fear and hesitation of singing new songs. We don't know them, we are unfamiliar with them, they don't sound great right off the bat. We are much better off singing the 5 songs we like.
But the end of this hymn of praise, Isaiah articulate the reason the new song exists: "You hear with your ears but you really don't listen."
New songs help us hear God's word again, for the first time.
Lord, open our ears to not only hear you but to listen to what you are saying.
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