A New Song (Psalm 149:1)


 

Saturday, 30 August, 2025


Psalms 148; 149

1 Kings 2:13-27

Acts 23:1-11


A New Song (Psalm 149:1)


Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise in the assembly of the godly!


As an unofficially certified church music curmudgeon, my first reading of this line from the Psalms made me do a double-take. We all know that the height of church music was in the late 6th century with Pope Gregory the Great and his promotion of what later became known as Gregorian Chant in the 9th century. Sing a new song? What’s wrong the old one?


Perhaps it is because that, while “there is nothing new under the sun”, we also each live a unique life that is new for us every day. Every morning we wake up having lost something old and gained something new. Simply by virtue of breathing we experience change, and I don’t need to look up the exact numbers, but I think we are all aware of the fact that the cells in our bodies reproduce at an alarming rate, giving us a new body more frequently than we imagine.


And so the Lord, who is present in and through all the changes and chances of this unique life we each live, is to have a new song sung to him. Everything is the same; but everything is new. Humans have always sung; but each human is new, and has a new song to sing to the Lord.


What changes have you experienced in the last few days, or weeks? How might your song sung today be different from one you might have sung last week, or one you might sing next week?


Everlasting God of new wonders and delights: renew in us our marvel at you and the life you have given us, that we may always have a song of praise on our lips.

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