Jonathan James
"He has put a new song in my mouth. Praise be to our God! Many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord"
Psalm 40:3
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What is the New Song?
Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song (Psalm 149:1).
He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; Many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord (Psalm 46:3).
The ‘new song’ in the Bible does not refer to the latest song in the hit parade or a novel genre of music just introduced by a musician. The new song is a reference to a new quality of song and music, a new or different kind of song that stems from a deeper, spiritual basis. This is the song (note the singular usage) that celebrates the greatest victory and deliverance that a human being can ever participate in—the victory from Satan’s chains, darkness and deception into the freedom, light and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel.
In Exodus 15, we have a record of the Song of Moses, the song that was inspired after God’s great act of deliverance when He brought His people out of Egyptian slavery through the miraculous parting of the Red Sea:
I will sing unto the Lord for He is highly exalted. The horse and the rider He has hurled into the sea…Great and marvelous are your deeds and your righteous acts have been revealed.
In Revelation 5, after Jesus is named as the only one qualified to open the scroll and set loose the seven seals, a new song (Song of the Lamb) is sung:
For you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation
And have made us kings and priests to our God
And we shall reign on the earth…
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing
Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God almighty!
Just and true are your ways, O King of the saints
Who shall not fear you O Lord and glorify your name?
For all nations shall come and worship before you
For your judgments have been manifested.
What characterizes the Christian? A true believer (Christian) has experienced the greatest victory— the victory of Christ over Satan. There is coming a day when we will experience the ultimate victory over death into newness of eternal life. The Christian has experienced redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore the Christian is the only person who can sing the ‘new song’. Strictly speaking, even angels, cannot sing the new song. They have not experienced redemption in the way that we have.
The new song is not just a song but a blessed reality, a state of mind and an eternal hope based on what Jesus has done for us. As Christians we all have a song and we can sing it, whether we are good singers or not! We all need to be singing the new song even when we are down in the dumps and when things are not going on well. No wonder Paul the apostle, exhorts us to make melody “in our hearts to the Lord” as we are filled with His Spirit (Eph. 5: 19).
Christian singing is a joyful response to God and His great work of redemption and salvation.
It is sad and heart-breaking to witness the misuse and abuse of music in the Church. Christian music is not a stimulus or something to be used to manipulate people. It is not a form of entertainment. It is not mindless repetition. It is a call to remember God and His work of sending His son to the world and Christ’s victory over Satan, sin, death and hell. It is a joyful response to what God has done for us in Christ. It is to participate in the new song now and anticipate the time when we will be singing that song before the multitude of God’s blood-bought children.
“…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” Ephesians 5: 18-19.
Jonathan James
Dr. Jonathan James is the International Executive Director of Asia Evangelistic Fellowship (AEF). The youngest son of well-known Asian Evangelist, the late Dr G.D. James, Jonathan James is currently based in Perth, Australia. Dr. James directs a task force of some 150 national missionaries in 9 Asian countries and has established AEF's training schools in 4 Asian countries, under the umbrella of the Asia College of Ministry (ACOM). Jonathan is the Radio Teacher of Destiny Radio, broadcast through the HCJB Radio network to a potential audience of 1.8 billion people in Asia.