NEW SONGS

New songbooks for the congregation bring news songs in the book to sing. But we do not know the new songs to sing them.  Many of these new songs have messages that edify the singers and glorify God.  This is the goal of singing.  But singing new songs we do not know make us a little uncomfortable; and besides we enjoy singing the old songs.  But once we learn the new songs they will become “old” favorites.  What are we to do?

I suggest we learn to sing some new songs now for we will need to learn new songs in heaven.  Think a moment about the song services in heaven.  The redeemed of all ages will be in attendance.  How many of the songs in our song books (old or new) were sung in the first century?  How about the second?  Third? Eighteenth?  I am sure you can see the point.  I am sure every generation has struggled with old songs versus new ones.  When our old songbooks were new they no doubt had songs new to many people.  The congregation learned to sing them and some are now someone’s favorite.

Let us remember why we sing.  The purpose is to speak to ourselves “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart (our hearts) to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19) and to teach and admonish “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).  The new songs in the new songbooks provide new ways for us to do these things.

One more thought.  Revelation 5:9 and 14:3 speak of a new song sung in Heaven.  Revelation 15:3 speaks of the song of Moses and the Lamb. There will be new songs to learn and sing in Heaven, so why not prepare by learning and singing new songs now?

—Denny