Music-- Take It or Leave It

If you’ve ever driven in a car with me, you know I don’t like to listen to music. If I do have music on, it has to be on low, because I’d rather have conversation, then sing or listen to music.

In fact, in the past, I’ve even gone as far as saying “If I never heard another song, I’d be OK. When it comes to music, I can take it or leave it.” And I meant it. Music has never been a big part of my life. I’ve never cared that much for it.

But over the past few months, my view on music has been changing. Here’s part of the reason why (emphasis mine):

·         Psalm 33:1-3 “1 Let the godly sing for joy to the Lord; it is fitting for the pure to praise him. 2 Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre; make music for him on the ten-stringed harp. 3 Sing a new song of praise to him; play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.”

 

·         Psalm 40:3 “He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.”

·         Psalm 96:1-- Sing a new song to the LORD! Let the whole earth sing to the LORD!

·         Psalm 98:1-- Sing a new song to the LORD, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power!

·         Psalm 149:1- Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song. Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.

·         Isaiah 42:10- Sing a new song to the LORD! Sing his praises from the ends of the earth! Sing, all you who sail the seas, all you who live in distant coastlands.

Over and over again in Scripture, I see us being commanded and encouraged to sing a song to God. In fact, it’s one of the few things that we will do on this side of Heaven and the next. Often times the Bible, as you see above, calls us to sing a “new song.” A new song doesn’t necessarily mean a freshly composed song, but one sang with a fresh approach in response to God’s wonderful, amazing grace.

So I started to sing a “new song” to the Lord. And have started to really gain a love for music. I see the benefits of singing a new song, or singing a song newly. I see the joy people have when they sing unhindered (you know what I mean… that person at the red light rockin’ out like no one is watching… then you make that awkward eye-contact…). I’ve learned that if it’s important to God, it should be important to me.

Here’s some “new songs” I’ve been singing/listening to:

·         Praise God—Jeff Johnson*Band

·         You’re Beautiful—Phil Wickham (Thanks Andrea Garcia for telling me about this song!)

·         10,000 Reasons—Matt Redman

·         One Thing Remains—Jesus Culture

·         Never Once—Matt Redman

What “new song” you have you been singing to the Lord?