Sing to Him a New Song
“Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy” (Psalms 33:3).
I have been a singer all my life. My dad was a middle school music teacher and Methodist choir director. I sang in choirs at church and high school, and I sang harmony with a friend at different venues. How grateful I am that the Lord stopped that vain career. The songs we sang had no value or importance. They were just entertainment. I remember the day and the place our heavenly Father put a “new song” in my heart. The song was about Jesus who died for me, a sinner. How thankful I am to have received the truth and to have been called. As time went on, as I developed more understanding of the richness and the “fullness” of God’s plan, where no one is left out, verses were added.
The phrase “sing to him a new song” is found nine times in the scriptures and we will examine each of these, seeing to whom it is written, when it applies, the context, and how God’s complete plan of salvation is shown. All nine new songs are compositions that include: human tragedy, discord, crying, desperation, rescue, hope, victory, trust, exaltation and miracles. Musically there are soloists, choirs, strumming and plucking of instruments, trumpeting, harmony and perfect pitch. God is the composer and he has personally titled it: “Sing to Me a new song.”
A NEW SONG — WORTHY IS THE LAMB
We start in the New Testament because there is no new song anywhere or at any time without Jesus, the lamb of God. The phrase “sing a new song” is found in Revelation 5:9, 10 (RVIC).
“And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood us out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they shall reign over the earth.”
Only Jesus is worthy because of his great ransom sacrifice that purchased mankind with his blood and made us priests to bless all the families of the earth. Can you imagine the united voices of the heavenly host singing the song titled — “Worthy art thou”!
A NEW SONG — THE CHURCH TAKEN FROM SIN TO SANCTIFICATION
“I waited patiently for Jehovah; And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay; And he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, And shall trust in Jehovah. Blessed is the man that maketh Jehovah his trust. … Many, O Jehovah my God, are the wonderful works which thou hast done, And thy thoughts which are toward us: They cannot be set in order unto thee; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered” (Psalms 40:1-5).
This song refers to the calling during the Gospel Age. I can really relate to God hearing my cry and bringing me out of a horrible pit and the mire, stuck in sin. But then came God’s grace and He set my feet upon a rock, which is Jesus, my personal Savior. He gave me firm steps with his yoke of stability to walk in the narrow way. What follows is very personal to me, “many will trust in Jehovah. Blessed is the man that maketh Jehovah his trust.” This theme for my marriage is engraved in my wedding ring. Our new song is following Christ and trusting in our Heavenly Father’s providence, and we sing or witness to others the good news of Christ’s Kingdom.
Volume 6, page 295: “As already pointed out, every member of the New Creation is called to preach; not by his ambitions or imaginations, but by the Word, which calls upon all who receive the grace of God not in vain to “show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). This call includes, therefore, all begotten of the spirit of the Truth — male and female, bond and free, rich and poor, educated and uneducated — black, brown, red, yellow and white. What further commission is needed than this — “He hath put a new song into my mouth,” even “the loving kindness of Jehovah. If I would declare and speak of God’s wonderful works and thoughts on our behalf, they are more than can be numbered.”
Is that the way we feel? We have too many blessings to count. We are commissioned to tell out God’s works and all His tender watchcare done on our behalf.
A NEW SONG — THE CHURCH ESTABLISHED AS LIVING EXAMPLES OF JESUS
“Singing a new song” is the journey of the Church from sin to sanctification; our being a witness to God’s goodness during our development in Christ. “Rejoice in the Lord you righteous. Praise is fitting for the upright” (Psalms 33:1, Weymouth).
The righteous and the upright, are those who are justified and have the robe of Christ’s righteousness, and this has a Gospel Age application:
The writings of David, and all the prophets and apostles as well, abound in fervent expressions of praise and thanksgiving to God. They not only praise the Lord themselves, lovingly and gratefully recounting all his mercies, but, with impassioned eloquence and holy enthusiasm, they call upon all the sons of men, and everything that hath breath, to laud and magnify his holy name. The worshippers are also bidden to bring with them to the concert of praise every musical instrument of human device; and grateful reverence exclaims — Blessed be his glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory…Rejoicing and the spirit of praise are thus seen to be linked together … making the two almost synonymous” (R2031).
“Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings” (Psalms 33:2).
These are two different stringed instruments. What are the differences between these two instruments?
With the harp, the strings enter the body of the instrument through a sound board, and these strings you pluck. With the lyre, their strings pass over the bridge and create vibrations, much like a guitar. Notice the harp has ten strings — we know the number ten in the Bible means completeness and perfection. What is the lesson? We are to give thanks and sing praises with everything we have. In Psalms 33:2 the word sing (H2167) means to celebrate with song, striking with fingers.
Worthy is Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Psalms 33:3, “Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy.” “Sing” (H7891) is defined as “strolling as a minstrel, to sing.” It is a different word from verse 2. This is something we actively do as we follow in Christ’s footsteps. “New” (H2319) is defined as, “a new thing, or fresh.” The question we can each ask ourselves when we look in the mirror is, “Does my song have the same freshness as when I started my Christian walk?”
The next word, “Song” (H7892), is defined as “a song, or singing.” “Play” (H5059) means “to strum, that is beat a tune with fingers, play a stringed instrument.” Strumming and beating a tune at the same time takes talent. Many guitar players can hit the wood to make a beat while strumming the strings at the same time.
The next word, “Skillfully” (H3190), is defined as: “make well, sound beautiful, and be pleasing.” It takes focus to perform at the highest level, and that takes practice. Scrutinizing our thoughts, words and deeds help us to give of our best to the Master. The last word, “Shout” (H8643) means “clamor, a noise, that is acclamation of joy or a battle cry.” To sum up verse 3, we are to sing, strum to the beat, as we make pleasing sounds with the acclamation of joy — All to the glory of God! Truth must have beautiful energy behind it. Let us ask ourselves, “Do I wear joy as part of my demeanor?”
“For the word of the Lord is right. All His work is done in faithfulness” (Psalms 33:4). Do we sing about God’s Word being the absolute authority for finding truth? “The earth is full of the loving kindness of the Lord” (Psalms 33:5).
These verses show that the strings we play are God’s faithfulness, His righteousness, His justice, and His love. Because of these attributes, God provided the ransom, and I want to sing about that more often to honor my savior: “It is plain, therefore, that in the cultivation of the spirit of praise, thanksgiving and loving appreciation of all the manifest goodness of God, is the Christian’s secret of a happy life. And in order to the cultivation of such a spirit it is necessary that we continually call to mind his acts of mercy and of grace; that in our prayers we frequently tell him how all his goodness is remembered, how every fresh evidence of his love and care causes faith to take deeper root and makes the sense of his presence and favor more fully realized; and how through such experiences our love and joy are made to abound more and more. We love him because he first loved us; and every time we see some new mark of his love, our love, if we have truly appreciative hearts, is called out more and more, and we are made to rejoice in God, in whose presence is fulness of joy” (R2031).
Psalm 33 describes the Church as living examples of Jesus. In Acts 16:23-25 we find Paul and Silas praying and singing hymns in prison after a cruel beating. Their example to the other prisoners and the jailer witnessed to God’s goodness and many that night were converted to follow Jesus. Do we have hymns memorized for experiences like these?
Without Jesus there is no song. Worthy is the Lamb — we looked at the journey of the church from sin to being sanctified as a witness; and lastly the established church as living examples of Jesus.
A NEW SONG — THE CHURCH GLORIFIED
“Praise ye Jehovah. Sing unto Jehovah a new song, and his praise in the assembly of the saints. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise his name in the dance: Let them sing praises unto him with timbrel and harp. … For Jehovah taketh pleasure in his people: He will beautify the meek with salvation. Let the saints exult in glory” (Psalms 149:1-5).
The rest of this psalm describes the Saints judging the world and executing that judgment. What an honor. The word “praise” begins and ends this chapter. “Praise” (H1984) means “to be clear of sound and color, to shine, to celebrate.” This is saying, celebrate Jehovah; sing to Jehovah a new song. Do you see where this singing and praising is happening? It is in the assembly of the Saints in heaven. These, the complete bride of Christ, are all together dancing, singing, and playing instruments where Jehovah is pleased. The lesson in Psalm 149 is that this new song is sung when all the faithful have been chosen, and God takes great pleasure in them. Then comes the judgment.
A NEW SONG — ISRAEL AWAITING DELIVERANCE
“I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: Upon a psaltery of ten strings will I sing praises unto Thee” (Psalms 144:9). The word “psaltery” (H5035) means “a lyre or stringed instrument with 10 strings.” This psalm is all about Israel needing to be rescued and delivered from their deceitful enemies. After God’s salvation, then they will sing a new song. This sounds like a possible description of the prayer Israel will give as they call upon God to save them from the great battle they will face. After their deliverance they will go right into the peaceable kingdom. When David wrote this psalm, he poured out his heart to ask God for protection from their enemies. In Israel’s history they sang together following God’s deliverance.
Brother Russell explains Exodus 15:1-21, “The Song of Moses and Israel.” “Realizing their deliverance from bondage, and the Divine Power exercised in their behalf in the overthrow of the Egyptian army, the Israelites were joyful. Moses, their great leader, composed a poem of much force and beauty. The men chanted it after Moses; and the women, under the leadership of Miriam … took tambourines, and joined in a refrain, or chorus, their bodies swaying and their feet moving rhythmically in what is described as a dance: Sing ye to the LORD [Jehovah]; For He hath triumphed gloriously. ‘Singing songs of praise’ constitutes one of the most interesting and most profitable methods of worship” (R2728).
Israel is waiting to sing a new song. They haven’t sung it yet. Psalm 144 is describing Israel’s need for God’s protection and deliverance from its enemies. When we are faced with great enemies, what should we do?
The July 4th Manna gives us a proper heart attitude towards our enemies. “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? (Isaiah 53:1). The call of the church in the present time is to let the light shine and thus attract persecution, and to endure the persecution for righteousness’ sake, and to be rightly exercised by it in patience, brotherly kindness, pity and love — toward the persecutors and toward all men.”
A NEW SONG — JEHOVAH HATH REMEMBERED HIS LOVINGKINDNESS AND HIS FAITHFULNESS TOWARD THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
“Oh sing unto Jehovah a new song; For he hath done marvelous things: His right hand, and his holy arm, hath wrought salvation for him. Jehovah hath made known His salvation: His righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the nations. He hath remembered his lovingkindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel: All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto Jehovah, all the earth: Break forth and sing for joy, yes, sing praises. Sing praises unto Jehovah with the harp; With the harp and the voice of melody. With straight trumpets and sound of rams horn trumpet. Make a joyful noise before the King, Jehovah” (Psalms 98:1-6).
God’s Lovingkindness to Israel
Psalm 98 describes Israel’s deliverance and their song of Messianic praise in the earthly kingdom. When I think of a Ram’s horn, I think of Israel. Can you imagine the song of joy coming from them? At that time all the nations will see their salvation and will break forth in song and praise. Trumpets will also be added to this new song.
I can picture King David in this moment. Why do we think he was a man after God’s own heart? He outwardly expressed his love for God without reservation. He would sing, dance, write songs, and play instruments to glorify God. He was genuine. He wore his heart on his sleeve, he openly expressed his feelings and emotions. How do we outwardly express our love for God without reservation?
A NEW SONG — SING UNTO JEHOVAH, ALL THE EARTH
“Oh sing unto Jehovah a new song: Sing unto Jehovah, all the earth. Sing unto Jehovah, bless his name; Show forth His salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples. … For great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised … Say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth: The world also is established that it cannot be moved: He will judge the peoples with equity” (Psalms 96:1-4, 10).
What a beautiful Kingdom picture. All the earth singing unto Jehovah and blessing His name. Their song is titled “Jehovah reigneth.”
IS THE NEW SONG SUNG THROUGHOUT THE MILLENNIAL AGE?
Brother Russell explains that the new song is not yet complete: “It is not its complete fulfillment — that will be attained when all the people of God shall have been found — when the Lord’s mercy during the Millennial age shall have opened the blind eyes of the world, unstopped the deaf ears, caused the knowledge of the Lord to fill the whole earth, and gathered all who are truly the Lord’s to himself, and during the Millennial age shall have lifted them out of the bondage of sin and death and brought them into full harmony with the divine standard by the processes of restitution, according as it is written — There shall “be times of restitution” (R3999).
A NEW SONG — JESUS BRINGING JUSTICE TO THE EARTH
“Sing unto Jehovah a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 42:10). Our last Old Testament “new song” is found in Isaiah 42:1-10. This describes the entire plan of God’s deliverance from sin and death. Verses 1-4 are prophetically describing Jesus bringing justice to the earth. Verse 5 begins with God giving His spirit to them that walk in righteousness. Jesus is given for a covenant of the people (cf. Luke 2:25-32). In Isaiah 49:8, it is the faithful church class also that is given for a covenant of the people (2 Corinthians 6:2). Verse 7 tells us the church and Jesus will open blind eyes and bring the prisoners out from the prison house of death. In verse 9 Jehovah declares these new things are coming. What a privilege to help raise the dead — all to the glory of God!
A Paradise Earth will be restored
All shall praise Him. What a plan! God asserts His being the Creator of all things, and finally, all of his willing creation sing praises on a global scale. This is how the Old Testament wraps up this new song.
A NEW SONG — AND NO MAN COULD LEARN THE SONG SAVE THE 144,000
Our final scripture with a new song is found in Revelation 14:3. We started in Revelation with ‘worthy is the Lamb’ and we will end up in Revelation with an exclusive song from the glorified church. These are beautiful bookends for our lesson.
“And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred forty-four thousand, even they that had been purchased out of the earth. … These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, to be a firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb” (Revelation 14:1-5).
This pictures the faithfulness of the complete church praising God and singing a new exclusive song that only the 144,000 can sing. God’s divine family are singing in perfect pitch, with the exquisite harmonies and instruments glorifying our Heavenly Father and our Redeemer Jesus. What a great way to conclude these nine beautiful texts.
Bro. Russell states: “the angel declares to the Revelator that no man can learn to sing this song except the elect — the 144,000, the “little flock.” Indeed, nothing is more manifest than that it is necessary to be somewhat of an “overcomer” of the world and its spirit which pervades nominal Christendom, ere any would have the courage to sing this song — to declare before men the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the goodness and grace of the divine plan, of which Jesus and his sacrifice are the center. To all others “the fear of man bringeth a snare,” and stoppeth their mouths from speaking forth the praise of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light” (R2570).
SUMMARY
This theme, when put together, gives us God’s composition for bringing everything back into harmony with Him. Jesus is the solution and featured soloist. This is the true Hallelujah chorus. Who can sing this new song?
- The world cannot sing this new song yet without knowing God’s plan or having his spirit.
- The Israelites, when living under God’s favor, had a better song to sing than the world, but it was not the fresh or brand new song.
- During the Gospel Age, Christians in name only had a better song than the Israelites because they believed in Jesus, the Messiah. But they didn’t sing the New Song. We know that all are not called to the high calling, and without knowing the good news of the ransom for all, they are not yet able to sing this new song. The confusion from their false doctrines, especially hellfire, will need to be corrected before they can sing the good news of great joy to all people.
- On the other hand, the New Creation during the Gospel Age have this new song upon their hearts. They are living examples of following Christ, having His spirit.
- The Saints, the bride class, have been singing this song so deeply, so loyally for so long that the sound of it was raised above all others. This song permeated every part of their lives and it will have no end.
- The Great Company, after they have washed their robes, will sing this new song in heaven before the throne in a fresher way than ever before (Revelation 7:9-12).[1]
- The Jews at their dramatic deliverance from battle will recognize Messiah and have God’s spirit poured out upon them. The heroes of faith will be the first to be resurrected on earth, and the nations will sing for joy to God for fulfilling all His promises.
- The Gentiles during the resurrection will begin to sing the new song. And it will become contagious. It will spread over the whole globe. God will pour out His spirit on all flesh. (Acts 2:17).
This new song is beautifully described in Revelation 5: “Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying, Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever.” (Revelation 5:12, 13).
Do we see how thoroughly throughout the ages our heavenly Father provided songs and new songs at every stage? We look forward to the day when every spirit being in heaven and every human being on earth together are singing this glorious new song in perfect harmony — to God be the glory.
My prayer for all of you dear brethren is that your new song has more clarity and freshness after all the blessings you’ve received at convention. So, turn up the volume of your new song, God Be Praised.
— Adapted from a discourse by Br. Jonathan Benson, General Convention 2024
[1] Editor note: Perhaps the Great Company, Jews, and Gentiles will sing a similar song?