By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley based on Psalm 149
“Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song!” This is the first verse of Psalm 149. As I read it, I started humming a tune. The words “new song” had sparked up a memory. Eventually my humming turned to singing: “Earth and all stars, loud rushing planets, sing to the Lord a new song! O victory, loud shouting army, sing to the Lord a new song! He has done marvelous things. I, too, will praise him with a new song!”
The hymn “Earth and All Stars” is about praising God because of the marvelous things he has done. Often I think of those things in the past tense: he saved us by dying on the cross and rising again. He promised to be with us always. He showed us how to live. He became one of us so he could relate to us fully. But God doesn’t only work in past tense; he does marvelous things for us every day! He is the reason the sun rises in the morning and the breezes cool us off. He causes flowers to bloom and trees to grow. Without him there wouldn’t be music or electricity or classrooms or sports. He gives us all these things daily, and that is marvelous.
That’s what this Psalm is about, too. It instructs us to praise the Lord in the assembly of believers with dancing and music. It tells us that God takes pleasure in his people and in bringing them joy. But we are not only to praise him when we’re with our fellow Christians; the Psalm also tells us to sing for joy on our beds. God does so many marvelous things that we can’t limit our praise to one place; we praise him everywhere! And, returning to the first verse, our praise doesn’t always have to be the same. He wants to hear from each of us, specifically. He wants to hear our “new songs” every day. So here’s my challenge to you, friends – today, come up with a new way to praise! God loves to hear you!