Thoughts for the Day

O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvellous works among all the peoples......

Say among the nations, ‘The Lord is king!
The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
He will judge the peoples with equity.’
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;....

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord; for he is coming,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with his truth.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

As most will realise I love singing and music, and have sung with choirs small and large in many places in Britain and elsewhere. I like learning new music, but for many people this is not so. I can think of a number over the years who absolutely hate learning new hymns, and will only be happy when singing ones they know. Of course it helps if you can read music, and as a minimum know whether to go up or down for the next note. But once we have learnt the new piece it's wonderful to enjoy singing it with others in a choir.

Psalm 96 says we have to sing a new song to the Lord. It's not enough to keep on nagging Him about things, or complaining to Him. Our relationship with Him to needs to grow and change over the years. We need to pray for others, and ask for His help; we should also question about what He wants us to do with our life; and wait on His time before acrting. The "old song" isn't lost, it just morphs into something new and more mature, until we no longer sing nursery rhymes but try out complicated anthems (if you see what I mean?).

Lord God,
You have been with us from the start
of our life's journey,
sometimes unnoticed in the background.
From our baptism we have
committed ourselves to You,
but often gone our own way.
Help us to sing a new song
and develop a closer relationship
with You this day
and in the future.
Amen.