Word of Encouragement (10/13/2021)
“And they [the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders] sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth’” (Rev. 5:9-10).
We are told that the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders are singing “a new song.” This may not seem remarkable. Singing songs of praise to God is one of the most prominent activities of those, who are in heaven. It may be that they come up with a new song every day. It may even be the case that every song they sing to God is a new song since their creativity is not stunted by sin.
But that is not what “a new song” here signifies; it signifies not so much a new tune or a new lyric as a new theme. Even in the Old Testament, we find calls to sing “a new song” to the Lord (Ps. 33:3, 96:1, 98:1, 149:1, etc.). A few of them show us why we should sing a new song. Ps. 98:1 says, “Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.” Here we see that a new song is in response to something marvelous that the Lord has done. Even more instructive is Isa. 42:9-10: “‘Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.’ Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth....” Here, the call to sing a new song is in response to “new things I now declare” with the mention that “the former things have come to pass.” It seems only right that we should sing “a new song” in praise of God when He does something new.
Indeed, in significant moments in redemptive history when the Lord did something great, God’s people sang His praise. Moses and the people of Israel sang when the Lord destroyed Pharaoh’s chariots by the waters of the Red Sea (Ex. 15). Deborah and Barak sang to the Lord when they defeated Jabin the king of Canaan (Judg. 5). The women of Israel sang when David defeated Goliath (1 Sam. 18). The people sang when Hezekiah restored the temple worship (2 Chron. 29:30). When Ezra laid the foundation for the second temple, the people sang (Ezra 3:11). And when Nehemiah dedicated the city wall of Jerusalem, the people sang (Neh. 12:42). We are also told that the angels sang at the time of creation (Job 38:7). And at the birth of Jesus, the choir of angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14)!
As you can see, insofar as these “new songs” were in response to the great and mighty works of God in history, they had their own new themes. So, the song we find in Rev. 5:9-10 is “a new song” because it has a new theme—the accomplishment of Jesus’ redemptive work. This is what all the promises of God in the Old Testament were about. This is what all that preceded in redemptive history was looking forward to. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus accomplished our salvation and ascended into heaven to take the scroll from the Father’s hand and undo the seals so that the final stage of redemptive history might be initiated! This new song is our song. This new theme is what our songs should be about!
How wonderful it is that we have something to sing about! How prosaic and mundane is a life that has nothing worthwhile to sing about! But we have a theme that is more glorious and beautiful and worthwhile than any other theme—Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Lord! Do you sing these days? What do you sing about? Why don’t you sing a song of praise to Jesus, your wonderful Savior? May it and other hymns and praises remain on your lips and in your minds all the day long!