A New Song
I not long ago turned 44.
My kids have reliably informed me that that means I am now officially 'old'. I have a sneaking suspicion they may be right.
I find myself giving silent commentary on the shallow, insipid nature of modern music, especially music used in the church's corporate worship—my wife just reminded me that it isn't always 'silent' commentary—which is another indicator that my children may be right.
I have a growing disdain for new songs. I have a growing conviction that those who dismiss ancient songs on the basis of their publication date, do so to their own detriment. In other words, we ought to be singing more hymns!
Alright. I'm old. So what? I'm going to the grave singing, "It is well with my soul", at the top of my voice!
Yet, there is one new song I'm looking forward to singing.
As John records his great vision of heavenly things, he paints a picture of a crystal sea, on whose shore a great multitude stands and sings in one accord.
Revelation 15:3–4 (ESV) — 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
This is the last song recorded in the Scriptures. Want to know what the first is?
Exodus 15:1–3 (ESV) — 1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.
That's right, it's the song Moses sang on the shore of another sea.
God has brought us through the sea. Sin and death have been swallowed up. We have seen the power and might of our God on full display. We have experienced the salvation of our God.
This side of glory, I remain a little suspicious of new songs. I'm not abandoning my hymnal yet.
But one day, when I stand beside that glowing sea while its beauty fades in the presence of the eternal Son, I'll let my hymns all fall away and join in the deafening refrain of that glorious new song.
The song of Moses. The song of the Lamb. The song of the salvation of our God. The song of the gospel.
The new song I'll sing for eternity that will never grow old.
