Note: This transcript is AI-generated and may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for the most accurate information and meaning.
Psalm 98: A New Song for a New Year
Turn to Psalm 98. We’re going to look at the next sermon in our series, which is coming rapidly to an end, about “New Things.”
The Search for “Newness”
It’s a new year, and presumably, everybody around the new year wants a “new you,” as they say. The way you find that in our culture is by going to the gym, focusing on weight loss, setting new goals, careers, and resolutions. But we’ve done all that, and it doesn’t make anything new. Nothing changes because the Bible tells us there is nothing new under the sun. It’s all the same. Every “new” thing you think is new is just the same as the old new thing.
However, living beyond the sun—having our eyes set beyond what is in this world—is where true newness occurs. The gospel, the grace of God, and our connection with Him is that new thing that produces internal rejuvenation. It allows us to hold earthly things in a much better capacity.
Scripture Reading: Psalm 98
“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. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.”
The Purpose of Music and the Human Experience
Have you ever wondered: why music? What’s the point? I asked Google this week where music came from, and the best answer it gave was “40,000 years ago.” Archaeology tells us it started 40,000 years ago. It was a very vague answer, even with all the technology of AI.
Asking how music began is almost like asking how air began. Music is central to who we are; it’s in the DNA of humanity. Even in the creation story, when Adam first saw Eve, he expressed himself in a poetic fashion: “This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.”
When the human experience goes beyond what we can put into words—when it reaches the apex—it comes out in singing and shouting. If you don’t believe me, spend time with a three-year-old. They haven’t learned to put a filter or a cap on the apex of their emotions. They shout, run, and sing—and that is beauty. That is how God made His children.
The Apex of Human Expression
Think about the Super Bowl today. There will be singing and shouting. We aren’t content with just shouting; we have to add music to make it “bigger” than the stadium and the stats. Think of the Olympics—every time someone wins, there is music.
Music not only expresses what I cannot express, but it also evokes what must be inside. I was watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, and as they came to light the torch, Andrea Bocelli sang. It was an amazing combination. He expressed in his musicality exactly what I was feeling at that moment.
The Testimony of “Jelly Roll”
I was listening to the Grammys, another apex of human expression. An artist named Jelly Roll stood up to receive an award. He said, “I was at a place in my world that was nothing. It was dark, I was broken. And I know two things: I know music can change the human experience, and God saves people. Jesus isn’t just for some people; Jesus is for everybody.”
We sing at weddings, graduations, and coronations because we are in love. But we also sing when there is death. We sing the blues; we sing the old gospel songs of hope. Music is a central part of who we are.
Why is the Song “New”?
The passage tells us we sing a “new” song because God has done something we never thought would happen.
1. Unity in Diversity
The first “unthinkable” thing is that we would all be singing the same song together. That kind of unity in diversity is unthinkable because we aren’t naturally given to it. But the Psalmist mentions “the nations,” “the ends of the earth,” and “all the earth.” This was the original promise to Abraham: that God would gather people of all languages and tribes into one family. Anything short of that holistic gathering is immorality in the eyes of God.
2. Salvation Worked For Us
The second marvelous thing is that He has worked salvation for us. We don’t work salvation for ourselves. As one theologian put it: “The essence of sin is man putting himself in the place of God; the essence of salvation is God putting Himself in the place of man.”
God says, “I will bear your penalty. I will bear the treadmill of performance and the fear of never living up.” He gives us a righteousness we cannot earn. He doesn’t measure us by our active obedience, but by the finished work of His Son. Every other religion “under the sun” is an attempt to grow up and reach God, but Christianity is about the God who is “beyond the sun” coming down to us.
3. Equitable Justice
Finally, we sing because He comes to judge the earth with equity. This is wonderful news for the oppressed, the unjustly accused, and those who have experienced loss. God will make things right.
You might wonder, “How can I sing about justice if I am also culpable of wrong?” We can sing about it because of the Cross. The Cross is equitable judgment. It is where God said, “This is what sin deserves,” and then placed that penalty upon Himself. All who are found in Him have their injustices covered by His sacrifice.
Conclusion
The seas resound, the rivers clap, and the mountains sing. Humans are the only ones who sometimes have to be told when to sing. Don’t let your lethargy get in the way.
God’s kingdom is advancing, and His love is expanding. When we sing together, His reality becomes the apex of our experience.