Sermon Psalm 98 “Sing A New Song”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Psalm 98 “Sing A New Song”
Presbyterian Church of Easton
May 9, 2021

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God is calling all of us to sing a new song.  God has heard the songs we have been singing, but now God wants a new song of worship and praise.  I am not talking about the kind of music we play in church, whether we have classic hymns, or bells,  or taize, or something else.  What I am talking about is the song we sing to God whenever we approach God in prayer and worship.  God hears the song we sing, but according to scripture, God wants to hear a new song.

But before we get to all of this, will you pray with me?  Holy Spirit, fill each of us in this congregation with a new song from God.  Fill us with the desire to praise God with our whole hearts.  Fill us with God’s love so that our hearts will burst with overflowing love for others.  We pray this with you, the Son and the Father. Amen.

Psalm 98
1 O sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
    have gotten him victory.
2 The Lord has made known his victory;
    he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
    to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
    the victory of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
    break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
    with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
    make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
    the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
    let the hills sing together for joy
9 at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
    to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
    and the peoples with equity.

This morning I will be sharing with you four stories of people singing new songs.  
The first is about a woman who came to pray with the pastor.  This is not the first time she had come for prayers.  She and the pastor had prayed for her health and for the reduction of pain.   She and the pastor had prayed for her family.  And she and the pastor had prayed for her finances.  As she drove to the church she remembered these prayers.  It was then that she realized that the prayers she had been offering up to God were always about her problems and her concerns.  So she wanted to pray in a different way this time.  She wanted to offer prayers not asking God to do something for her.  Rather she wanted to do something for God.  She wanted to praise God with her whole heart for all blessings she had received.  She wanted to sing a new song.

She arrived at the church and met the pastor for prayers.  The pastor, as usual, was ready with a passage from scripture.   They opened their Bibles to Psalm 98 and they began to read it out loud.

Psalm 98:1-3  O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.  2 The LORD has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.  3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

The pastor had selected, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the perfect word of God for that moment.  Through Psalm 98 the pastor and the woman were able to praise God in highest seeing themselves not as helpless beggars asking for something, but as children of God praising God for his great love and steadfast faithfulness.

The woman left that prayer session singing a new song.  Her own concerns, although still important, seemed so small when compared to the grandeur of our creator God.  And after experiencing God’s abundant love, her heart was filled to overflowing and ready to confront the day with a new song on her lips.

My second story is about a seminary intern who was coming for his weekly supervision with the pastor.  As usual, they prayed for the intern’s ministry and for the church.  Together they offered prayers for individuals in the congregation who were having hard times.  Some in the congregation were looking for work.  Others needed housing or access to health care.  Some were dealing with the effects of old age.  Some were concerned for their families.  Some were fighting addictions.  Everyone in the congregation had some concern to take to God, and it was the pastor’s and the intern’s responsibility to bring these concerns to God.  Over time the pastor and the intern began to think that there were so many concerns that solving them was impossible.  They had focused so much on the problems of the church they had failed to see what God was doing in the church.  They needed to sing a new song.  So they opened a Bible and began to read from Psalm 98.

Psalm 98:4-6  4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.  5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.  6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD.

The pastor and the intern then realized what the problem was.  They had been praying so hard for the concerns of the congregation they had forgotten about God.  Their prayers needed to include praise for God.  So they resolved to sing a new song by including prayers of praise and thanksgiving.  And they realized as they planned the worship service for the following Sunday that everything we do in worship, the sound of the organ and piano, the voices of the choir and soloist, the prayers, and the proclamation of the Word were all acts of praise to the God, revealed to us in Jesus Christ, whom we worship.  The intern left the supervision meeting praising God with a new song running over and over again in his head.

And my third story is about a woman singing a new song after studying scripture.  The pastor stopped in on a weekly Bible study.  A small group was talking about spiritual maturity.  They were wondering how you would know if you have obtained the “full stature of Christ.”  One participant was worried about her own spirituality.  Problems at home often left her depressed.  And when feeling depressed she did not feel connected to God.  At times her problems just seemed to overwhelm her.  Satan seemed to be challenging her every step of the way.  The group gave their ideas about how she could overcome her difficulties and grow in spiritual maturity.  What she really needed was to sing a new song.  When it was the pastor’s turn to speak he offered these words from Psalm 98.

Psalm 98:7-9  7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it.  8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy  9 at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

The pastor reminded this woman how she had kicked a serious drug habit a few years before.   He also reminded her of how hard she had worked trying to bring her children to Christ.  So he suggested to her that a God of righteousness and equity would surely approve of what she had done and that any lingering sin that might still cling to her would surely be washed away by the blood of Christ.

With the realization that God would treat her fairly and with great compassion she was raised from her depression and began to clap her hands and shout praises to this amazing God.  The evil spirits which had tormented her were cast out by the praise and gratitude she offered toward God.  This was the new song she had been waiting for, a song to replace the hurt and sense of failure she had experienced for so long.  As she left the Bible study she smiled broadly because she had a new song to sing, praising God, thanking God for the joy she had experienced in God’s presence in the Word.

The fourth story I would like to tell you is about the Apostle Peter.  He knew his old song very well.   God was the God of the Jews.   Gentiles, non-Jews, were excluded.   Jews were to have nothing to do with Gentiles.  Don’t talk with them.  Don’t go in their homes.   But the Holy Spirit nudged him out of his comfort zone.   He found himself in the home of a Gentile family.   He saw that these Gentiles were God-fearers, they believed in God.  And Peter watched as the Holy Spirit filled these Gentiles.  And with that Peter began to sing a new song.

Acts 10:47-48 “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

Each of us has our own old song we continue to sing.  Each of us has regrets and failures.  Each of us has fears and concerns.  We all experience pain and sorrow and disappointment.  We offer all these up in the old songs we have been singing to God for so long.  But isn’t it time to begin singing new songs of praise to God?  With the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our sins have been forgiven and we are offered eternal life.  So why keep singing the old songs of sin and death.  Let’s sing the new songs of forgiveness and life.  Let’s sing praises to God for all that God has done for us.

Bob leads us in singing every Sunday.  The reason we sing these songs is to learn them so that as we live our lives during the week we can hum familiar tunes and remember familiar lyrics.  If we learn songs here in church then we can continue praising God throughout the week.  So I urge you to sing enthusiastically in church today and carry a new song of praise in your hearts as your leave this place.  Whenever you sing, whenever you pray always remember your new song and praise God for all that he has done for you.  Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, we praise you for what you have done for us in Jesus Christ.  We are overjoyed with the gifts of forgiveness that we have received and the gift of eternal life that we anticipate.  So we offer our praises up to you in gratitude for all of your blessings upon us.  Receive these offerings of prayer and praise in the name of your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.