Articles
“A New Song”
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:1-3
Where do we turn when we’re down? To all who sense their deep need for help, Psalm 40 speaks volumes of relief. In this Psalm, David expresses his gratitude for God’s rescue; he had waited on the Lord (1) and had been helped by him. He describes his desperate situation as being in a “miry bog” (2a), an image sufficiently vague enough to have a wide application. The metaphor of being stuck in a slimy swamp suggests disgust and helplessness. Whatever his actual situation was, David had not just escaped the miry bog, but found himself on solid ground (2b).
Secure once again, David immediately finds occasion to praise God (3a) which flows outward from him to others (3b). What is this “new song” of “praise” which God had given him?
“New song” language is especially common in the Psalms (see Psa. 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1). When David says, “He put a new song in my mouth,” it is as if he is saying, “God, you have done something so wonderful for me that none of the songs I know can adequately express this new blessing!” When Scripture speaks of a “new song,” it marks the beginning of some fresh blessing. God has done something new and unexpected, something that breaks our notions of what we thought was possible. With the new blessing, comes a new song expressing our wonder and praise.
There is a “new song” which stands above the rest. In Revelation 4-5, God is depicted in colorful metaphor as the sovereign Creator. All the spiritual beings bow in his presence and cast their crowns before him acknowledging their utter dependence on him. They come together and sing that God is worthy of all glory because he created all things and by his will all things exist (Rev. 4:11).
Once the stage has been set with God’s glory at the center, the drama unfolds in chapter 5. In God’s right hand is a scroll sealed with seven seals which contain all of his plans for redemption and judgment. But his plans can’t be enacted until the seals are broken (Rev. 5:1). For example, the last will and testament of Emperor Vespasian was sealed with seven seals as well. And because no one had the authority to open them, his will had to go into probate court so the seals could be broken and his will put into effect.
In Revelation, a mighty angel challenges the entire universe, asking who is worthy to approach God to take the scroll and break the seals so that his will can be done (Rev. 5:2). But no one is found who is worthy. And John weeps because God’s justice and blessing can’t go forth (Rev. 5:3-4). But then one of the elders tells John to stop crying. “Look, the Lion of tribe of Judah has prevailed!” (Rev. 5:5)
John looked and saw a Lamb (apocalyptic literature loves to mix its metaphors; the Lion is the Lamb — Lion: majestic/royal/powerful; Lamb: sacrificial/innocent, yet having seven horns, embodying complete kingly power). Because the Lamb-Lion takes the scroll, he prevails to bring about all of God’s purposes for judgment and blessing. Therefore, everyone present sings a “new song.” But it is no longer the song from chapter 4, praising God for creation. Instead, it is a song addressed to Christ (see Rev. 5:9-14).
We have all tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Psa. 34). And we have songs to express our praise. But when we go through some new agonizing situation and God pours out his grace in a fresh, unexpected way, he gives us a “new song” to sing. But all our new songs will have the same focus: Jesus, the Lamb who was slain to ransom us and make us a kingdom of priests to reign with him forever!
