Mark Knopfler, lead guitarist for the band Dire Straights, was an amazing musician and a great songwriter, and he insightfully speaks of the curious nature of writing a song:

“Each song has its own secret that’s different from another song, and each has its own life. Sometimes it has to be teased out, whereas other times it might come fast.” – Mark Knopfler

“Each song has its own life.” What a fascinating statement. Especially because we understand life as something that emerges from the process of conception, development and birth. This idea gives scope and breadth to a passage in Psalm 144 and it presses the questions: Are we singing new songs? Are we giving birth to fresh spiritual sounds? Or are we satisfied with the melodies of a previous season?

Psalm 144:9
I will sing a new song to you, O God;

If we’ve been in church for very long we’ve probably heard the expression, “sing to the Lord a new song.” This carries the idea that our worship, at least in part, ought to reflect the current things God is doing. It should also be said, the psalmist does not prohibit the singing of old songs. There’s nothing wrong with old songs as long as they continue to testify to the goodness of God and the beauty of His work!

The Hebrew word “new” in this verse means exactly what the translation says: something new. The etymology of the English word “new” seems to date back the late 1300’s and means: “made or established for the first time.” It’s a powerful word in its simplicity. We know what it means, but we don’t think about the meaning very often. To sing a “new song” means the concept and idea for the song has to be something unique to the moment we are in! Or, as Knopfler said earlier: “…each [song] has it’s own life.”

There is a verse in Leviticus that uses this same word for “new” and gives a great perspective on what kind of song a “new song” might be.

Leviticus 26:10
10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.

• It says last year’s harvest isn’t going to run out until the next harvest has been brought in
• But it also says once the new harvest is present it’s time to clean out the old places and make room in the storehouses for what has now been given.

So the word “new” here means “that which is fresh in this season.”

• What then is the “new song?”
• What is God doing right now?
• What’s fresh in this season?

Maybe the psalmist is implying we are tempted to limit our attention to only look at what He has previously done so much that we aren’t diligent to look closer at what He’s doing in this moment! Hindsight does provide clarity, but it is still an act of looking backward so it cannot be our default position.

And the psalmist in chapter 144 goes on to tell us how powerful it is when we sing a “new song.” Here’s what happens when we refuse to focus on the blessings of the previous harvest and pay attention to the present provision:

• Our sons and daughter will grow to be stable and production (Psalm 144:12)
• We will have ALL that we need for the season we are in (Psalm 144:13)
• Our lives will be protected from the enemies that would seek to invade and take us captive (Psalm 144:14)
• We will be blessed (Psalm 144:15)

Singing a new song is not just about keeping up with trends, styles or culture.
Singing new songs is about seeing the work of God in the present instead of only reminiscing about what He’s done in the past!

THERE IS A NEW SONG TODAY!
THERE IS A NEW HARVEST OF GENERATIONS, OF PROVISION, OF PROTECTION AND OF BLESSING RIGHT NOW!

God’s best work was not done yesterday. There is a song to sing of the fresh things He’s doing in this season if we will be diligent to look!