Sing a new song - 21 January 2025

I am coming to the point of making only one new year resolution and that is never to make any resolutions at all, as most of them have a very short lifetime. When I read this part from Isaiah, I realised that there is at least one resolution that I would love to make and keep this year: to sing a new song to the Lord.

It is not a new concept. There are numerous other places in the Bible where we hear about a new song to God. We find it in the Psalms, for instance, Psalm 33:3: “Sing a new song to him, play the harp with skill, and shout for joy!” From very early times, people used singing as a way of expressing emotion and particularly that of joy. In Ephesians 5:19, Paul said: “Speak to one another with the words of psalms, hymns and sacred songs; sing hymns and psalms to the Lord with praise in your hearts.”

With all of these beautiful verses available, why did I choose to use the one from Isaiah? You should actually read the whole chapter from Isaiah to understand the full scope of this new song. The book of Isaiah was not written by one person, but was compiled from different prophecies. From chapter 40, we enter a new period, namely, the time of the Babylonian exile, which was not the best time for singing songs, especially not songs of joy. Still, Isaiah saw this very trying time in the life of God’s people as the perfect time for a new song, because of the message of the coming of God’s servant who would free Israel from the bonds of exile.

This servant was Cyrus, the king of Persia, who would in time give the Jews permission to return to their country. Even more important was the fact that he was a pointer to the real servant of God, Jesus Christ, who came to free all people from the exile of sin.

That is why, I, as someone who has been freed from the exile of sin, made the resolution to sing a new song of joy to God this year. Will you be joining me in this song?

Prayer: Please help me to make my prayers a way of singing a new song this year. Amen