May 21 - Sing a New Song

 Read today’s texts first: 1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 4; Psalms 98; Romans 2

MAXIMize YOUR DAY
The furnishings of the Temple are illustrations of
worshipping God with all five of our senses.

As I’ve been reading through the psalms and many other poetic sections of the Bible, I keep remembering songs I wrote while I was in my teens and young adult years. In the 70s, there was a worship music movement that revived the importance of putting God’s Word to music. Because I loved music and loved to memorize the Bible (I was on several Bible quiz teams in my late teens), I often wrote my own music for certain scripture passages.

The psalm I read today was going to be the opening number for a musical I wrote, featuring various international genres. I had psalms written for Mexican mariachi, Jamaican reggae, Russian dance, French cancan, and Indian Bollywood style (before it became cool). No one heard these songs but me, and God. In all probability, no one else would have liked them, but I enjoyed singing them and I believed that God enjoyed hearing them. The point of the global theme was to celebrate with all the nations God’s gift of salvation.

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 the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. (98:1-3).

This psalm helps us remember the big picture when we read about the intricate details of the temple in the OT and the reasons for the law in the NT. All of these things point to the promise of a coming Messiah, the Lamb of God who would fulfill the law and restore our intimate relationship with the Creator. For example, I like to think of the furnishings of the Temple as illustrations of worshipping God with our five senses: the laver represents touch, the incense smell, the lamp sight, the showbread taste, leading to the Ark of His presence where we get to hear directly from God.

“Lord, thank You for Your Word and the gift of music that helps me express my appreciation for it.” He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of 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 (98:3,4).