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They sang a
new song, saying, "You
are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals: for
you were killed, and bought us for God with your
blood, out of every tribe, language, people, and nation, and made
us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign on
earth." (Revelation 5:9-10)
What is new about this song? Let's
examine closely the clues found in the references to this song and
why it is different from how we thought about God before this radical
new perspective.
The Lamb is the central focus of
this new song. Trustworthiness is the key theme of this new
song, implying there has been a serious breach of trust that has
affected us all deeply from the past. The reason the scroll is sealed
tight by a perfect system of lies was because it is lies have kept us
from being able to see the real truth about God that can set us free
from fear and bring us back to trusting Him.
The reason the Lamb is trustworthy has
something to do with being killed.
Additionally, this killing involves something about
redeeming/purchasing us for God. The blood of the Lamb somehow is
supposed to restore trust in God
because of the death of His Son. Yet this has long been obscured
under a mountain of fresh lies since the cross, so we must reexamine
the truth about it more closely in order to rediscover
its power ourselves in order for saving trust to be awakened
in our own heart.
How
can we trust a God who too often seems
far distant from us and apparently unconcerned about our
dilemma, or worse yet always looking for excuses to punish us? Trust
is something that must happen spontaneously, for trust must be
earned. We cannot generate
trust on demand, for that defies the very nature of trust
itself. The truth about the testimony of Jesus and/or the faith of
Jesus throughout Scripture leads to the discovery that it
is His faith
that inspires us with hope and salvation, not faith we work up
ourselves. As we fixate on the faith demonstrated by Jesus in His
Father's constant love for Him and their intimate relationship with
each other, along with His faith in us, faith and trust are awakened
in our own heart to believe that God can be trusted far more than we
imagined previously.
Yet how does the death
of Jesus and His blood
produce trust in God? And what is the real meaning of the idea of
redeem, purchase or ransom
in this verse?
Actually this may be another case of
poor translation missing key elements originally designed to awaken
trust for God. The word translated purchased or redeemed
here actually means to go to the town square where everyone
else is gathered at market. The notion of purchase or even redeeming
is by implication, it is not the primary definition of this word.
Thus what may be missing in the way scholars have presumed to
translate this word is the fact that the perceived far distant God
sent His Son (literally part of the godhead) to become a human being
to join us where we live and interact with each other. By coming as a
human, God made Himself vulnerable in flesh and blood so that we
could hurt Him or even kill Him if we so chose to see how He might
react – which is just what happened. Yet the main point is that God
did not stay at a safe distance from us or our mess. Rather He chose
to come and identify with us as a full-fledged human so we could see
that God was willing to become exposed to everything we have to deal
with on this planet.
This emphasis is entirely missed when
the word shifts our focus to something commercial rather than
relational. God did not send His Son into the world to engage
in some financial bargain on
our behalf as religion leads us to imagine. No, He sent
His Son into the most dangerous part of our town to meet us
where we are and reveal to us the truth about how God feels about us
in order to win our trust.
How does the blood of Jesus figure into
all this? There are only two mentions in Scripture of the literal
blood of Jesus, and both of them point clearly to the reality that
what killed Him was not the
crucifixion inflicted on Him by Roman soldiers but rather the
internal emotional stress from experiencing the effects of all
the sins of the entire
human race in His psyche. The blood of Jesus had nothing to do
with paying off some power-hungry deity bent on revenge over offenses
committed against him. Rather it is compelling evidence designed to
win the trust and affections of all who come to see the truth that
God is willing to make Himself vulnerable and let us hurt Him
without reacting in self-defense or harboring resentment towards us.
We must come to see the real truth about the blood before we can be
drawn into the intimacy God longs for us to enjoy with Him in His
family. This is the only way we are brought into harmony with the
disposition of the Lamb and reign with Him as kings and priests.
Made us kings and priests...
What do kings and priests have to do
with this? In heaven's structure kings are not viewed as those who
lord it over others or live in opulent luxury at other's expense.
When everyone is a king, there is no room for anyone to be less,
except for dominion over the creation that was part of God's design.
God said, "Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky,
and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Genesis 1:26)
Likewise priests to God is not about
focusing on sin or placating an offended deity in heaven as we too
long have imagined. Priests are those who minister to God by
channeling the affections of
all creation back to Him to delight
His heart. Priests work to coordinate
the praise of created beings by synchronizing their music to
honor and amplify God's glory. Priests also help convey
to others the deep things of God, to make His mysteries more
appreciable by all who want to understand better His goodness and His
thoughts. Priests are those who are
mature and able to interact on God's behalf and who help
reveal Him to others more
effectively. Priests are those who delight
to do God's will and want to assist
Him in helping others know Him more intimately for themselves.
Many, Yahweh, my God, are the
wonderful works which you have done, and your
thoughts which are toward us. They can't be declared back
to you. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can
be numbered. Sacrifice and offering you didn't desire.
You have opened my ears. You have not required burnt offering and sin
offering.
Then I said, "Behold, I have
come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll. I
delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within
my heart." I have proclaimed glad news of
righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not
seal my lips, Yahweh, you know. I have not hidden your
righteousness within my heart. I have declared your
faithfulness and your salvation. I
have not concealed your loving kindness and your
truth from the great assembly. (Psalms 40:5-10)
What does this have to do with being a
priest? We usually associate a
priest with sacrifices and offerings to God. But David here
clearly says God doesn't desire those things. If this is true,
most of what we imagine a priest as doing is suddenly eliminated. So
what is a true priest who serves God to do? How can we learn what
this new kind of priest does in connection with God?
Our
high priest Jesus is directly linked with this passage in the
book of Hebrews. As our high priest He models
for us what it looks like to be a priest for all who are being
made kings and priests. Jesus did not come to be a king over us or
the ultimate child sacrifice to out-perform all other sacrifices to
satisfy an overwhelming demand for payment to cover for our sins. No,
Jesus came to do away with
the entire notion of sacrifice
that has prevented us from
being able to trust God's
heart. He came to show the universe that God
is trustworthy and that anything undermining this is false and
we should reject it.
Therefore when he comes into the
world, he says, "Sacrifice and offering you didn't
desire, but you prepared a body for me; You had no
pleasure in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. Then I
said, 'Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the
book it is written of me) to do your will, O
God.'" Previously saying, "Sacrifices and offerings and
whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you didn't
desire, neither had pleasure in them" (those which
are offered according to the law), then he has said, "Behold, I
have come to do your will." He takes away
the first, that he may establish the second,
by which will we have been sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:5-10)
Here are more clues of what
makes this new song different. This is an entirely
new paradigm of how we perceive
God's disposition towards us. Previously, under a law
perspective, we saw God as demanding sacrifices of appeasement. But
when Jesus comes He turns all that on its head to reveal the truth
that God never had any desire of sacrifices for sin but
rather wants His children to
delight and synchronize with Him. Here we discover that
sanctification means being brought
into harmony with the way God thinks and acts and operates –
His will. This only happens as a result of seeing the truth about God
through how He reacted in Christ when we abused, mistreated and
killed Him on the cross.
For by one offering he has
perfected forever those who are being
sanctified. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for
after saying, "This is the covenant that I will make with them:
'After those days,' says the Lord, 'I will put my laws on
their heart, I will also write them on their
mind;'" then he says, "I will remember their
sins and their iniquities no more."
Now where remission of these is,
there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brothers,
boldness to enter into the holy place by the
blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new
and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his
flesh; and having a great priest over the house
of God, let's draw near with a true heart in
fullness of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body
washed with pure water, let us hold fast the
confession of our hope without wavering; for he
who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:14-23)
Notice the exciting
sense of this new song. It is not new in that it has never
been heard before, but new because for so long the old way of living
in fear and misapprehension about God has kept us confused, afraid
and distrustful of Him. This is why the Lamb of God came to us, to
reveal the clear and express truth that God
is love, and the light of that truth has no
darkness mingled into it at all.
One more thing. This reality that we
have been made kings and priests is not some future actualization but
is true now for anyone who allows the Spirit of God to sanctify their
thinking and draw them into intimacy
with God's heart of love. This is our true identity now,
not in some far off distant future. We can learn from Jesus now how
to live as kings and priests by light of the glory of our mentor, the
ultimate King and High Priest who reveals to us what it looks like to
serve God from the heart.
I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing
on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four
thousand, having his name, and the name
of his Father, written on their foreheads. I heard a
sound from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like
the sound of a great thunder. The sound which I heard was like
that of harpists playing on their harps. They sing
a new song before the throne, and
before the four living creatures and the elders. No one
could learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand,
those who had been redeemed out of the earth. These are those who
were not defiled with women, for they are
virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb
wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus
from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. In their
mouth was found no lie, for they are blameless.
(Revelation 14:1-5)
At this point the
new song begins to be closely identified
with a group of people labeled in Revelation as the 144,000.
Using this paradigm we can trace this group throughout the book by
these identifying characteristics even when not specifically
mentioned as the 144,000. In this passage a number of key
identifying markers are listed about those who intimately and
tenaciously follow the Lamb.
It is like we are bound to find them nearby wherever we see the Lamb.
These people have
His name and the name of His Father. This is all about
identity, character,
reflection and family likeness.
This identity or family likeness is on their foreheads, meaning it is
inescapably obvious to notice if you see one of them that they hang
around Jesus all the time. This family likeness is what marks all
who identify with Jesus, because they reflect the same
reflection Jesus reflects.
Now when they saw the
boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they
were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized
that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)
These people with their new song are
said to follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They are also redeemed from
among men, something we unpacked above with its implications of God
coming to be where we live. This provides even stronger evidence of
the true meaning of the word translated redeemed or purchased. Jesus
did not purchase or pay for His disciples when He called them
to follow Him; He simply showed up
where they worked and offered them an invitation
to follow Him if they chose to accept. Those who accepted His
invitation were launched into an adventure
that transformed them forever.
Another key feature of this new song is
that it is best accompanied with music
played on the harps of God. This shows up elsewhere in
Revelation along with other places throughout Scripture which is
important to understand. The mention of these harps is to alert us to
the likelihood that those playing them may well be a part of the
144,000. Harps also tell us that these people
include praise and gratitude to God with their petitions and
prayers. Thus their prayers take on power
to alter realities on earth because they are effective like
two wings of an eagle providing lift that can mount us up to
the heavens to soar above everything.
Effective prayer can only have power
when petitions are combined with
praise. Praise is inevitable in the communications of those
who know the Lamb intimately.
This is what we discover when we come to the next and possibly most
spectacular event described in Revelation where we discover this same
group of people implementing what they have learned about powerful
praying and praising that literally topples the great evil empire
that has caused so much damage to God's universe.
I saw another great and
marvelous sign in the sky: seven angels having the seven
last plagues, for in them God's wrath is finished. I saw something
like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who overcame
the beast, his image, and the number of his name, standing on the sea
of glass, having harps of God.
They sang the song of Moses, the servant
of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great
and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty!
Righteous and true are your ways, you King of
the nations. Who wouldn't fear you, Lord, and
glorify your name? For you only are
holy. For all the nations will come and worship before
you. For your righteous acts have been
revealed." (Revelation 15:1-4)
Who are these seven angels that
constitute a great and marvelous sign? The indication is that they
represent the same group of 144,000 on earth previously mentioned as
standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion. They were first introduced as
being sealed in their foreheads with the seal
of the living God in chapter seven. In chapter 14 they are
seen with the name of God in
their forehead and standing
with the Lamb singing a new song
and playing harps of God.
Now we find strikingly similar descriptions of beings singing a
two-part song of Moses and the Lamb, standing
on the sea of glass that previously was identified as before
the throne of God. This compelling evidence implies that these are no
less than the 144,000 represented by seven angels prepared to carry
out the will of God on earth by reflecting
the disposition and actions of the Lamb just as He did while
on earth Himself.
After this, I saw four angels
standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of
the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or
on any tree. I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise, having the
seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels
to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Don't
harm the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed
the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!" I heard the
number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four
thousand, sealed out of every tribe
of the children of Israel....
After these things I looked, and
behold, a great multitude, which no man could
number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and
languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in
white robes, with palm branches in their hands. They cried with a
loud voice, saying, "Salvation be
to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
All the angels were standing around
the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell
on their faces before his throne, and worshiped God, saying, "Amen!
Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to
our God forever and ever! Amen."
One of the elders answered, saying
to me, "These who are arrayed in white robes, who are they, and
from where did they come?" I told him, "My lord, you know."
He said to me, "These are those
who came out of the great tribulation. They
washed their robes, and made them
white in the Lamb's blood. Therefore they are before the
throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who
sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will never be
hungry, neither thirsty any more; neither will the sun beat on them,
nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst
of the throne shepherds them, and leads them to
springs of waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from
their eyes." (Revelation 7:1-4, 9-17)
Notice the striking
parallel between these passages. The focus of both of them is
on vindicating God's reputation – salvation
be to our God. There are no contenders allowed to take their
attention away from glorifying God
and the Lamb. They have learned the lesson of total
focus on God that some are still learning in chapter 19 when
they have to be corrected by a voice out of the throne.
In chapter 19 we find praise
for God straying off into gloating over the demise of the
great harlot. It seems that all the representatives of humanity get
caught up in this gossip music until a voice from the throne reminds
them that praise needs to focus on
God alone, not on the darkness that light overcomes.
A voice came forth from the throne,
saying, "Give praise to our God, all you
his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great!"
(Revelation 19:5)
Really now, isn't it highly
inappropriate and even rude for someone to sing about the fall of the
great prostitute who was the bride's worst enemy and counterfeit?
What we are witnessing here is a time for bridal
processional music as the Bridegroom awaits with great
anticipation to receive the
beautiful bride He has been working so long to prepare for this
glorious day of intimate
unification. To have the guests suddenly singing
about the prostitute instead of giving full attention to the
wedding of the Bridegroom is entirely out
of place and rude at best. No wonder it elicits a reprimand.
Yet this is actually a key
element of the new song to be learned by all who choose to
side with the Lamb. When Jesus lived among us here on earth His
entire focus was on bringing honor
and glory to His Father's reputation and nothing else. He had
infinite resources and knowledge at His disposal that He could have
shared that would have amazed and engaged human minds for centuries.
Yet Jesus kept a laser focus on one thing alone, that was to restore
His Father's good reputation and nothing else. Only after that
is accomplished will it be safe to look deeper into other issues of
interest.
Jesus therefore answered them, "Most
certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself,
but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he
does, these the Son also does likewise.
(John 5:19)
I can of myself do nothing. As
I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous; because I
don't seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent
me. (John 5:30)
For I have come down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of him who
sent me.
(John 6:38)
Jesus therefore said to them, "When
you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM he,
and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father
taught me, I say these things. He who sent me is with me. The Father
hasn't left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to
him." (John 8:28-29)
For I spoke not from
myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me
a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. (John
12:49)
After the correction given in chapter
19, we see the praise music
restarted all over again. This time the focus of the lyrics
are entirely about the goodness of God and exciting things
about the bride. No longer
is any mention made about the enemies or the their activities. This
is important for us to learn in order to learn the new song of the
Lamb, for the Lamb never dwelt on the power of darkness but only
focused on light, truth and the love of the Father. This is
the true secret of power,
for giving attention to darkness only gives it more fuel which is
what needs to be withdrawn so it can wither away and be consumed by
itself.
Later in chapter 15 these 7 angel
representatives are seen as being dressed
exactly like Jesus. This is further compelling evidence that
whoever they represent are beings
who reflect God just the same as Jesus reflected Him. The
144,000 live with God's character/name embedded indelibly in their
minds and they live solely to
glorify God just as Jesus did while living on this earth.
These are no less than the Lamb's
accomplices, finally matured, sealed and able to convey such
potent revelations of God's glory in their prayers and praises that
the empire of the enemy's defense structures will forever
be defeated in this last round of assault on darkness by the
light of truth.
How do the two
songs mentioned in chapter 15 relate to the
new song? We find here that the old familiar song of Moses as
a servant was not enough.
The new song brought to light is a new
perspective of reality rooted in the real truth
about God as exposed by the Lamb who is their most intimate
friend. They no longer relate to Jesus as merely servants but now as
close friends and comrades who know
intimately how He thinks, feels and acts because they know
Him so personally.
No longer do I call you servants,
for the servant doesn't know what his lord does.
But I have called you friends, for everything
that I heard from my Father, I have made known
to you. (John 15:15)
The revelation of God through Moses was
far too inferior to bring humanity out of the darkness of fear and
misapprehension about God resulting from sin. Moses related to God as
a servant, even while God called him a good friend. This is why it
was vitally necessary for Jesus to come to this earth, so we could
see the explicit truth about God's heart and see love in action in
our own messy environment.
There are more references to this new
song in the Old Testament, and all but one are found in the Psalms.
There we find more clues as to the nature of this new song, though
they correspond to what we have already found in Revelation.
Rejoice in Yahweh, you righteous!
Praise is fitting for the upright. Give thanks to Yahweh with the
lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings. Sing
to him a new song. Play skillfully
with a shout of joy! For the word of Yahweh is right.
All his work is done in faithfulness. He loves
righteousness and justice. The earth
is full of the loving kindness
of Yahweh. (Psalms 33:1-5)
I waited patiently for Yahweh. He
turned to me, and heard my cry. He brought me up
also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a
rock, and gave me a firm place to stand. He has
put a new song in my
mouth, even praise to our God.
Many shall see it, and fear, and
shall trust in Yahweh. Blessed is the man who makes Yahweh his trust,
and doesn't respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many,
Yahweh, my God, are the wonderful works which
you have done, and your thoughts which are
toward us. They can't be declared back to you. If I would declare and
speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
Sacrifice and offering you didn't
desire. You have opened my ears. You have not required
burnt offering and sin offering. Then I said, "Behold, I have
come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll. I
delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within
my heart."
I have proclaimed glad
news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I
will not seal my lips, Yahweh, you know. I have not hidden
your righteousness within my heart. I have declared your
faithfulness and your salvation.
I have not concealed your loving kindness and
your truth from the great assembly. (Psalms
40:1-10)
Sacrifice and offering you didn't
desire. That is a key
element of this new song that has for too long gone unsung and little
noticed. Remember what we found at the beginning, where the Lamb, the
hero of Revelation is the focus of this new song? Many assume that
reference to the blood of the Lamb means that God demanded sacrifice
and offerings of blood to satisfy His demands for punishment. Yet the
reality is that God has never desired sacrifice, either before Jesus
came to this earth or afterwards. The whole notion that God demands
that someone be punished or forgiveness is withheld is one of the
lies the enemy uses to keep people afraid of God, imagining God to be
little more than a pagan deity who can be manipulated by costly or
even human sacrifices.
The mentality of
sins requiring punishment was so embedded in the law mentality of the
Old Testament that the world was brought to the brink of extinction
before Jesus arrived to reverse the curse.
For the law was given through Moses.
Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(John 1:17)
Remember how there
were two songs mentioned in the last reference from Revelation? The
old song sung for many centuries was to the tune of how to pay the
piper so to speak. It fostered the idea that God operates along the
lines of commerce like we do, so He had to be paid sufficiently to
assuage His anger to restore His favor. But this is the matrix of
lies that Jesus came to unmask and refute. Grace and the real truth
was revealed in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, the true Lamb
of God who came to take away the sins of the world, the very distrust
that keeps us in fear and away from His heart of love.
The next day, he [John
the Baptist] saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold,
the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
(John 1:29)
The Lamb is the
real hero of this new song. That must never be overlooked!
Sing to Yahweh a new
song! Sing to Yahweh, all the earth. Sing to Yahweh!
Bless his name! Proclaim his salvation from day
to day! Declare his glory
among the nations, his marvelous works among all
the peoples. For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised! He is to
be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but Yahweh made the heavens. Honor and
majesty are before him. Strength and
beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to Yahweh, you
families of nations, ascribe to Yahweh glory
and strength. Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to
his name. Bring an offering, and come into his courts.
(Psalms 96:1-8)
Sing to Yahweh a new
song, for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand, and his holy arm, have worked salvation for
him. Yahweh has made known his salvation.
He has openly shown his righteousness in the
sight of the nations. He has remembered his loving kindness
and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our
God.
Make a joyful noise to Yahweh, all
the earth! Burst out and sing for joy, yes, sing praises! Sing
praises to Yahweh with the harp, with the harp
and the voice of melody. With trumpets and sound of the ram's horn,
make a joyful noise before the King, Yahweh. Let the sea roar with
its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein. Let the rivers
clap their hands. Let the mountains sing for joy together. Let them
sing before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge
the world with righteousness, and the peoples
with equity. (Psalms 98:1-9)
Stretch out your hand from above,
rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters, out of the hands of
foreigners; whose mouths speak deceit, Whose
right hand is a right hand of falsehood. I will
sing a new song to you, God. On a
ten-stringed lyre, I will sing praises to you. You are he who gives
salvation to kings, who rescues David, his servant, from the deadly
sword. Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hands of foreigners,
whose mouths speak deceit, whose right hand is a
right hand of falsehood. (Psalms 144:7-11)
Notice the similarities here to the
description of the 144,000 in Revelation 14 who have no deceit in
their mouth and who have learned to sing the new song.
Praise Yahweh! Sing to Yahweh a
new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in him who made them. Let the
children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let
them praise his name in the dance! Let them sing
praises to him with tambourine and harp! For Yahweh takes
pleasure in his people. He crowns the humble with
salvation. Let the saints rejoice in honor. Let
them sing for joy on their beds. May the high
praises of God be in their mouths, and a two-edged sword
in their hand; To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments
on the peoples; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles
with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment. All
his saints have this honor. Praise Yah! (Psalms 149:1-9)
It is becoming clear that certain key
words and phrases are closely connected to this new song.
Marvelous
works and things. This is in contrast to the whole world marveling
after the beast.
Harps of
God accompany this new song, giving it the distinct resonance of
praise and positive nature in worship. This is all because the focus
is tuned to the goodness of God.
Salvation of
God. This is central to understanding the core problem that is
being addressed by this song.
Glory to God
alone is the emphasis of this new song.
"Behold,
my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul
delights-- I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring
justice to the nations. He will not shout, nor
raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.
He won't break a bruised reed. He won't
quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully
bring justice. He will not fail nor be
discouraged, until he has set justice in the
earth, and the islands will wait for his law."
Thus says God Yahweh, he who created
the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and
that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and
spirit to those who walk in it. "I, Yahweh, have called
you in righteousness, and will hold your hand,
and will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light
for the nations; to open the blind eyes, to
bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and
those who sit in darkness out of the prison. I
am Yahweh. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor
my praise to engraved images.
"Behold, the former things have
happened, and I declare new things.
I tell you about them before they come up."
Sing to Yahweh a new
song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you
who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and
their inhabitants. Let the wilderness and its cities raise their
voices, with the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of
Sela sing. Let them shout from the top of the mountains! Let them
give glory to Yahweh, and declare his
praise in the islands.
Yahweh will go out like a mighty
man. He will stir up zeal like a man of war. He
will raise a war cry. Yes, he will shout
aloud. He will triumph over his enemies.
"I have been silent a
long time. I have been quiet and restrained
myself. Now I will cry out like a travailing
woman. I will both gasp and pant. I will destroy mountains
and hills, and dry up all their herbs. I will make the rivers
islands, and will dry up the pools. I will bring the blind by a way
that they don't know. I will lead them in paths that they don't know.
I will make darkness light before them, and
crooked places straight. I will do these things,
and I will not forsake them. (Isaiah
42:1-16)
Notice something interesting in this
chapter. At the beginning it stresses that God's representative will
not shout or raise his voice. Yet when you near the end it becomes
plain that Yahweh will shout aloud in triumph over his enemies. But
this triumph must be viewed in the context of the song of the Lamb,
how what was referred to at the beginning is relied on for winning
over enemies. This shout of triumph is a celebration of
reconciliation with those who previously fought against the love
revealed by the Lamb. When enemies are won over by relentless love,
the shouts of joy and triumph over the real enemy which is sin,
deceit and fear are loud and intense.
I am reminded of a vivid example of the
power of praising God with a new song of praise focused on God's
goodness and how incredibly effective it is to defeat the raw power
of fear and force used by enemies of God's people. It is one of my
favorite Bible stories that has encouraged me for many years,
especially when things appear hopeless. It is the story of the
dilemma Jehoshaphat found himself in when an overwhelming coalition
of forces arrayed themselves against Judah with intent to crush them.
After gathering all the people
together, and with everyone united in humbling themselves in prayer
and petition to God, they chose to trust in God's goodness and
kindness alone instead of attempting to figure out a solution for
themselves. It was then that an answer from God came through an
obscure musician in the middle of the crowd, promising to deliver
them. Here is the account of this most inspiring story of how music
and praise provided a brand new perspective that has too often been
ignored throughout history. This is a vivid example of the power of
the new song that we need to learn because it is effective against
all powers of darkness, fear and even death itself.
Jehoshaphat feared, and set
himself to seek to Yahweh; and he proclaimed a fast
throughout all Judah. Judah gathered themselves together,
to seek help of Yahweh: even out of all the cities of Judah they came
to seek Yahweh.
[Note the nature of
this prayer offered up and how it parallels similar prayers with
dramatic answers throughout Scripture. The focus at the beginning is
always on God, His goodness and how He has revealed His power in the
past, not a rehearsal of the current dilemma.]
Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of
Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of Yahweh, before the new court;
and he said, Yahweh, the God of our fathers, aren't you God
in heaven? and aren't you ruler over all
the kingdoms of the nations? and in your hand is power and
might, so that none is able to withstand you.
Did not you, our God, drive out the
inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it to
the seed of Abraham your friend forever? They lived therein, and have
built you a sanctuary therein for your name, saying, If evil come on
us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand
before this house, and before you, (for your name is in this house),
and cry to you in our affliction, and you will hear and
save.
Now, behold, the children of Ammon
and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade, when
they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them,
and didn't destroy them; behold, how they reward us, to come to cast
us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. Our
God, will you not judge them? for we
have no might against this great company that comes
against us; neither know we what to do: but our
eyes are on you. All Judah stood before Yahweh,
with their little ones, their wives,
and their children. [No
hierarchy but all as one.]
Then on Jahaziel the son of
Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of
Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit
of Yahweh in the midst of the assembly; and he said,
Listen you, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you king
Jehoshaphat: Thus says Yahweh to you, Don't be afraid you,
neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the
battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go you down
against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and you
shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of
Jeruel. You shall not need to fight in this
battle: set yourselves, stand you still, and see
the salvation of Yahweh with you, O Judah and Jerusalem;
don't be afraid, nor be dismayed: tomorrow go
out against them: for Yahweh is with you.
Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his
face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
fell down before Yahweh, worshipping Yahweh. The
Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the
Korahites, stood up to praise Yahweh, the God of
Israel, with an exceeding loud voice.
They rose early in the morning, and
went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth,
Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, Judah, and you inhabitants of
Jerusalem: believe in Yahweh your God, so shall
you be established; believe his prophets, so
shall you prosper. When he had taken counsel with the
people, he appointed those who should sing to
Yahweh, and give praise in holy array,
as they went out before the army, and say, Give
thanks to Yahweh; for his loving kindness endures forever.
When they began to sing and to
praise, Yahweh set ambushers against the children of
Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they
were struck. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the
inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to kill and destroy them: and when
they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, everyone
helped to destroy another. (2 Chronicles 20:3-23)
A voice came forth from the throne,
saying, "Give praise to our God, all you
his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great!"
(Revelation 19:5)
Let's determine to do whatever it takes
to learn to sing and live in the experience of this new song
consistently and insistently.
