Hallelujah! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel celebrate its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and lyre.
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
Let the faithful celebrate in triumphal glory; let them shout for joy on their beds.
Psalm 149:1-5 CSB
Joie de vivre . . . Our Celebration Song?
Surely, one of the cheeriest memories of any child who grew up in the church was every time you gathered together for a sing-along. I don’t even think it was called “worship” when I was little; it was just time to praise the Lord with music. We sang like it was our business to make a joyful noise — loud, proud, and with all the confidence and gusto a tiny, five-year-old body could deliver.
Before there was The Voice, American Idol, or even Star Search, we treated the Sunday School (or VBS or choir or . . .) sing-along like a competition. But staying on pitch wasn’t a concern; vocal talent was irrelevant. Volume was the only thing that mattered.
We’d belt out I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart like our very life depended on it. (I bet you did, too.) By the time we got to And if the devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack (ouch!), our teachers were already reaching for earplugs and Excedrin.
God bless them, everyone.
Childhood is magical for a thousand reasons, but my favorite might be that for a very few years, we worship (and live) uninhibited, blissfully unaware that others might be judging us and our joyful noises.
I find myself wandering through the words of Jesus, in Matthew 18:3 where He says, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Sometimes Jesus speaks in stories and riddles, demanding us to mine deep and sift His words to make sense of them, but sometimes His words are plain. It might serve us well to take them at face value.
Children are naturally curious, busy little creatures with infinite energy. They’re also literal thinkers. Imagine if you asked a child to act out the first five verses of Psalm 149 shared at the top of this page. I’m remembering when my own kids were little and we’d kitchen dance (isn’t that what kitchens are for?). Sometimes it was a beautiful, poignant moment to savor, but most of the time it was wild and free.
Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and lyre.
We might not have had a tambourine or lyre, but twirling in my kitchen with a baby on my hip and the other spinning circles around me, we nailed it thanks to Amy Grant’s Song from the Loft — TWO!THREE!FOUR! screamed at the top of our lungs. Bonus? It was educational. It taught them to count.
Psalm 149 begins as a celebration song, practically a joy-filled primer on how to glorify God —
Sing to the Lord a new song
Celebrate our Maker
Rejoice in our King
Praise his name with dancing
Make music
Shout for joy
If ever excessive exclamation marks were warranted in Scripture, this would be the passage.
In one sense, worship is an invitation to praise and honor God for what He has done for us, for what He is doing for us, and what he will do throughout eternity.
Embedded in this beautiful, celebration song is something incredible: God’s response:
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
God takes pleasure in me. God takes pleasure in you.
Astonishing.
He adorns the humble with salvation.
I don’t know about you, but the second part of God’s response to our praise is a little harder for me to grasp fully. Humility doesn’t come naturally to me, but it has been a true blessing to see how the Lord continues to deal with that area in my life. I see Jesus at work when I change.
One of the greatest evidences of God at work in this world is a changed life.
Or perhaps the first part of verse four leads to the second half; my only response to discovering that God takes pleasure in me is humility.
Doesn’t that make you want to shout Hallelujah?
I love the word “new” in verse 1; what significance do you think it plays?
Why wouldn’t any old song do?
Summer Rae says
Miss Robin,
I think the significance behind the “new” is to remind us to always be genuine. I personally don’t think there is nothing wrong with singing your favorite hymn or song again and again. But, we can easily find ourselves on “autopilot” and forget to really think about what we are saying and why we are saying it… We get so focused on one prayer that the rehearsed words fly out of our mouths before we notice it. We don’t have to hurry, we all have the same 24hr in a day and God is still there for every second of it. So, for me, I think it is good practice to try and make every prayer intentional and make every beginning and ending different. Same with music I don’t want to sing the same song continuously until it no longer holds the same meaning… I want my Lord and Savior to know that I mean what I say. Thank you for your encouragment today and the thought provoking question; it is always nice to be challenged for God’s glory! I pray you and your family, and all of the women of (in)courage have a blessed day.
This side of Heaven,
Summer Rae
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Robin,
When I read your post, I thought, Greater Humility = Greater Hallelujah. When I really stop to take in what God has done for me and humble myself before Him, the greater my Hallelujah praise is for Him. The more He smooths off my rough edges, the greater my Hallelujah song rises to Him. Our family loves kitchen singing and dancing too. Now that my children are grown it’s me and the dog lol. I think the “new” song is one that comes from knowing our salvation is secure. Beforehand, our song would be a lament in our sins, but salvation gives us a whole new reason for singing. I also take that to mean a “new” song each and every day. As He greats us with new mercies every morning, so should our “new” song rise up to Him. Loved this….makes me want to crank up the tunes, sing, and praise Him 🙂
Blessings,
Bev xx
Beth Williams says
Robin,
We should sing and dance new songs every day. Doing the same thing over and over can become rote & not praise worthy. You don’t think about what you are singing or saying. People should stop & listen to the words of the songs they are singing. Soak them up. Earlier this year my dad had dementia relapse. My first thought was great here I go again. To get me through those tough days I would play Stephen C. Chapman music & dance in my kitchen. Songs like: “Dive”, “Let Us Pray”, “Do Everything” “Love Take Me Over” & “Speechless” to name a few. It seemed to quiet myself & help me to praise God through this storm.
Blessings 🙂