A New Song

When you woke up this morning, what was the song playing in your head?  Often we have music moving around in our brain even if we do not have the radio or ipod going yet.   So what was it?  Was it a sad song?  Was it an angry song?  Was it a song about love, or love lost?  What song did you wake up hearing in your head?  Believe it or not, the songs we think of affect the way we interact with the world around us.  Music is a powerful medium that bypasses a lot of natural psychological defenses and gets right to one's soul.  The kind of music you hear in your head is often the kind of music that comes out of your mouth, either in tune, or at least in philosophy.

With that in mind, let us consider our text verse for our blog today.  David, in Psalm 40, is telling us about his conversion experience.  He is telling us how God miraculously changed him from the inside out once he called upon the Lord through saving faith.  One of the areas of change that the King encountered was the song that came out of his mouth.

Psalm 40:3 (AV)

³ And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Once again, now that it is clear that this blog is about music, my brethren on both sides of the CCM issue will jerk their knees in one direction or another, pontificating their beliefs without even considering the scriptures that are in this blog.  This is not a discussion of cultural preferences or musical tastes.  Notice that the song that changes is what comes out of David's MOUTH.  The discussion here in this passage is about lyrics, not culture.  This is a very convicting verse if we get past the culture wars and personal preferences of music style and realize that when God saves us, the subject matter of the songs in our head as well as the songs that come from our lips should change.  Let us consider a few important scriptural truths about the New Song God gives us upon salvation.

Anything that comes out of our mouths reveals what is lurking inside our hearts.  If you are one of those that sing in the shower, or belt it out with the radio loud in your car when no one is around, what songs really get you to passionately sing?  You may defensively say that there is nothing wrong with your song choices because they do not contain explicit lyrics.  Or you may say that the lyrics do not affect you, you just like the tune.  Look at what the Bible says about what comes out of your mouth:

Matthew 12:34 (AV)

    ...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Now our passage this morning tells us that once David came to God in faith he was given a new song.  His song was changed because his heart was changed.  Notice the subject change that took place in the music that came from David's lips.  Though David had an immense capacity to feel sorry for himself, no longer was he singing the blues, he was singing praise!  This change flies in the face or normal singing today.  Often the world sings songs of lamentation, not victory.  His lyrics changed enough so that when people heard him sing no longer responded in mirth or celebration, but in fear or a holy respect toward God.  You see, David's lyrics changed so radically as to change the response of the hearers.  One other thing that the change from the blues, love, lust or mirth to praise and adoration did was to cause people to rethink their own standing with God.  The change in David's LYRICS was so strong that when people would hear him sing, they would trust in the Lord.  David's new lyrics were so strongly contrasted to the old ones that people would respond in saving faith just by listening to his songs.

So my Christian friend, what kind of lyrics come out of your mouth?  Perhaps you may say that they are not harmful.  Good, that is a start.  Are your lyrics so radically different that unbelievers who hear you will be convicted of their sin, convinced of their need for a Savior, and Converted by saving faith?  Friend, let us get Bible centered when it comes to music.  We must use music to point people to Jesus with a clear message.  Not all music that claims to be Christian would be strong enough to cause people to fear and to trust in the Lord.  With God's help, let us evaluate what is in our heart that happens to leak out of our mouth.  Let us make sure that the lost world around us will hear what God has placed in our heart.  Let the whole world hear our New Song.