“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

As I am honestly complaining to God this morning of problems and situations beyond my control; these words from God, written down by His prophet Isaiah, come to mind.  His Word convicts me while His Holy Spirit corrects and reminds me of this waste use of brain power and energy.  I have become childish in my ways, like a child running to his/her parent after daycare to declare all the things that went wrong and to talk about all who were unfair and mean to him/her.  ALL these words of hurt spewed before the embrace of love between parent and child. 

I need a new song to sing before my Lord God—the One and Only who created all, is in all and knows all before we know it! Yes, my new song must first declare His glory with thanksgiving for all He has done, is doing, and will do. Great is our God will be my first thought with trust and faith rising, driven by my love for Him who loved me first, died to save me, then gave me eternal life and calls me HIS CHILD!  Yes, this is the new song I will sing before coming to Him, asking for his wisdom with a sincere heart, ready to listen.

This morning, the Psalmist gives us all the lyrics to the formation of our new song to sing with actions to take; Sing to the Lord, ProclaimHis Salvation, Declare His glory! 

God is great and is most worthy of praise!  

We discover an attitude shift immediately occurs when we sing, proclaim, and declare!  Our problems fade into the background as the greatness of God takes first place in our thoughts and is sung from a heart of thanksgiving. 

“How great is our God—sing with me—how great is our God!”

Psalm 96, NIV

¹ Sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
² Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
³ Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

⁴ For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
⁵ For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
⁶ Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

⁷ Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
⁸ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering and come into his courts.
⁹ Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;
    tremble before him, all the earth.
¹⁰ Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
    The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
    he will judge the peoples with equity.

¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
¹² Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
    let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
¹³ Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
    he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We learn to sing new songs of praise and respond to God in worship with gladness.  We rise up from brokenness and complaining to embrace our Almighty God bends down to listen with compassion for He cares and is always at work on our behalf to transform us into all He created us to be!  It is God who give us the new song to sing!  God is the Song and we are His Singers.

Let ev’rything that, ev’rything that Ev’rything that has breath praise the Lord

Let ev’rything that, ev’rything that Ev’rything that has breath praise the Lord

Praise You in the morning, praise You in the evening

Praise You when I’m young and when I’m old

Praise You when I’m laughing, praise You with I’m grieving Praise You ev’ry season of the soul…

(Let Everything That Has Breath Song by Matt Redman)

“Three times in these verses we are commanded to sing to the Lord, and this parallels the three times in verses 7-8 that the psalmist commands us to “give” glory to God—recognize His glory. A new experience of God’s blessing, a new truth discovered in the Word, a new beginning after a crisis, a new open door for service—all of these can make an old song new or give us a new song from the Lord.”—Warren Wiersbe

Could the three times be said to honor the Trinity who is God in Three?  God, the Father, Jesus, the Son, and God’s Holy Spirit?

Lord

You are the God who makes all things new and I thank you for a new day to be lived with fresh starts, new thoughts of your glory, new beginnings, while leaning on your wisdom to live a blessed life of redemption from Jesus—all because of your love and compassions that never fail!  I love you, Lord and I lift my voice to worship you, oh my God…Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen