Why We Sing New Songs

Back in October, as we were preparing for our Hymns Triumphant service, I prepared an opening called “Why We Sing Old Hymns”.  Tonight, as Trinity hosts its “Night of Worship” band-led concert tomorrow night, I thought I’d take a look at the flipside: Why We Sing New Songs, which, as usual, I’ve pooled together from the ol’ internet.

Reason One: By singing new songs, we are reminded that the Spirit of God is not dead. It is not as though the Spirit of God affected and guided musicians and poets in the eighteenth century and then keeled over and died. The Holy Spirit is actively working and providing us fresh and deep revelations into God's unchanging and eternally mysterious nature.

Reason Two: Like the hymns, new songs take many of their lyrics directly from Scripture. Their simple structure and emphasis on singability allows them to get stuck in the head rather easily. As such, they are beneficial for fulfilling Paul’s exhortation that we should be “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody with your heart to the Lord.”


And Reason Three: With new songs, we are forced to learn and thus read the lyrics, not just with our eyes, but also with our minds and hearts. The unfamiliar nature of the song forces us to look at what is being said, and how it is said – to examine the lyrics in a way we might not with an old standard.

We honor the old, because it represents a time of the Spirit moving in history, but we also honor the new for the very same reason — the Spirit still lives and moves and breathes new life into the church. Let’s bow our heads.

Dear Father, thank you for new songs, and new styles of worship, where we see your Spirit still composing, and your Scripture being expressed for all listeners.  We lift up tomorrow’s “Night of Worship” – may it be a blessing to all who attend.  And we give you tonight’s rehearsal, Lord – may we sing a new song to you.  Amen.


(sources: http://savethebae.blogspot.com/2012/10/worship-mini-series-part-1-why-we.html and http://mereorthodoxy.com/three-cheers-and-a-jeer-in-defense-of-praise-songs/)