The first song in the Sing a New Song collection is called: “Sing a New Song!” It is a joyful praise song, with the words selected from the Psalms.
I have sung and played this song many times in worship experiences and my heart has been lifted in reverence and praise to my God for His wonderful goodness to the world. However, as I have recently been thinking about the title of this song, new meanings have been evolving in my mind. The words of this song for me are not just only about praising God but getting involved in new endeavours and ideas as we seek understandings about what we should be about in the Lord’s work.
The prophet Isaiah is known as a poet and through his words he makes God a Holy presence in the lives of the Hebrew people. One of the prominent themes Isaiah develops throughout his writings is that of hope. And this theme is reflected in the following words found in Isaiah 43: 18, 19): “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah was endeavouring to arouse the Hebrews into shedding their old ways and moving on to something new.
Ezekial was also a Hebrew prophet who was trying to do a similar thing as his forerunner Isaiah. We find that among the biblical writers, Ezekiel was a master at dealing with catastrophe. When catastrophe struck in the sixth-century B.C. with the invasion of Israel by Babylon – denial was the primary response. Ezekiel found himself living among a people of God who (astonishingly similar to us) stubbornly refused to see what was right before their eyes (the denial crowd). There were also some who were unwilling to see anything other than what was right before their eyes (the despair crowd).
But Ezekiel saw what the people with whom he lived couldn’t or wouldn’t see. He explained to them the situation they found themselves in and showed them they could embrace God even in the worst of times. And so, he gave the following challenging words to the people recorded in Ezekiel 11: 19,20): “I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
We can see from just these words of Ezekiel that the need for us to search out for new paths and endeavours is not new. This theme is resurrected every time a people is floundering and seeking for hope and a new direction.
Down through the ages visionary people have sung a new song to bring hope and guidance to stumbling people. Even in the early days of the Community of Christ on March 1871, Joseph Smith Jr in D&C 45: 12 called the elders of the church to assemble themselves together and travel from the eastern part of the land to the western regions and convert people to the Gospel. The predicted outcome was promised to be “called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the most high God”. Joseph pursued this vision throughout his time as prophet/president of the church. And it was only in April 2010 that Stephen Veazey called the church to become part of a new community that is being born, in his challenge issued to the church in D&C 164:5.
The Australia Region is now going through a period of singing a new song and is at the present investigating new possibilities for ministry that may be before us. The committees considering all aspects of this important endeavour for the church in Australia need our support, prayers, and ideas. Might we become involved in singing a new song with them is my hope and prayer.
Bill Gillard