Part 36: Why God Says To Sing A New Song Series

Great Prayers of the Old Testament

Part 36: Why God Says to Sing a New Song

Psalm 96:1-13

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared November 21, 2025)

BACKGROUND:

*Today our focus is again on worship. And nothing is more important in Christian life than heartfelt worship of the LORD! God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is always worthy of our worship! He is the only true and living God, eternally perfect in every way. He created us, loves us, and has given us every good thing we have ever received. Best of all, God the Father gave His only begotten Son to become a mortal man, live a perfect life, and die on the cross for our sins. God the Holy Spirit also had a crucial part in this saving work all the way from our creation to Jesus' conception, and His resurrection.

*The LORD's great lessons for worship today come from Psalm 96. It's an almost exact copy of the song King David wrote in 1 Chronicles 16. That song was written and sung when the Ark of the Covenant was brought from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David. And this Psalm was written a thousand years before Jesus was born. But Psalm 96 surely points us to the times of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (1)

*John Phillips also gave us this helpful background. "Sing! sing! sing! That is how Psalm 96 begins. It calls us to joyful worship because all glory belongs to Him. Give! Give! Give! That is how the psalm continues. It calls us to joyful worship because all gifts belong to Him. Victory! Victory! Victory! That is how Psalm 96 ends. It calls us to joyful worship because Christ is surely coming again to judge the world with righteousness. And this is one of the great Hebrew hymns that celebrates the coming reign of Christ. (2).

*With this background in mind, let's read Psalm 96:1-13.

MESSAGE:

*Church: When it comes to worship, I love the old songs. But here God tells us to sing a new song. And God's Word speaks to us about singing a new song 9 different times . Why does He do that? Today we will search the Scripture and see 4 important reasons.

1. FIRST, IT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE NEW HEARERS.

*We see them in vs. 1-4, where Bible says:

1. Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

2. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

3. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

4. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

*Notice in these verses that God wants all the Earth to sing praises to the LORD. He wants all the Earth to bless His name. He wants His people to proclaim the good news of salvation. The LORD God Almighty wants His people to declare His glory among all nations and His wonders among all people. This makes Psalm 96 a truly evangelistic Psalm, especially now as we have been blessed to live on the resurrection side of the cross!

*And as the day of the Lord's return draws closer, we must do everything we can to reach people for the Lord Jesus Christ. This includes praying for more laborers to serve all around the world in the LORD'S harvest. Matthew 9:36-38 says:

36. But when He (Jesus) saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

37. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

38. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

*Again in vs. 2 the LORD tells us to "Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. And in vs. 3 God tells us to "Declare His glory among the nations."

*These commands also include:

-Praying and supporting missionaries around the world.

-Seeking to draw closer to the LORD.

-Digging deeper into His Word.

-Asking God to help us love the people around us.

-Asking God to put people in our path who need to trust in Jesus.

-Telling people our salvation story.

-Telling people the wonderful things God has done since we got saved.

-And inviting people to church as often as we can.

*But now let's focus on singing new songs. First, the good news about Jesus Christ never changes. 1 Peter 1:18-21 tells Christians that we "were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."