• Psalm 40:2 “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
  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.” 
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Alan Ives is a former rock & roller who wrote the book “How to Tell the Difference between Good and Bad Music.” Ives writes, “How do you understand what good Christian music is? It ought to sound different from the rock station, the easy listening station, the entertainment music. When we sing gospel songs in the good old-fashioned way, they don’t sound like anything that the world sings. That’s the way we need to keep it. We can never portray the peace of the Lord with wild, discordant, violent sounds. We can never speak of the love of God with hateful music, the goodness of the Lord with bad music, the majesty of God with low class music, the power of God with puny music, the wisdom of God with stupid music, the holiness of God with unholy music. We can never speak of godliness with ungodly music, of heavenly things with earthly, sensual and devilish music. And we can never speak of being a soldier if we use dance music.” 

The Psalmist testifies in our text, Ps. 40:2, how God brought his life out of a mess. After God rescued the Psalmist, he mentions that God put a new song in his mouth. This song, the Psalmist describes as praise to God that many will see, and fear God, and trust in the Lord. Like the Psalmist, Jesus rescued my soul out of a horrible pit called Hell and out of the miry clay of my sin. As soon as God set my feet on the Rock of Jesus, he put a new song in my mouth that would praise Him, and those around me would be drawn to the Savior! 

Now, notice carefully that it is not an old song or the usual song or ‘what the world is singing’ kind of a song. No, it is a new song. CCM and progressive Southern Gospel repeatedly claim to draw their music styles and inspiration from the world. That is not a new song! CCM uses a rock-dominated rhythm with syncopation. Entertainment Southern Gospel is well-known for having a jazzy, boogie woogie, pop, bluegrass, and country feel. That is not a new song! No, God gives the true believer a “new song.” Actually, God commands and only accepts this “new song”. 

• Psalm 33:3 “Sing unto him a new song…”
  Psalm 96:1 “O sing unto the LORD a new song…”
  Psalm 98:1 “O sing unto the LORD a new song…“ 
• Psalm 144:9 “I will sing a new song unto thee, O God…”
  Isaiah 42:10 “Sing unto the LORD a new song…” 
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When we come together as “saints” in God’s house, God only wants “a new song” that is different from the world and your old life. 

• Psalm 149:1 “Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.”
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In conclusion, at the end of time, when all God’s children are in glory, we’ll be singing “a new song”; God’s song; not the songs of the world. 

• Rev. 5:9 “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;”
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Note: God reveals in His Word some of the new songs sung here and what will be sung in eternity.

• Moses’ song – Ex. 15:1, Rev. 15:3
• Israel’s song in the wilderness – Num. 21:17
• Israel’s final victory over this world – Is. 26:1
• God’s witness against Israel when they backslide – Deut. 31:19-22, 30-32:44
• song of Deborah and Barak – Judges 5:1
• various songs from David – II Sam. 22:1; Ps. 18:1, 65:1
• of course, all of the Psalms – Ps. 1-150
• the Song of Solomon – SoS 1-8
• psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs – Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16
• songs richly filled with the word of Christ – Col. 3:16
• songs that teach and admonish – Col. 3:16
• the song of the 144,000 – Rev. 14:3
• the song of the redeemed – Rev. 5:9
• “the song of the Lamb” – Rev. 15:3
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Note: Between the various verses above, the reader should notice that God’s new song is to be sung everywhere: at church, at home, in your heart, etc….  Those who teach that believers can listen to whatever they want when they leave God’s house do not have a verse that gives such a teaching.

Note: The Lord’s new song does not fit and is out of place in the world.

• Ps. 137:1-4 “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
  2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
  3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
• 4 How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?“
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Secular companies like Sony own most, if not all, of the CCM and entertainment Southern Gospel producers. This reveals that the GMA (Gospel Music Association) sees its music as lining up with the world; the artists, etc… are comfortable working with the world, and will financially profit from such an arrangement; and vice versa, the secular companies see music that they and the lost are comfortable hearing and are confident they will receive much financial gain. God’s new song, like the old hymns, sung the correct way, not with scoops, twirls, slides, seduction, etc…, does not sell. It does not work to sing and produce “the Lord’s song in a strange land.” So because of “covetousness” to make money and/or to make it big in the singing industry the secular companies and the corrupt GMA “with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” (II Pet. 2:3)

(This article is from the “Music” series.)