Jim Gallagher

Psalms 149:1
“Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints.”

Sometimes, worship can have a tired feel to it because we are singing the same songs over and over again. It is so refreshing when the worship team brings a new song; partly because new songs come out of new experiences with the Lord. I spent many weeks of my early years of ministry serving at a Christian camp. Those days were filled with lessons I still benefit from today. One afternoon, while sitting by the pool, I struck up a conversation with the worship leaders wife. While her children were in the pool, she was relaxing in the sun, but her husband was noticeably absent. I will never forget her response when I asked where he was, she said, “He is taking some time alone with Jesus because that is where the songs come from.” He realized, in order to have a new song to sing, he needed a fresh experience with the Lord. Anything done over and over again can become tedious or stale, even our relationship with the Lord. We might wake up each day, read a chapter or two, get the kids up, make breakfast, clean up, make lunch, clean up, make dinner, clean up, run out of energy, go to bed, and start it all over again the next day. Our days become routine, and soon our relationship with the Lord has grown stale. How can we have new experiences with Jesus that result in new songs of praise?

I am reminded of the story of Caleb. We are first introduced to him when Moses selects him as one of the twelve spies sent to check out the Promised Land. When the people refused to enter, we read in Numbers 13:30, Caleb quieted the people and said “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

Sadly, the people rejected his encouragement and suffered thirty-eight years in the wilderness. When the generation who refused to enter the land died off and a new generation stood within the its borders, it was Caleb who set the example of how to press into what God had for His people. Scripture tells us, at eighty-five years old, he came to Joshua with a fascinating request. In Joshua 14:9, he reminded his leader and old friend of the promise he had received from Moses,

‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’

Then he pointed to the most difficult terrain within the land and asked that it be given to him. His words are one of the most striking statements ever uttered. He declared,

“Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.” Joshua 14:12

Anakim were men of great stature, bred for battle. They were the most feared of all the inhabitants of Canaan. To make matters worse, they lived in fortified cities and inhabited the hill country which was easily defendable and almost impossible to overthrow. Caleb, a man described as one who had a different spirit in him, and who wholly followed the Lord, looked at the greatest obstacle facing the people of God and said, “Give me the mountain because it might be the Lord.” IT MIGHT BE THE LORD! I think I would want to know for certain that it was the Lord before I ventured out like that. However, Caleb was a man who trusted the Lord to be true to His promises, and was willing to venture into new ground in his walk with God.

Has your relationship grown so tired that you have no new song to sing. Perhaps it is time to look back into the promises of God and step forward into a new area of service. You will find God is true to His promises and your relationship with Him will be ignited with a fresh fire. What are you waiting for? The church is need of a new generation of Calebs who are willing to see just what might be the Lord.

Pastor Jim

Questions for Psalm 149

1. According to verse 2, who is God?
2. According to verse 4, what brings God pleasure?
3. According to verse 6, what is the child of God armed with?
4. To understand the sword see Ephesians 6:17

Old Testament:
2 Chronicles 23- Set The Gatekeeper
2 Chronicles 24- Oh Gravity!
Psalm 150- In His Sanctuary