NORTHERN STYLE NEWSWATCH No.13
CREDO
' A New Song '
With the Hebraic understanding that the Psalms are broken down into five distinct Books
corresponding to the five Books of Torah, we are given the opportunity of taking the
personal message revealed in the Psalms back into an historical setting and then forward into
the prophetic future as Israel and the Church journey onwards to their final inheritance.
Truly, all Scripture is God-breathed, as Paul the apostle says in his Second Letter to
Timothy.
Psalms 96 and 97 are set within the Fourth Book of Psalms - corresponding to the Book
of Numbers, which tells us that the central message contained in them is of the testing of the
character of the people of Israel as they journeyed on through the wilderness, trusting in the
total provision and care of the LORD God of Israel to lead them into their inheritance - and
the Book of Numbers, read without the understanding that Israel was being led by God
through the wilderness into their long-promised inheritance, would make dismal reading.
Indeed, it could just as well have been entitled `the Book of the Grumblings of a nation',
a restless movement of a rebellious people! They had been delivered out of bondage in
Egypt! They had seen the Egyptians destroyed in the Red Sea! They had been given the
Law through Moses, which set them apart as a special people, but they could not and would
not trust God to lead them on and into the Promised Land! And so they died in the barren
wastes of the wilderness, leaving those who had been born in the wilderness and a remnant
to hear the words of Moses as he drew them together on the river bank `east of the Jordan'.
It is a restless Book, and we find continuously the words `they departed' and `they
pitched'; `they stayed' and `they left'. But throughout their rebellious wanderings they
were left with the certainty that there was a Promised Rest - not only for the nation of
Israel but also for the earth itself, and for the nations of the earth. Israel was set apart to
be a people who would reveal the love of God for all of His creation and trust Him to reveal
the personal way into that Rest that He would bring about according to the Word that had
been given to the woman in an earlier age in the Garden in Eden. It is the setting of these
personal Psalms into past historical periods, and knowing that the promises of God have not
yet been completely outworked, that gives us the certainty of our coming Rest fulfilled in
Jesus. And here in Psalms 96 and 97 (set towards the end of the Fourth Book of Psalms)
we should heed the message revealed in them, both personally and on the wider `canvas'
of Israel and the Church.
These two Psalms have no titles, neither are they ascribed to any particular person so as not
to draw attention away from God, who alone is the Protector and Provider of His people.
Psalm 96 opens with an exhortation which the modern translations fail to achieve, leaving
us with no choice but to quote from the `old' King James:
"O sing unto the LORD a new song;
Sing unto the LORD, all the earth. "
With this exhortation there is a suggestion of tiredness arising from all that has occurred
during the wilderness wanderings, but in the opening verses there is a summons . . . an
awareness . . . that the long-promised Rest is in sight: `O sing unto the LORD a new song'
Forget the old . . press on into the promises of God . . the people have caught sight once
more of the greatness of their God: (v4)
"For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods. "
The Psalmist catches the feeling of the whole nation as he summons them to sing the new
song, receiving revelation that the Promised Rest is for more than the nation of Israel: (v7-8)
"Give unto the LORD O families of nations,
Give unto the LORD glory and strength . . . . . . .
bring an offering and come into His courts. "
The Psalmist also catches sight of the Rest promised to all creation: (v11)
"Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
Let the sea roar, and all that is in it. "
This is more than mere emotional relief coming at the end of a long and painful journey, for
the Scriptures, both old and new, speak of a new heaven and a new earth, knowing that there
is in that final Rest something that:
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love Him. "
And to show that it is all of God, there is built into verse 11 an acrostic with the initial
letters of four Hebrew words making up the sentence of: `Let the heavens rejoice, and let
the earth be glad' spelling out the sacred name of Yahweh - the Covenant-keeping name
of the God of Israel! `Then' continues the Psalmist: (v12b-13a)
"Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy,
they will sing for joy before the LORD,
for He comes. "
Psalm 96, set towards the end of the Fourth Book of Psalms, towards the end of a long and
wearisome journey, summons the people of God to `sing to the LORD a new song . . . for
He comes', which leads us into Psalm 97 and reveals the new song that we are summoned
to sing. In this long-promised Rest He is coming to rule and to reign; He is coming to
judge in righteousness and truth, `let the earth be glad and let the distant shores rejoice'.
We then catch sight of the holiness and righteousness of the LORD
"Clouds and thick darkness are around Him,
righteousness and judgement are the foundation of His throne
Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side. "
His title in verse 5 tells us that He comes as the LORD of Israel and the Lord of all the earth:
"The heavens declare His righteousness,
and all the peoples see His Glory. " (Verse 6)
Why, then, do we need the reminder of this Credo in the Newswatch series? Because as we
too near the end of the journey there is a sense of the weariness of the people of God! Wars
and rumours of wars . . disease and famine . . the alarming changes of weather patterns .
. national and international disasters . . the political globalisation foretold in the Scriptures, joined with the intense spiritual oppression that accompanies natural events, show us that the end of the wilderness walk is in sight and we too need that joyful summons:
"O sing unto the LORD a new song . . . .
The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad,
let the distant shores rejoice . . . "
We too, as the people of God, are gathered together at this time by the LORD's Servant, the
Holy Spirit, who `speaks to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness . . .', and
it is still that new song that we need to find deep in our hearts and openly on our lips!
In closing this Credo we need to pay heed to the words of the Jewish scribes of old who
searched for God in every part of Scripture and then applied it to the national life of Israel
in their Talmudic writings. It has long puzzled Bible scholars as to why the Book of Esther
is included in the Closed Canon of inspired Scripture when no reference to God is to be
found within it. However, there was no puzzle for those Jewish scribes, for the question
they asked was not: `Where do we find God in Esther?' but `Where do we find Esther in
the Law (Torah)?' They asked the right question, for although they knew that `God is
everywhere and in everything', in turning to the Law (the first five Books of Scripture)
they were turning to the only place they knew where God had spoken directly to Moses!
In other words, they were not interested in opinions, but they wanted to hear from God
Himself!
In their search of Torah to hear God speaking directly concerning their question over the
Book of Esther they came to a passage of Scripture in the Book of Deuteronomy, the fifth
and final Book of the Law, where a direct word from God is recorded, speaking of a
rebellion by the nation of Israel after they entered the Promised Land and were walking
towards their final destination in the City of God: (Deuteronomy 31:17-18)
"On that day I will become angry with them and I will forsake them.
I will hide My face from them, and they shall be destroyed . . . .
I will surely hide My face on that day because of all their wickedness
in turning to other gods. "
In the Book of Esther, which is set in the historical period of the Babylonian captivity, after
the Israelites' idolatrous rebellion, there is, in the original Hebrew text, the word `LORD'
hidden in the emphasis on the first letter of each word on four separate occasions, two
spelled forwards and two spelled backwards. This gave the scribes of old the assurance that
in every circumstance in which the people of God find themselves - even in captivity in
Babylon - His Name (seen in the Covenant name of the God of Israel) is hidden, but His
Face is there for all who love Him to seek and to find Him. In every circumstance in which
we find ourselves we need to remind ourselves that He, the same LORD, now revealed in His
Son Jesus, is hidden in every circumstance! It may not always be to our liking, but there,
even in a seemingly barren waste, is a spiritual certainty as real as any natural one.
His Name is there, often hidden deep in the circumstances, but His Face is to be found as
we obey the summons:
"O sing unto the LORD a new song . . . "
In this deepening Laodecean Church age of apostacy, where spiritual and natural enemies
surround all His people, we need to be reminded that our inheritance is closer than it was
when we first believed: (Psalm 97:8)
"Zion hears and rejoices,
and the villages of Judah are glad
because of Your judgements, O LORD. "
March 2001
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