January
1
New Song
chadaš
šiyr
e’ve all heard the old
expression that someone is “singing a different tune” or
has “changed his tune.” The school bully, for example,
changes his tune after little Billy has finally had
enough and punches the bully in the nose. The expression
probably arose in the Middle Ages among wandering
minstrels. As they traveled from court to court, they
thought it prudent to change the words of their songs to
please each baron.
Long before the
Middle Ages, however, God’s people were singing a new
song, and that song was of much greater joy and
significance. New is the Hebrew chadaš (2319), which often indicates
something new in the sense of “never seen or done
before.” It appears in Ezekiel 18:31, for example: “Cast
away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have
transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new
spirit.”
Song, then, is
šiyr (7892), a type of lyrical song
or religious song. It also appears several times in Ezra
and Nehemiah to refer to songs of Levitical choirs. In
Nehemiah 12:46, for example, Nehemiah recounts that in
David’s day music directors led “songs” of praise.
Significantly, it is at times also used in a negative
way. Amos uses it to picture the apathy of the people,
as they lay around eating, drinking, strumming their
musical instruments, and singing, totally oblivious to
God’s coming judgment (Amos 6; “music” in verse 5 is
šiyr). Here is a warning to the
world, and even the church, concerning complacency and
an insatiable desire for entertainment and leisure.
It is when we see these
two words together, however, that we see a wondrous
truth. The term new song appears seven times in the OT,
and in each case we see a new song being composed in
response to what God has done. “Fresh mercies,” writes
commentator Adam Clarke, “call for new songs of praise
and gratitude.” The first occurrence, in fact, is Psalm
33:3, which is set in the context of the great event of
creation.
What, then, could be more
appropriate as we start a new year than to be reminded
to sing a new song every day? Does not each day bring
new mercies, new blessings, new joys, new triumphs? It
also reminds us that we do, indeed, “sing a different
tune” than the world.
Scriptures for Study: Read the other OT
occurrences of new song, noting how God is being praised
for what He has done: Psalm 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9;
149:1; Isaiah 42:10. &
Note also the two NT occurrences of new song (Rev. 5:9;
14:3). New is the Greek kainos
(2537G), something new in quality having never existed
before.
February
27
Blessed
?ešer
he very first word
we read in the Book of Psalms is blessed. The Hebrew
here is ?ešer (835), a masculine
noun meaning a person’s state of bliss. It’s never used
of God, rather always of people, and is exclamatory in
emphasis, as in “O the bliss of . . .” Most of its
forty-four appearances are appropriately in the poetry
of Psalms and Proverbs.
It is extremely
significant that the Septuagint translates
?ešer using the Greek makarios, which our Lord used nine times
in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3–11). While many Bible
teachers come to this word and say that it just means
“happy,” which is always circumstantial, it actually
speaks of the far deeper idea of an inward contentedness
that is not affected by circumstances (cf. Phil.
4:11–13).
Of the many occurrences of
?ešer, one that immediately strikes us
is Psalm 1:1: “Blessed is the man,” where the unknown
psalmist distinguishes two lifestyles (cf. Feb. 23), one
that is blessed and
one that is not. We find in verses 1–3 three realities
that produce genuine bliss and
contentment.
First, a
path that is holy. In three distinct statements,
the Psalmist outlines holiness. The holy person first
does not stroll with the “ungodly”
(raša?,
7563) people. He doesn’t associate with, listen to, or
join those who are guilty before God and transgressors
of His Law. Second, the holy person does not
stand with sinners. Way is derek
(Feb. 23), a marked out pattern of life, and
“standeth”
is ?amad?
(5975), which figuratively indicates living
somewhere, standing, remaining there (e.g., Ex. 8:22,
“dwell”). The holy life, then, is one whose pattern of
life does not remain in sin (cf. 1 Jn. 3:9, where
“commit” is present tense, to “continually habitually
commit sin). Third, the holy person does not sit
with the “scornful” (liys?, 3887) person, that is, those
who boast, scoff, mock, and deride, as in showing or
expressing utter contempt, in this case for the things
of God.
Second,
blessedness comes from a
passion for Scripture. The blissful and contented
person is one who takes delight (Feb. 29) in God’s Word
and his mediation (Jan. 6) on
it is the rule of life and his daily
priority.
Third,
blessedness comes from a
prosperity that is dependent upon God. The image
of sitting by a river is a graphic one, picturing
nourishment, growth, fruitfulness, and much more. While
“prosperity teachers” promise monetary riches, true
prosperity is found in the spiritual riches we have in
Christ (Eph.
1:3–23).
Scriptures for
Study: Read the
following verses, noting what else brings bliss and true
contentedness: Psalm 2:12; 32:1–2; 112:1; 119:1–2;
127:4–5 Prov. 3:13 (“happy”);
8:32.
March
5
Praise [Hallelujah]
(1)
halal
[halal
yah]
nother predominate theme
in Scripture, as well as an integral part of worship, is
praise. So central is this activity that we will
consider it over the next few days.
The most general Hebrew word for
praise is halal
(1984), from
which we get the English Hallelujah; the Greek allelouia (239G) is a transliteration of
halal with the addition of
Yah (3050), a shortened form of
“Yahweh” (Yehowah; 3068; Jan. 8). Halal yah, then, means “praise ye Yah,”
which occurs some twenty-six times in the book of
Psalms. Except for 135:3, it always appears at the
beginning or ending of a Psalm, “suggesting that it was
a standardized call to praise in temple worship.” (We
should interject, as one Hebrew authority insists, that
while “this word is sometimes spelled alleluia in modern hymnals, in imitation
of the mode of spelling that found favor in medieval
times . . . The letter H ought certainly to be restored
at both ends.”)
Significantly, the
original picture in halal was “to
shine,” even “the giving off of light by celestial
bodies.” Job used it poetically, for example, as he
“beheld the sun when it shined [halal]” (Job 31:26). Similarly, the
Greek doxa (1391G), which is
usually translated “glory,” includes the idea of “radiance” and
“glory” (although those concepts were added to
doxa in the NT and are foreign to
secular Greek).
Halal ultimately came to mean to
praise, celebrate, commend, or even boast. Appearing
over 160 times, it sometimes refers to the praising of
people, such as when the princes of Egypt “commended”
Sarah’s beauty (Gen. 12:15, the first occurrence of
halal) and when a husband praises his
virtuous wife (Prov. 31:28).
It is, of course,
when used of God (its most frequent use) that
halal takes on its greatest
significance. Scripture is permeated with this theme. It
is noteworthy that its first appearance in reference to
praise of God is in 2 Samuel 22:4, where David praised
God for delivering him out of the hands of Saul, also
calling God his rock, fortress, deliverer, shield,
salvation, tower, and refuge (vs. 2–3). Is that not,
indeed, cause for praise? This song of praise, in fact,
is virtually identical to Psalm 18.
Not only do men and angels
praise and commend God, but even nature itself does so
(Ps. 148). All that we do should praise God (1 Cor.
10:31), even the playing of musical instruments (Ps.
150), and such praise should be constant (Ps. 34:1;
35:28; 44:8).
Scriptures for Study: In preparation for the
readings for the next few days, read Psalm 100 and
meditate on praising God in
everything.
April
3
Save [and]
Salvation
yaša‘ [and] yešű‘ah
ne of the key themes of
the Bible, of course, is salvation. Nevertheless,
despite not only the prominence of this theme but also
the clarity of what it is and how it comes, there seems
to be much confusion about it all in our day. An
understanding of these words, however, along with
yesterday’s study of sin, clears up all question.
As most Hebrew nouns come from a
verb, the verb here is yaša‘ (3467),
which appears about 200 times and means
“to save,
help, deliver, or defend.” The “underlying idea of this
verb is bringing to a place of safety or broad pasture
as opposed to a narrow strait.” This idea actually comes
from the same Arabic root that means “make wide or
sufficient,” since “wide” implies freedom from stress
and encumbrance. Such change, however, demands
deliverance, and such deliverance must come from outside
the individual. The LXX usually renders yaša‘ as the Greek sozo (4982G), to deliver or preserve
from danger or destruction.
A vivid example of
yaša‘ is Israel’s deliverance from
Egypt (Ex. 14:30), accomplished, of course, solely by
God. Even when deliverance came through some human
instrumentality, it was still only by God’s power, as
when Gideon saved God’s people from the Midianites but
only because of God’s empowering (Judg.
6:14–16).
From what, then, does
salvation deliver us? What is its substance?
Salvation is deliverance from spiritual death. Because
of Adam’s sin in the garden of Eden (Gen. 2:17), “the
soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek. 18:4; cf. Rom.
5:12). It is, therefore, Christ alone who came to “save
his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
Further, no verse of
Scripture is clearer on the source of salvation
(yešű‘ah, 3444) than is Jonah 2:9:
“Salvation is of the lord.” From
beginning to end, and everything in between, salvation
is all of
God. It is not because of our partial merit or good
works (Titus 3:5), not because we “said a prayer,” not
because of our own “foreseen faith”—even the faith to
believe the Gospel is God given (Eph. 2:8–9; Jn. 6:65;
Phil. 1:29; Acts 18:27). Rather, “Salvation is of the
Lord,” writes Charles Spurgeon, “The Lord has to apply
it, to make the unwilling willing, to make the ungodly
godly, and bring the vile rebel to the feet of Jesus, or
else salvation will never be
accomplished.”
Scriptures for Study: God continues to deliver us
on a daily basis. Read Psalm 20, noting God’s
deliverance from
enemies.
