In Revelation 5:9 we read of a “new song” which is quite unlike any song or hymn we know. These very lyrics inspired the young Isaac Watts, considered the father of modern hymnody, to pen his new song.

Three hundred years later, the young Isaac Watts of our day are writing worship music that expresses the rhythm and rhyme of their hearts. Those of us who have been accustomed to the hymns of Isaac Watts would do well to follow the example of Isaac’s congregation and let the youth of our generation lead us into some fresh expressions of praise. In so doing, we may allow them to bless the church for the next three hundred years.

The dialects of praise are many because praise is not a matter of form; it is a matter of the heart. Perhaps it is the desire to keep one’s praise alive and heartfelt that explains why many young people who have been raised with informal, free-flowing styles of worship are now finding themselves attracted to more liturgical worship. The reading of liturgies, which may become ritualistic to someone who has repeated them for thirty years, can be like freshwater to a young person who has never heard them.

Instead of criticizing styles and forms that are not familiar to us, let us seek to keep our own praise genuine by searching for ways new to us but known and understood by the God whom we seek to praise.

Take time to pray to ask God…

• To remind you that praise is not a matter of form but of the heart;
• To broaden your understanding of what worship He embraces;
• To grow you in grace toward other worship expressions within the body of Christ.

Focus on time discussing or reflecting on these questions:

1. What makes worship acceptable to God?
2. What styles of worship feel comfortable and familiar to you?
3. How can a new worship experience keep your praise fresh and genuine?

Consider these passages for further study on Worship:

I Chronicles 28:9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.

Psalm 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.

John 4:23-24 ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Revelation 5:6-14

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits^[a] of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood, you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign^[b] on the earth.”

¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹² In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
    and honor and glory and praise!”

¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
    be praise and honor and glory and power,
forever and ever!”

¹⁴ The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

These are great thoughts of Gary Chapman. This made me think about how inspirational composers are in our lives when it comes to how we look at worship and our relationships. Keep sharing how music and their inspiration impact you.