A new song

'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.' Psalm 40 verse 3

'Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.' Isaiah 42 verse 10

Many times in the Bible, somebody will sing a 'new song' of praise, when God has done something new in their lives, or when they are simply overwhelmed by His amazing love and grace in a new way. A new song is something fresh, something unique, the overflow of a heart which has been transformed. And to God, this is beautiful.

God looks at our hearts, and His delight is when we seek to live according to His pattern, according to His will.

'You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.' Psalm 51:6-7

Previously I have reflected on how even young children can know God in ways beyond which our adult minds would consider. We are often suprised by this (at least, I know I can be!) but in fact the Bible makes clear that Jesus not only loves children and welcomes them to Himself, but also that 

'Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.' Psalm 8 verse 2

I think there is a tendancy to stifle a child's freedom and imagination. It's one of our reasons for home education - that we want our children to be able to explore, to discover, to find their place in this world, to form a rounded understanding of who they are and where they stand before God. But is there a tendency to fill a child's mind with brightly coloured pictures, entertaining illustrations and other distractions which somehow prevent them from seeing the greatest and most glorious things of all?  

Every morning we start with a Psalm. The boys particularly like the ones which praise God for all His marvellous works. They then delight in singing 'new songs' to God. For the 4 year old, these are often strikingly theologically accurate, and show not only his own grasp of some of the things we have been learning, but I believe a heart which is genuinely seeking to know and love the God that his parents always speak of. For my 3 year old, it can be harder to tell - one minute his song will be thanking God for sending Jesus to die on the cross, and then thanking God for bunk beds and pudding. But again, it is a sincere song, and both boys love to be able to do what the psalmist did before them, and bring before God something new and fresh and heartfelt. At times, it can be tempting to laugh because of their sincerity, or at other times to quash their long-winded and slightly tuneless efforts, and sing something better known that we can all join in with. But at the same time, it is a wonderful stage of development and I love to share their freedom and imagination as they discover new things.