Summary
The New Song of Isaiah 42
"Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth" Isaiah 42:10. Throughout Scripture, the call to sing a "new song" recurs—Psalm 96:1, Psalm 98:1, Psalm 149:1—not because the words have never been heard before, but because the singer has been freshly grasped by the greatness of God. A new song is the response of a heart newly seized by who God is and what He has done.
What makes the song in Isaiah 42 distinct? It is not simply a reprise of the song of Moses at the Red Sea, when Israel sang of the Lord triumphing gloriously over Pharaoh Exodus 15:1. Nor is it merely the song of redemption from exile, sung at the dedication of Jerusalem's wall with thanksgiving, cymbals, harps, and lyres Nehemiah 12:27. The new song of Isaiah 42 reaches further than any deliverance Israel had yet known.
The scope of this praise is staggering. The sea and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants, the desert and its towns, the villages of Kedar, the inhabitants of Sela—even peoples who had been enemies of Israel—are summoned to lift up their voices Isaiah 42:10–12. From mountaintop to coastland, from wilderness to populated city, every corner of creation is drafted into the choir. This is a song meant for the whole earth.
The reason for such universal praise is found at the beginning of the chapter: "Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights" Isaiah 42:1–4. This is one of the four Servant Songs of Isaiah, and Matthew identifies the Servant directly. Quoting these very verses, the evangelist declares them fulfilled in Jesus Matthew 12:17–21. The Servant who would not break a bruised reed or quench a faintly burning wick is Christ Himself, who went to the cross, bore the wrath of God for sin, was raised from the tomb, and brought forth justice in the form of reconciliation, forgiveness, and life.
So the new song can be named in a single note: Jesus. Our lives know other tunes—the sad ballad of grief, the looping refrain of a wounding word, the scratched record where the same hurt keeps returning to the same groove. But above the discord rises a gracious melody, the lovely refrain of the Servant who satisfied the justice of God on our behalf. The Church sings what creation itself is summoned to sing, and the song is forever new because its theme is the Savior. See "New Song" 5-9-21.
Video citations
- "New Song" 5-9-21 — Let's open our Bibles today to the book of Isaiah, the 42nd chapter. Isaiah 42 for our study today is we continue on in this series simply entitled New as we celebrate that which God makes new. Game…