40(U2)
I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He brought me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay
I will sing, sing a new song…
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long…how long…how long…
How long…to sing this song
He set my feet upon a rock
And made my footsteps firm
Many will see
Many will see and fear
I will sing, sing a new song…
I haven’t thought of this song for a long time but this week Psalm 40 was part of the lectionary readings. When I was a senior in high school U2 came to Tampa Stadium (The Sombrero baby!) on the Joshua Tree tour. It was a spiritual experience. There were thousands of people there, but the heart of what they were proclaiming in their songs and spoken words from the stage drew me in like Bono was sitting in the chair in front of me having a one-on-one conversation. They ended the show that night with “40″, as they always did back in those days. It was their signature move. They would get the crowd singing “How long..to sing this song” and they would take off their instruments and leave the crowd singing…sometimes for a long time. That night the singing continued into the parking lot, and in my head for days to come. The Psalmist says, “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” What is this “new song” we are to sing? And for how long?
I don’t know the exact situation of the psalmist prior to writing psalm 40. He describes his life as pretty bad, being stuck in a slimy pit full of muck and mire. It seems, however, that his message is clear. Because of what God did for him (delivering him from the pit and such), and more so what God did in him as a result, the path of his life was to be forever different. His “new song” seemed to spark a desire to get beyond the rituals and sacrifices (that God didn’t really want anyway) and get on with the business of letting the world know about God’s faithfulness and salvation. Of course by verse 11 he was already asking for stuff again. I guess transformation takes time. So it would seem that the answer to U2’s question of, “How long?” is forever. Maybe this “new song” is a call for us to join in God’s mission in the world.
I’m in!