From the Golden Text

Psalms 96:1

O sing unto the Lord a new song.

Singing was a traditional means of honoring God in ancient Israel, and new songs were performed at special times of thanksgiving and celebration—for instance, after military victories (see Exodus 15:1–21; Judges 5:1–31; I Samuel 18:6, 7).

First Chronicles presents Psalm 96 as a hymn of David, who is rejoicing over the arrival of the ark of the covenant in Jerusalem (see I Chronicles 16:1, 7–36). Mention of a “new song” appears in five other verses in Psalms (see 33:3; 40:3; 98:1 (citation 16); 144:9; 149:1) as well as in Isaiah 42:10 and Revelation 5:9; 14:3.

From Section 1

2 | Ecclesiastes 5:7

In the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities

Translation

3 | Isaiah 42:5, 8, 9

Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; . . . I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

4 | Isaiah 26:19

Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust.

5 | I Corinthians 15:1, 22, 45, 47–51, 53

Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; . . . As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. . . . And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. . . . The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. . . . For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Paul is making the case that Christ Jesus’ advent overturns the sin of Adam, assumed among Jews to have corrupted all humanity. Now, the apostle asserts, Christly redemption is freely and universally bestowed. 

A commentary notes that “no matter how much sin may have ‘increased’ or become worse, God’s grace has more than compensated. . . . Its benevolent rule leads each of us who has experienced the righteousness made available in Christ to ‘eternal life.’ ” 

“Living soul” quotes wording describing Adam as having been created from dust, the essence of matter (see Genesis 2:7). “Quickening spirit” represents God’s life-giving nature and activity, demonstrated by Jesus. “The image of the heavenly” further portrays this Christly character, discernible by every believer.

From Section 2

6 | Psalms 81:1

Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.

Sacred songs found in the Bible were written over hundreds of years, and many were part of early oral tradition. Israelites sang psalms and hymns to praise God, to seek forgiveness, to ask for wisdom—and, just as we often teach our children through singing, to convey basic religious precepts.

Music was central to Christian education as well. Paul includes psalms in a list of teaching tools in a letter to the Corinthian church: “Every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying” (I Corinthians 14:26).

7 | Psalms 139:1, 3, 7, 17, 18

O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. . . . Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. . . . Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? . . . How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

From Section 3

9 | Psalms 118:14

The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. 

10 | Joshua 14:6, 7, 10, 11

The children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadesh–barnea. Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh–barnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. . . . And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me.

At this point Canaan is being divided among the 12 tribes of Israel at the end of the Exodus. Caleb was one of the spies Moses had sent 45 years earlier to scout the territory (see Numbers, chaps. 13, 14). Now he reminds Joshua of God’s promise of land (see 14:24). And because he has been faithful to God, he declares, his strength and vigor have not diminished over the decades—he is capable of managing both land and people.

Kenezites may have been members of an Edomite tribe (descendants of Jacob’s brother, Esau). Kadesh-barnea (also called simply Kadesh) figures prominently in Jewish history. In addition to being the area referred to here, it is the site of the death and burial of Moses’ sister, Miriam—and of Moses striking a rock to find water (see Numbers 20:1–11). Modern excavations have revealed springs of water there, indicating that it became an oasis in the northern Sinai desert.

From Section 4

12 | Psalms 42:8

The Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. 

13 | John 4:46–53

Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judæa into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

“Signs and wonders” are mentioned multiple times in the New Testament to signal God’s healing presence and power. In this account, the nobleman must have perceived something beyond the miraculous in his son’s cure. When he learns of its coincidence with Jesus’ instruction “Go thy way; thy son liveth,” he moves from merely seeking healing to fully embracing Christ’s teachings.

That the man’s relatives and servants join him in this new belief highlights a later Christian theme: Salvation of an individual encompasses his entire household (see other examples in Acts 11:14; 16:14, 15, 27–34).

14 | Proverbs 12:28

In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.

From Section 5

15 | Isaiah 60:1

Arise, shine.

The command to rise up and shine is a reminder of Zion’s divine heritage—uprightness and light, not prostration and darkness. God’s people are to arise in response to His glory and to shine as the risen sun.

17 | Matthew 17:1–7

After six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.

Jesus’ transfiguration has been compared with Moses’ encounter with God on Mount Sinai, which caused the Hebrew leader’s face to shine (see Exodus 34:29, 30). The Savior’s mountaintop experience is unique, however—crowned by God’s endorsement of His Son.

According to the Gospels of Mark and Luke, Peter’s offer to erect three tabernacles springs from either confusion or uncertainty about what to say at this remarkable event (see Mark 9:6; Luke 9:33). But scholars surmise that Peter may have been attempting to prolong the vision, to mark the place as holy, or to provide booths like those built at the Feast of Tabernacles to commemorate the Exodus. (For many Jews, the practice of building a temporary structure to celebrate this festival continues today.) The Master compassionately quiets his concerns.

18 | John 8:12, 32, 51

I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. . . . And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. . . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

From Section 6

19 | John 17:1–3

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Here Jesus has entered Jerusalem for the last time and been honored by a huge crowd (see 12:12, 13). Now, in his final prayer recorded by John, he describes his coming spiritual glorification—God’s exalting of His Son, which will be illustrated in the resurrection and ascension.

Glory is a recurring subject in John’s Gospel, beginning with 1:14: “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Jesus’ commitment to glorifying God is also made clear in the author’s account of the last supper (see 13:31, 32) and elsewhere in Jesus’ farewell petition (see 17:4, 5, 22, 24). 

Eternal life, summarizes a commentary, is “a life shaped by the knowledge of God as revealed in Jesus.” The Savior is about to prove his own deep understanding of his Father in overcoming death.

20 | Ephesians 4:7, 12, 13, 23, 24

Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. . . . For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: . . . Be renewed in the spirit of your mind; put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

22 | Romans 6:23

The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In Jesus’ unparalleled ministry, eternal life was revealed—not as a commodity earned or paid for but as God’s gift to His children. Gift is translated from the Greek term kharisma, signifying an unearned divine bestowal. First Peter employs it in the admonition, “As every man hath received the gift [kharisma], even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (4:10).

Read a related article at “Christ’s invitation” by Ann Kenrick.