From Commentary on Psalm 149, 1-2 (ca. 418)
Let us praise the Lord in voice, understanding, and good works; and as the Psalm urges us to do, let us sing to him a new song… The old singer has a new song; the new singer, a new song. The person who loves earthly things sings an old song; let one who desires to sing a new song love the things of eternity. Love itself is new and eternal; hence it is ever new, because it never grows old.
If you really think about it, love is something old. How then can it be new at the same time? Beloved, has eternal life just been born? This eternal life is Christ himself, and according to his divinity he has not just been born, for “in the beginning was the Word; the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God. He was present to God in the beginning. Through him all things came into being, and apart from him nothing came to be.” If the things which he has made are old, what is he through whom they have been made? What is he, if not eternal and co-eternal with the Father.
It is our voice which laments in another Psalm: “I have aged because of all my foes.” Mankind has aged as a consequence of sin; we are renewed through grace. Hence, all those who have been renewed by Christ sings the new song and begins to be worthy of eternal life.
It is also a song of peace and a song of love. Those who sever themselves from the communion of saints do not sing a new song. For they have followed the divisive inclination of the old self, not the inspiration of the new love. What is there in this new love? Peace, the bond of a holy society, a close and spiritual union, and a building of living stones! Where is this building? It is not in any one place but throughout the world. This is expressed in another Psalm: “Sing unto the Lord a new sing; sing unto the Lord, all you lands.”
The one who does sing a new song with the whole earth—sing what you will, let your tongue sound forth “Alleluia,” utter it all day and all night. My ears are not so much bent to hear the voice of the singer, but I seek the deeds of the doer. For I question the singer and ask: “What is it that you are singing?” The singer answers: “Alleluia.” What is “Alleluia”? “Praise the Lord.” Come, let us praise the Lord together. If you praise the Lord, and I praise the Lord, why are we at variance? Love praises the Lord; discord blasphemes the Lord.
St. Augustine (354-430) was a theologian and philosopher who served as Bishop of Hippo Regius in North Africa. He was a voluminous author, whose writings about God’s grace, the Sacraments, and the Church have been profoundly influential in the development of Western Christianity. His feast day is August 26.
