Singing in Heaven

There was a Wesleyan preacher in England, Peter Mackenzie, full of native humor, a most godly man. He was once preaching from the text: “And They Sang a New Song,” and he said: “Yes, there will be singing in heaven, and when I get there I will want to have David with his harp, and Paul, and Peter and other saints gather around for a sing. And I will announce a hymn from the Wesleyan Hymnal. ‘Let us sing hymn No. 749:’

My God, my Father, while I stray —
“But some one will say, ‘That won’t do. You are in heaven,
Peter; there’s no straying here.’ And I will say,
‘Yes, that’s so. Let us sing No. 651 —’

Though waves and storms go o’er my head,
Though friends be gone and hoped be dead —
“But another saint will interrupt, ‘Peter, you forget you are in heaven now;
there are no storms here.’ ‘Well, I will try again, No. 536 —’

Into a world of ruffians sent —
“‘Peter! Peter!’ someone will say, ‘we will put you out unless you stop giving
out inappropriate hymns.’ I will ask—what can we sing? And they will say:
“‘Sing the new song, the song of Moses and the Lamb.’”

Moody’s Anecdotes, p. 7