Read Psalm 96
1 Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.
11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Go Deeper
God loves when His people praise Him. He especially loves when we worship Him not out of obligation but out of a fresh desire to come into His presence with a song of praise. This chapter celebrates just that! It begins with a call for the people of God to worship His name, then grows to all nations praising God, and ends with the command for creation itself to cry out in adoration of God. The entire earth proclaims “the Lord reigns” (v. 10).
Some Christians resign to only worship God on Sunday mornings at church, but what the psalmist says in this chapter is that we are to praise His name “day after day” (v. 2). No matter what is going on in our lives, we must not lose sight of the One who is above all things and who created all things. God is all powerful and worthy of our praise everyday, not just on Sunday mornings.
Our perfect, all powerful God doesn’t need us to accomplish His will. However, as a response to His power, the psalmist writes that we are to “give to the Lord” (v. 7-8). This phrase, proclaimed three times in this passage, means that we are to recognize God’s glory and strength and boast in Him.
The world was not created carelessly; it was firmly established by the hands of God. And as His creation, we get to enjoy what He has created. We also get to rejoice in our Creator because of who He is⏤a righteous judge who will make all things right one day. Therefore, let us be people of praise who actively worship God daily and press on towards justice and love for all people.
Questions
- How has your upbringing shaped the way you understand worship and how you choose to worship God?
- What glory and praise can you “give to the Lord” right now?
- If living a life of love and adoration for the Lord is the goal, how will you implement times of worship into your daily routine?
A Quote
Consider this quote and how it relates to your salvation story. “It is a debt; and a debt, in equity, must be paid. The honour due to his name is to acknowledge him to be holy, just, true, powerful.”
Charles Spurgeon
2 responses to “Psalm 96”
I have an amazing Godly chiropractor. When I go see him and even when someone says “oh my aching (blank)” I immediately say “I have the best chiropractor ever” I extol his attributes in how I believe he helps and makes my life more comfortable, physically plus we always have a little church going during the adjustment. (happy dance) That is how we are to be toward God, but even more so.
Vs 1-2 is a command to SING to God. We are also to TELL others what He has done. When is the last time I have spoken to anyone about God and what He has done???
We are to praise God greatly which is to do so with fervency. Our praise should show others how great our God is. .Do we really “GET” how great our God is? When we know just how vital He is to our lives and how His love for us is never-ending we will all effervesce abundantly and overflow joyously about our God!!!!
We are to worship with joyously singing, praising God not some idol. Idols are blocks of “wood” or just things. Those idols can do nothing. BUT GOD, God made the heavens and the earth, as Genesis 1 tells us. He merely said “let there be light,” and there was light.
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder; Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed — then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, how great Thou art”!
We are give God glory(:7-8a), :8b “come before Him”, 8b “bring an offering” +x Deuteronomy 16:16b-17 “They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.”, :9 “worship YHWH in the beauty of holiness” :9 “tremble before Him” :10 “SAY among the nations, ‘YHWH reigns’” Verses 11-13 just speak of how the whole creation anticipates the coming of the Lord, and His judgment to make all things right. GOD WILL NEVER CHANGE!
We are the ones that are fickle. God is greatly to be praised, we are to sing new songs with great fervency or just plain old excitement. We are to give God glory, bringing an offering, worshipping Him with trembling and speaking of how He is sending His Son for us soon. To God be the glory forever and ever amen.
God thank You for my ability to praise and worship You. With all I say and do I want it to praise, glory and honor God, to You and for You. God thank You for the minutes of this day. God let Your light so shine forth from me. God help me to love the lost, and to speak about the great things You have done, are doing and will do. Thank You for breath in my lungs to pour out my Praises to You, in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!
Questions answered:
1. I have a rich heritage of worship which mainly consisted of the hymns. To this day they are stored in my memory. Worship was a normal activity whether it was family time around the piano or humming as we worked.
2. I am presently giving praise to God as my Uncle Patrick passed away this week and for the assurance that he is with his Lord and Savior. I recently asked him the Kennedy questions and without hesitation he replied “I’m a 10 because I’ve received Christ for the forgiveness of my sins through his death, burial and resurrection.” What peace!
3. This morning as I gently came awake these lyrics were playing in my mind,
“God, I look to You
I won’t be overwhelmed
Give me vision
To see things like You do
God, I look to You
You’re where my help comes from
Give me wisdom
‘Cause You know just what to do
I will love You, Lord, my strength
Yes, I will love You, Lord, my shield
And I will love You, Lord, my rock
Forever, all my days, I will love You, God
I will love You, Lord, my strength.”