Judges 6:33-40; Luke 22:54-71; Psalms 96:1-13; Proverbs 21:23-24
Psalms: “Sing a new song to the Lord; let the whole earth sing to the Lord. Sing to the Lord, bless his name; proclaim his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples. For the Lord is great and is highly praised; he is feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; bring an offering and enter his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken. He judges the peoples fairly.” Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound. Let the fields and everything in them celebrate. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord, for he is coming — for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his faithfulness.” (Psalms 96:1-13 CSB)
Most of this Psalm comes from a song that was sung on the day that David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16:23-33). It is a celebration of the goodness and greatness of God. Sing, sing, Sing! 3 times the psalmist calls us to sing to the Lord. We sing to the Lord a new song. Why? Our God is I AM, the ever-present God. He isn’t just the God of the past… He is the God or our present realities. We aren’t limited of songs about what He used to do. We can sing fresh new songs of what He is doing in our lives now. Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! This isn’t just a call to God’s people – it is a call to all of creation to give praise and thanks to the creator and sustainer of all life. Sing to the Lord songs of blessing (celebration, praise, and adoration) and proclaim the good news (the gospel) of His salvation every day! The gods of the peoples… the gods of culture and society… the gods of the nations of the world: they are good-for-nothing, worthless idols. Our God, on the other hand, created the entire universe! So give Him high praise! Ascribe, ascribe, ascribe! 3 times the psalmist calls us to ascribe to the Lord. Ascribe means to attribute to. The psalmist calls everyone – all the people groups of the world, to ascribe to God. What do we ascribe to Him? Glory (honor, majesty, splendor, dignity, weightiness) and strength. We are to ascribe to Him the glory that is due His incomparable, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent name – and we are to worship (bow down completely and surrender fully) Him in the splendor and jaw-dropping beauty of His perfect and complete holiness. Imagine if we truly held God in such high regard. How would our lives be different than they are now? How would we impact the world around us? Oh, for a moment even – turn away from the craziness of all that is going on around us and look to the Lord who is high and lifted up. Ascribe to Him the glory that He is due through songs of praise and adoration. Worship Him in His awesome and wonderful holiness. Let God’s greatness and awesomeness inform your perspective on the world and see if that doesn’t bring you peace. Then say to the chaotic world as you go about your day, “The Lord reigns!”
Jamie Hicks 