CELEBRATE SALVATION
Opening Prayer
I praise you and thank you, Lord God, for the countless ways you sustain and provide for me and those I love.
Read PSALM 98
Psalm 98
A psalm.
1 Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
9 let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Look back over your life with God. Identify key moments when you have experienced his love. As you read the psalm, let it lead you into praise.Here is a glorious, enthusiastic celebration of all that God has done for his people. Perhaps the psalmist was thinking of the Exodus, or the return from exile, or victory in battle. Whatever it was, God had saved his people. Look through the psalm again to see some of the ways in which the writer described God and his actions.
We have even more to celebrate. No doubt Paul, having met the crucified and risen Christ, could have used words like this to describe his experience. You could check out some of his own words in Romans 11:33–36 or Colossians 1:15–20. So, what better psalm to read on this first day of the week when we gather to honor the death and resurrection of Jesus—God’s supreme victory over all the powers of evil.
The praise here is exuberant and abandoned: shouting, singing, making music. The whole of creation joining in. We may express our feelings in different ways, depending on our mood, our personality, or the nature of worship in our churches. The key thing is to focus on who God is, what he has done for us, and to respond in ways that genuinely celebrate his character and honor him.
Apply
Look for things to praise God for today. Pick up some of the ideas in this psalm to express them. Praise him.
Closing prayer
I rejoice, Father, because I know that Christ died and rose for me—and now, in heaven, intercedes for me.
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