The Lord is King
Opening Prayer
Sovereign, Loving Lord, I thank You that this complex, confusing and chaotic world is in Your powerful, good hands.
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.
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.
Meditate
“Psalm 96 is essentially an invitation to the whole universe to praise the Lord because he is creator and king, as well as its judge. As such, he is superior to all other gods who are in fact idols or nonentities” (A. A. Anderson). We worship a mighty God!
Think Further
We turn from the inconsistency of humans to rejoice in the faithful constancy of God. The psalmist calls us to meditate on God’s sovereign power over all nations; to see him against the backdrop of the gods of other nations in the reality of his creative power and saving work. Not just Israel but the whole earth is called upon to worship him and to tremble before him. And not just people but the whole of creation is called to praise him.
Calling this psalm a “new song” (1) will take our minds to Revelation 5:9 where a new song is sung in praise of the Lamb that was once slain. This helps us to hold together two aspects of God’s truth that are essential for our spiritual well-being and our attitude to sin. In this psalm we rejoice in a God who will judge the world with righteousness. We are assured that the world in which we live does not end in moral chaos, but with God righting all injustice and carrying out his judgments on all. In Revelation, we see Jesus the slain Lamb, who has taken our sins and their punishment upon himself and made us into his kingdom and priests to serve him (Rev. 5:10).
The just Judge and the merciful Savior combine as the object of our worship. He is the one who brings us to face up to the sins in our lives that we try to deny. Only as we confess our sins do we receive his forgiveness and look forward to an eternity living in his presence and worshiping him. It is because of the certainty of his righteous judgment that we can trust his extraordinary grace in saving us. Because this salvation is for all nations, it will make us enthusiastic proclaimers of the Gospel of our God and Savior.
Apply
Michael Wilcock in his commentary on this psalm says that it tells of a new scene, new singers, a new song and a new splendor. Look at the text and see how this outline fits the psalm, and consider what meaning it has for you.
Closing prayer
Praise to You, Mighty God and Lord of all. You are a loving, holding, holy God. I lift up my whole being in praise to You.
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