This week we are asking the
question "Does worship really matter?" To answer that question we are
looking at the playlist of worship of the Jewish people, which is recorded for
us in a letter in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Psalms. Yesterday,
we saw a man named David reveal for us the profound truth that the Heavens are
telling the glory of God.
In other words, the universe
that God created is actively worshipping the Lord in a way the recounts the
splendor, radiance, and majesty of the Lord. The universe declares and provides
the evidence of God’s character and activity in the world. The start of every
day speaks in a way that informs us of the glory of God. The activity of the universe
during every evening declares its knowledge of the greatness and splendor of
God
Even if every human being on
the planet refused to worship the Lord, the Lord would not be lacking in
worship. Even if every angelic being refused to worship the Lord, the Lord
would not be lacking worship. The Lord would not be lacking worship because the
entire created universe worships the Lord. The entire universe worships the
Lord in a way that recounts and declares the splendor, radiance and majesty of
the Lord. Today, we see another song on this playlist of worship of the Jewish
people, which is found in Psalm 96:1:
Sing to the
LORD a new song; Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His
name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory
among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
Here the Psalmist commands the
Jewish people and the entire earth to sing to the Lord a new song. Now the
Psalmist is not commanding humanity to write a new worship song every day to
sing to the Lord. Instead he is commanding humanity to live every single day as
an act of worship to the Lord. When the psalmist uses the word bless here, this
word bless means to praise.
In addition, to proclaim good
tidings conveys the sense of proclaiming and making known how the Lord is
actively at work in the world to bring rescue and repair to lives of those who
were once separated from God as a result of their selfishness and rebellion.
The Psalmist is commanding humanity to tell of the splendor, radiance, and
majesty of the Lord as seen in His extraordinary activity in the world that
provides humanity the opportunity to experience forgiveness and the
relationship with God that they were created for.
Now a natural question that
could arise here is “Well Dave, why is the psalmist commanding us to worship
the Lord? I mean, that sounds like the Lord demands our worship?” We see the
psalmist provide the answer to that question in verses 4:
For great is the LORD and greatly to be
praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are
idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
Here we see the psalmist reveal
for us the reality that the reason why he was commanding humanity to worship
the Lord was due to the fact that there is only One being that is deserving of
our worship. And that One being is the Lord.
Every other object of worship that people were placing as highest value
in their lives was a part of creation that was a false and faulty god.
However, the Lord is the Creator
of the universe. The Lord alone was worthy of being the object of worship that
people were placing of highest value in their lives because the Lord alone
demonstrated the splendor, majesty, power and beauty that was deserving of
worship.
Instead of worshipping the
creation, which as we saw in Psalm 19, worships the Lord, humanity is to
respond by living a life that views Him as being of ultimate value and worth as
the Creator of everything that exists. And because of that reality, we see the
Psalmist say the following in verse 7-13:
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the
peoples, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory
of His name; Bring an offering and come into His courts. Worship the LORD in
holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations,
"The LORD reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be
moved; He will judge the peoples with equity." Let the heavens be glad,
and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field
exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for
joy Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He
will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.
Now when the Psalmist uses the
word ascribe here, this word literally means to give. So the Psalmist here is
commanding humanity to give to the Lord the honor and power that He alone is
deserving of as the Lord. When the psalmist uses the word worship, this word literally
means to bow down. In addition, when the psalmist uses the phrase holy attire,
he is not referring to dressing up in a suit.
Instead, this phrase literally
means the splendor of His holiness. The psalmist is referring to the splendor
of the Lord’s unique otherness that sets Him apart as being distinctly
different from the rest of the creation. The psalmist here is commanding
humanity to worship the Lord by bringing humanity back to the definition of
worship, which is a life that is lived in a way that is focused on and that
responds to God’s character and activity in the world so as to value the Lord
supremely.
The psalmist then reveals the
reality that, just as we saw in Psalm 19, the creation worships and makes much
of the Lord as a result of the awesome acts of God’s activity in the creation
that will come to fulfillment upon Jesus return to earth. At the end of God’s
story here on earth, Jesus will return to usher in the kingdom of Heaven in its
fullest sense and to judge with justice all of humanity.
We see this reality revealed
for us in a section of the very final letter that is recorded for us in the
Bible called the book of Revelation. Friday, we will jump into the book of
Revelation together...
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