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
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2 thoughts on “Psalm 96”
I have the gift of growing up in a family where worship was as natural as breathing. My dad went about his day with a song on his lips. As a little girl I would watch him shave in the morning while he was singing. We often gathered around the piano while my mom played hymns as we sang together as a family. Praise and adoration daily reset our minds on the One who reigns and cannot be shaken. Praying that nothing distracts or steals my worship of God today. The hymn “To God be the Glory” is in my heart this morning.
I did not grow up in a household that worshipped God. It was a quiet faith. One that I only saw modeled in church on Christian holidays. I am forever grateful for the Holy Spirit grabbing ahold of my heart during my college years. It was then, through Campus Crusade for Christ, that I learned what worshipping our one true God, my Lord and Savior, looked like and felt like. Worship music is like a magnet that pulls me in, closer to God. It is one of my favorite ways to worship God. I am so thankful for the amazing worship team at HC and all the artists I listen to throughout the week on Christian radio.