Psalm 96

Today's scripture is Psalm 96. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.
² Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.
³ Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
⁴ For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: 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 Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
⁷ Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
⁸ Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.
⁹ O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
¹⁰ Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.
¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
¹² Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
¹³ Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

Verse 1 - When I receive salvation, I have a new song. The lyrics to my life song have changed. So I'll be singing a new song to the Lord. One day all the earth will sing this song to Him.

When I was in college, the big thing to do on your online journal was answer survey questions. One of those questions was inevitably something about describing the soundtrack of your life. My answer was inevitably going to contain some band like Metallica, KoRn, Slipknot, or some other equally depressing music. Now, I have no judgment toward the music itself, but the lyrics are certainly not uplifting at all. I am glad to say my "life songs" have changed, and I believe for the better.

Verse 2 - Sing to God, blessing His name. The singing is never about me or my talents, or lack thereof! It's singing to God and worshiping Him through music. I need to tell others every day of what He's done for me. If nothing else, for my salvation!

Verse 3 - I have to tell the lost about God's glory and His miracles. All people deserve to hear that, even if they don't accept it.

Verse 4 - God is great and so deserving of praise. He is to be feared. He is to be taken seriously, over all other gods that we tend to create.

Verse 5 - Anything we put before God is just a flat out idol. God is the creator of the universe. He is much more than just an idol.

Verse 6 - He deserves honor and majesty. He is honorable and majestic and strong and beautiful. All of these words trace back to the word "glory" in the original language. God is absolutely worthy of all our worship because of His glorious nature.

Verse 7 - We must GIVE. Give Him glory. Bring Him glory by how we live our lives. Give Him strength. Whatever energy we have needs to be used for God's glory. That's tough. I spoke yesterday on how I can easily struggle with laziness. I get tired very quickly and it's easy for me to stray away from using my energy for God. It's easier to use it to accommodate myself. We have to be very careful of that.

Verse 8 - The glory due God. What is that? Giving an offering? Going to church? Entering into a passionate, intimate relationship with Him? These are the LEAST things we can do for Him. He is deserving of so much more.

Romans 12:1 tells us that you should "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." We are to be a living sacrifice unto God. This is our absolute minimal service to God. But we so quickly forget that in our day to day lives. We think we are doing God a huge favor when we come to church or do something for others in His name. I bet 75% of the time we are doing those things not even truly in His name, but just for our own glory. I don't think many of us know what it truly means to be a living sacrifice to God. And yes, I definitely include myself in that statement!

Verse 9-10 - Worship God and fear Him! Tell unbelievers that He reigns. One day the earth will fall at His feet and not be moved. There will be no doubts. At that time all people will be judged and it will be done righteously.

Verses 11-12 - Even His creation will rejoice - the heavens, the earth, the sea, the fields, and all the trees.

Verse 13 - Everything will come into submission before God because He is coming to judge the earth, and all people. God is truth, and He will judge all of us in truth. Not like we do as humans, where we choose sides based on what we think is truth, or because of someone's gender or race or intelligence level. He is TRUTH. He is righteous (lawful; just) and will judge based on the entire truth as He knows it.

Comments? Questions?