Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Reflections on Psalms 96

 Psalms 96(Contemporary English Version)
  1. Sing a new song to the LORD! Everyone on this earth, sing praises to the LORD,
  2. sing and praise his name. Day after day announce, "The LORD has saved us!"
  3. Tell every nation on earth, "The LORD is wonderful and does marvelous things!
  4. The LORD is great and deserves our greatest praise! He is the only God worthy of our worship.
  5. Other nations worship idols, but the LORD created the heavens.
  6. Give honor and praise to the LORD, whose power and beauty fill his holy temple."
  7. Tell everyone of every nation, "Praise the glorious power of the LORD.
  8. He is wonderful! Praise him and bring an offering into his temple.
  9. Everyone on earth, now tremble and worship the LORD, majestic and holy."
  10. Announce to the nations, "The LORD is King! The world stands firm, never to be shaken, and he will judge its people with fairness."
  11. Tell the heavens and the earth to be glad and celebrate! Command the ocean to roar with all of its creatures
  12. and the fields to rejoice with all of their crops. Then every tree in the forest will sing joyful songs
  13. to the LORD. He is coming to judge all people on earth with fairness and truth.

Psalms 96 is a general psalm of praise calling the people to "Sing a new song to the Lord." This suggests the psalmist is calling them to praise Him for new mercies received rather than repeating praises for old mercies.

There is a progression to the psalm. First the people are called to sing praises to the Lord. Then they are told to declare His glory to other people, "among the nations." The Lord is greater than the idols worshiped by other nations. Next, they are to ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, both in their own worship and as they proclaim Him to other nations. Therefore, all people of the earth are called on to worship the Lord. Finally, along with the people of the earth, all nature is called to join them in worship. The heavens and the sea, the fields and the trees of the forest are all called upon to "shout for joy before the Lord." With the addition of all nature in this worship, a new aspect is introduced. Now the worship has the element of joy in anticipation of the Lord's coming. In His coming, "He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with His faithfulness." (96:13)

When the Lord comes and judges the world with His righteousness, there will no longer be injustice in the world. There will no longer be fighting among people. All things will be made right. This is the result of every knee bowing before the Lord and every heart being made new. There will be no religious systems which are often more barrier than aid to connecting with God. There will only be our direct relationship to God, with no pretense. It will be such that not only are all people right with God, but are also right with each other, a condition that is only possible when we are right with God.

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