Ascribing Glory to God: Psalm 96
“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. 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. 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.” Psalms 96:1-13
Sometimes it’s a blessing reading a whole Psalm without verse divisions. Such is the case with Psalm 96. There is so much packed into this Psalm. Let’s look a few.
First, we are to sing to the Lord a new song. God is constantly giving new songs to His people. Because I have walked with God for over fifty years, I have heard and worshipped with many “new songs.” Most of them are wonderful and amazing. Some fall short of a biblical standard.
My song repertoire is huge. I have worshipped God with many glorious songs over the years. One notable change relates to singing about God versus singing to God. Many new songs of the past few decades sing to God. This helps my spirit enter into worship.
Another insight from this Psalm is lifting up the greatness of God compared to the pathetic idols of the nations. He is not only the Creator, He is high and lifted up. He is holy, loving and just. He has no equal. He has no rival.
This not only relates to other gods, it also relates to other moral values and secular philosophies. The God of the Bible and His ways are far higher and superior to any other world view or scientific theory.
You cannot ascribe glorify to the God of Creation and embrace the crumbling theory of evolution at the same time. Be honest, evolution is the modern fuel of atheism. It is a demonic deception and assault on the very existence of God.
Finally, this Psalm calls upon God’s people to “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.” Three times we are admonished to ascribe to Him the glory due His name.
This is what Paul and Silas did in Acts 16:25 after being beaten and thrown in jail. What happened? The glory, power and presence of God showed up. It sparked an awakening.
We need to remind ourselves that prayer is not about prayer. Worship is not merely about singing. Both are about God. Both are ascribing majesty, power, glory and praise to Him. They involve taking our eyes off from self and focusing on Him no matter our outward circumstances.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
“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. 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. 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.” Psalms 96:1-13
Sometimes it’s a blessing reading a whole Psalm without verse divisions. Such is the case with Psalm 96. There is so much packed into this Psalm. Let’s look a few.
First, we are to sing to the Lord a new song. God is constantly giving new songs to His people. Because I have walked with God for over fifty years, I have heard and worshipped with many “new songs.” Most of them are wonderful and amazing. Some fall short of a biblical standard.
My song repertoire is huge. I have worshipped God with many glorious songs over the years. One notable change relates to singing about God versus singing to God. Many new songs of the past few decades sing to God. This helps my spirit enter into worship.
Another insight from this Psalm is lifting up the greatness of God compared to the pathetic idols of the nations. He is not only the Creator, He is high and lifted up. He is holy, loving and just. He has no equal. He has no rival.
This not only relates to other gods, it also relates to other moral values and secular philosophies. The God of the Bible and His ways are far higher and superior to any other world view or scientific theory.
You cannot ascribe glorify to the God of Creation and embrace the crumbling theory of evolution at the same time. Be honest, evolution is the modern fuel of atheism. It is a demonic deception and assault on the very existence of God.
Finally, this Psalm calls upon God’s people to “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.” Three times we are admonished to ascribe to Him the glory due His name.
This is what Paul and Silas did in Acts 16:25 after being beaten and thrown in jail. What happened? The glory, power and presence of God showed up. It sparked an awakening.
We need to remind ourselves that prayer is not about prayer. Worship is not merely about singing. Both are about God. Both are ascribing majesty, power, glory and praise to Him. They involve taking our eyes off from self and focusing on Him no matter our outward circumstances.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
