June 2, 2013
Second Sunday After Pentecost
1 Kings 18:20-39; Psalm 96; Galatians 1:1-12; Luke 7:1-10
1 Sing a new song to the Lord!
Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
2 Sing to the Lord; praise his name.
Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
3 Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
4 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 The gods of other nations are mere idols,
but the Lord made the heavens!
6 Honor and majesty surround him;
strength and beauty fill his sanctuary.
7 O nations of the world, recognize the Lord;
recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
8 Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
Bring your offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
Let all the earth tremble before him.
10 Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
He will judge all peoples fairly.
11 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
12 Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise
13 before the Lord, for he is coming!
He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
and the nations with his truth.
Today, I challenge you to read slowly through this psalm. It’s a pretty amazing piece of scripture. As I read through it, I catch bits and pieces of various songs and hymns that we have sung over the years.
A couple of them are:
- O Zion Haste (Publish Glad Tidings)
- The Trees of the Field
- Great is the Lord
Just to name a few. This psalm speaks greatly to the work that God’s people are called to do. I love this quote from John Piper that I heard many years ago, back while I was still at Indiana Wesleyan.
“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”
This psalm speaks a great deal to this quote. If God’s people are engaged in worship. Evangelism and the spreading of the Gospel is a natural outpouring of worship. When we worship God, especially through singing, we sing of God’s character – we sing about God’s love for us – we sing about how Jesus came to earth; how he lived; how he died; that his blood was shed for our sins; how he rose again; how Jesus is coming back again – we sing about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives – we testify to the work that God, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit has changed our lives in so many ways. When we do that, people can’t help but notice and in turn begin to seek after this God who can change and transform them as well.
I think this psalm also speaks to the fact that song and worship should be a part of our live every hour and every day. Worship is a lifestyle and so should the songs we sing.
