I was considering which psalm to write about this week as we approach Christmas Day, when I came across psalm 96. A psalm full of praise and wonder at the splendour of God. This seems appropriate to ponder on at this time of year. We can get caught up in; busy-ness, buying presents, attending events, seeing friends and family, food, putting up the decorations. Why not take a break from all that and have a read of this psalm. It may just refresh you and excite you for what Christmas is really all about;
Worship in the Splendour of Holiness
# 96
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!
*2* Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
*3* Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous works among all the peoples!
*4* For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
*5* For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
*6* Splendour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
*7* Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
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 splendour of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
*10* Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
*11* Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
*12* let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
*13* before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.
I love how this psalm just dives straight in. It shows us the exuberant outpouring of praise of this writer. Does it not inspire you to worship too?
At this time of year as we consider God becoming man to save us and demonstrate love to us, does that stir up the same excitement, joy and gratitude in you? Us, who live thousands of years after this psalm was written, and thousands of years after the brith of Jesus - We truly DO know His salvation day by day! We have seen and read and heard about the brith of the Son of God, probably in many ways, so we know and experience first-hand God's salvation plan worked out! Isn't that exciting?! And isn't that worth praising God for?
We can get so distracted by many other things as we approach Christmas and New Year, but don't forget to take time to also get caught up in the wonder, the awe, and beauty of what God achieved by sending his son, Jesus.
This God who sent His son to us inspires worship. When we take time to consider who He really is, as the psalmist has done, we too can, and should overflow with praise. When we begin to see the marvellous character of God, how can we not glorify Him? In these few verses we are reminded of God’s; greatness, power, creativity, strength, beauty, awesomeness, glory, authority, majesty, power, judgement, holiness, righteousness, splendour, fairness, salvation and faithfulness.
Surely that is worth singing about as the psalmist suggests?!
The whole Earth has reason to glorify God - Every single part of it! Our duty is to give it. Not to keep the joy inside as a private, personal matter, but to share the stories and the greatness of God with others. We are called to give, sing, declare, tell and worship. God’s magnificence should be expressed joyfully in our lives. We have much to appreciate, and this Christmas seems like is a good time to show and share it.
So, I wish you all a Merry Christmas as you celebrate who God is. Let us all remember to, 'Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name', for then it will truly be a Merry Christmas for us all.
‘For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; ‘
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