Luke 6:45 teaches us that, “For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” What fills your heart eventually comes out through your mouth! A heart filled with sports or hunting stats, will speak those things in regular conversation. A heart filled with anger or bitterness will speak those things in regular conversation. A heart filled with love will also speak those things in regular conversation. However, a heart that is filled with who God is and what God has done will also speak those things in regular conversation. Our great God deserves our great praise!
Psalm 96 is categorized as one of the “enthronement” psalms (15, 24, 27, 93, 95, 97-99). This category of psalms praise God for His sovereign rule and look forward to when He will rule the entire world with perfect justice. This particular psalm is also recorded in I Chronicles 16:23-33 and it gives us the context of King David celebrating the return of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. Some Bibles also list a subtitle for this psalm as “When the house was built after the captivity, a Song of David.” Since Israel returned from exile centuries after David, some scholars believe the subtitle indicates that this psalm was used at the temple dedication.
Sing to the Lord (96:1)
I was twelve years old when I accepted God’s gift, and that changed my life for all eternity! I grew up going to church. My parents made sure that we all went to church every time the doors were open. I went to every Sunday school class, vacation Bible school, and worship service. All those things are good and important, but they did not and do not grant me entrance into heaven. I could not save myself through all my good works. In fact, Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us all “For by grace you are saved, through faith, and that not of yourself. It is the gift of God, not by works, lest any man should boast.” One day, while sitting on my bed and reading my Bible (like good kids do), I realized all my good works had no power to save my soul. So that day, I called out to God and asked Him to save me, accepted His gift of taking my judgment in my place, and depended in Him alone for the forgiveness of sin and a home in heaven. What an incredible day! My future was hopeless, desperate, and destitute on my own, but with Jesus I had security and peace of mind. I have so much to praise God for!
Look at the words used in these verses.
Sing: to sing, especially a song of praise.
New Song: new, fresh, or renewed. This references a fresh praise springing out from God’s ongoing works.
Israel’s worship was not private. Their singing declared God’s character and saving acts to His own people AND to the nations around them. God has given us a “new song” to sing because He saved our souls! Our praise should be fresh, personal, and continual.
Share What God Has Done (96:2-3)
“Declare” in this verse means to declare good news, “glory” refers to God’s honor and splendor, “wonder” points to God’s extraordinary acts that are beyond human ability, and “nations” and “all people” typically indicates nations other than Israel, meaning the Gentiles.
In other words, God’s salvation should not be enjoyed just by Israel, but all the church…AND the church ought to share this salvation! Why? Because God is so much more than just the Deity of one nation called Israel. In this time and culture, it was commonly believed that each nation had its own god. These verses directly confront that lie. The psalmist declares that God is the Lord over all nations!
The flooding in Indiana this month began after repeated rounds of heavy storms starting August 11. It is reported that some areas received up to a foot of rain and the White River reached records levels not seen since 1913. The result was widespread flooding, evacuations, water rescues, and significant damage!
When the water began rising, people did more than simply acknowledge there was a flood. They responded to what they knew! Emergency crews were called out and over 50 rescue operations took place in Indianapolis alone. A genuine situation produced a genuine response.
When we genuinely understand who God is and what He has done, something ought to happen in us. Genuine worship will lead to genuine testifying of God’s works. What God has done for us cannot stay just with us; we must share the works of God! This isn’t manufactured enthusiasm. This is genuine response to who God is! He is great, worthy, glorious, and has done marvelous things!
Stand in Awe of Him (96:4-5)
The word “fear” in these verses is a reverent awe and worship. The word “idols” literally means worthless things or nothings.
The Lord did more than claim He is God. He made the heavens! The Lord is great and the false gods are worthless! We praise the Lord today because there is none like Him!
When we recently attended a family wedding on the western slope of Colorado, we saw the incredibly powerful hand of God at work. You see, the wedding was in a small town over the mountain pass. So, we flew into Colorado Springs, picked up my wife’s parents (who flew in just 10 minutes after us), and we drove 4 hours to the other side of the rocky mountains. With all that driving in the mountains, we saw the powerful hand of God through His creation. The views were stunning! We even stopped on the way back to the eastern side of the mountains to take pictures (but the pictures cannot convey the depth of the beauty we witnessed).
The second way we witnessed the powerful hand of God was through His miraculous protection. At one point during our return trip of climbing the mountains again, we had two lanes in the east bound lanes that we were in, and the west bound side had only one lane. Our side of the highway had steep drop offs, while the other side of the highway had the mountain side. As we drove, a large truck and a long camper was driving on our right. With the constant curves of the road, steep inclines, and missing guard rails from time to time, I paid close attention to my lane. What I did not see, was that the truck and long camper were traveling in a lane that was ending. I must have been in the driver’s blind spot, because he just pulled into the spot I was driving in. This meant our car was pushed fully into the lane of traffic headed the opposite direction! So, I hit the brakes and turned into the right lane right behind the truck and camper. The west bound lane of traffic just happened to have no cars for another 15 to 20 seconds, enough time to get to safety. It could have been a deadly car crash. God intervened when we didn’t even realize He was working on our behalf and cleared traffic for a good 15 to 20 seconds, enabling us to get to safety.
What has God done in or through you recently? What new step of faith has God brought you to choose because of what God has done or because of who God is?