Sing To The Lord! Series

Summer in the Psalms

Psalm 96 - Proclaim the Greatness of God

Pastor Jefferson M. Williams

Chenoa Baptist Church

08-08-2021

[Missa reading Psalm 96 in Spanish]

Background of Psalm 96

This morning we continue our Summer in the Psalms series by looking at what commentators call a “missionary song.”

Psalm 96 has no title or author but we actually know exactly what the occasion of its writing.

In I Chronicles 16:23-33, David enlists Asaph to write a psalm of praise for the singers and people to sing as the Ark of the Covenant was brought back from Obed-Edom to Jerusalem.

It’s a psalm of wonder and worship. It is filled with reverence and rejoicing for God. It is a song of missionary passion for the nations to know the joy of knowing this great God. It’s a psalm of worshipping, witnessing, and waiting for the return of the judge.

Turn to Psalm 96.

Prayer.

[Slide] A Command to Worship (1-3)

[Slide] Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

The first three verses contain four commands - sing, praise, proclaim, and declare.

The Psalm begins with a directive to sing to the Lord a new song.

Psalm 33 echoes the same:

“Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.” (Psalm 33:1-3)

“Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth…” (Isaiah 42:10)

This could literally mean sing a brand new song that was written for this occasion. Or is could mean to sing a song celebrating as Jeremiah writes in Lamentations:

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

In our singing, we praise His name. Remember, to praise his name is to focus on the attributes of God.

Did you notice that the psalmists tells us to sing three different times? Interesting. We’ll come back to that.

We proclaim His salvation day after day. We’ve got good news that never gets old. By our singing, in our worship, in our living for His glory alone, we are like a billboard for the greatness of God each and every day of our lives.

Christians have a desire to see others come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ from every tribe, tongue and nation.

We declare that God is glorious and are bold to tell of His marvelous deeds.

James Montgomery Boice defines glory as “the majestic aura of the divine presence.” This word literally means “weightiness, heavy, or impressive.”

This command is not just given to the nation of Israel but to “all the earth…the nations…the peoples.” God is not a local Deity but He is a global God with a global focus.

In Genesis 12, God tells Abraham that “all the families of the earth will be blessed through Him.” (Gen 12:3).

This is part of the fulfillment of this prophecy to Abraham that will ultimately culminate in the coming of the Messiah.

[Slide] The Cause of Worship (4-6)

We are called to worship with our lips and lives. But why? What are the reasons for this kind of passionate worship?

[Slide] For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

Simply put, because God is worthy of our worship! Look at the words that the psalmists uses to try to describe God - great, most worthy, made the heavens, splendor, majesty, strength, and glory! God is all of these things and so much more.

We should have a holy reverence and respect for God because He is isn’t some fake deity, He is the one that made the universe!

Let me quote Psalm 33 again:

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” (Psalm 33:8-9)

There is a play on words in the Hebrew that you don’t see in the English. God is Elohim but the idols are “elil,” which literally means “nothings.”

This isn’t exactly politically correct to say these days but there is only one God, all the other gods are demons, and only one way to God, all other ways lead to destruction:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Why do we worship and witness? Because God is worthy of all our praise!