I don’t usually tell you how my messages come to me or how they are developed, but this time I will. For several weeks I have been thinking about bringing a message on the subject of “worship.” After prayer and deliberation, the Lord gave me a topical outline on the ingredients of Biblical worship. I came up with four points: worship involves “conviction,” “fascination,” “adoration” and “oblation.” Then as I began to develop those points, I eventually came to Psalm 96, and behold, I found the grounds for a textual sermon using each of my earlier points. In other words, I didn’t have to skip all over the Bible to fill out my outline; there it was in a handful of successive verses. But then, on further consideration, I found that this Psalm also sets the stage and lays the groundwork for that worship, giving me the introduction to my message. But I don’t like to make our lessons on Wednesday too long, so I have decided to make two or more messages out of my first thoughts.
So here is the INTRODUCTION to my message, and this may be more important than the message itself.
In my earlier preparation, I gathered a number of scriptures which exhort and encourage us to worship. There are many of them, like Psalm 29:2 – “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” And there is Psalm 95:6 – “O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” But then in coming to Psalm 96, we have our exhortation right here in the context. “O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.”
Note the word “bless” – “Bless his name.” The word refers to praise, but it contains the idea of humility and submission. Only once or twice, but it is translated “to kneel down.” “In humility, praise and adore the name of the Lord.” Once again, Psalm 95:6 – “O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our maker.”
The Psalmist lays no qualifications upon us, such as: “Hey, you with good voices, sing unto the Lord.” In fact, this is an exhortation to “all the earth” – sing. Lift up your voice in harmony, in a monotone, in a lack of harmony, whatever voice you have. Because remember that it is from the Lord you received your voice – use what He has given you. But… sing with exuberance and sincerity.
And sing a new song. Why a new song? Isn’t it because there is always something new for which to praise Him? “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness” – Lamentations 3:22-23. Anticipating next week’s Sunday School lesson, I believe that God’s mercy and love are experienced by ALL the earth, and that all the earth should praise Him. Ah, but those of us who have been redeemed, have infinitely more reason to worship the Lord. We should “show forth his salvation from day to day, constantly declaring his glory among the heathen.” We weren’t saved way back when and then left to our own devices ever since. We were drawn to Christ at some point in our lives, and He has been applying His salvation ever since.
Not only must the Christian vocally and publically worship the Lord for His salvation… But there are other aspects of His glory which are particularly applicable in these latter days. Such as creation. Don’t be afraid to speak of God’s creative handiwork. Verse 5 – “For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.” If you need a new dose of awe, step outside and look toward the galaxies, the aurora and even the moon. “For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens” and the EARTH. “Let the earth be glad, let the sea roar, let the field be joyful and the trees in the forest rejoice” – verses 12-13.
Verse 3 exhorts us to “declare his glory among the heathen, his WONDERS among all people.” Notice the word “wonders.” The same Hebrew word is used by the Lord when speaking to Abraham in Genesis 18:14. God said, “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” What are the “wonders” we are to declare among all people? Things “too hard” for anyone else. This refers to things miraculous, including, creation once again, and our salvation from sin.
These things are some of the reasons the Lord deserves our worship. These are “knees upon which to worship the Lord.” But our praise must not be confined to what the Lord has done…
We need to WORSHIP the Lord for WHO HE IS as well.
“For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.” Jehovah is “great;” the Hebrew word is sometimes translated: “the greatest.” He is superior and superlative; He is superb and supernatural, superceding all things. He is to be feared, reverenced and worshiped above all the pretended gods of this world. He puts Chemosh, Moloch, Baal and the gods of the Babylonians to shame. In fact the Romans, Greeks and Hindu with their thousands of worthless deities should be ashamed to call any of their idols “god.” How was it even possible for the Philistines worship Dagon, after picking him up when the Lord mysteriously pushed him over? How could they bow before him or expect him to do anything after they had to glue his hands back on?
When it comes to Jehovah, “honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.” Have you ever heard it said, “So-and-so lights up a room when she enters?” I have experienced such people, and I’ve experience just the opposite. Some people by their very presence kill the Spirit of God in a church service – and others can feel it. Similarly, but superlatively – honor, majesty, strength and beauty are always in the room when Lord is there. But there is more; much more. The Psalmist could have added – “holiness, love” and “justice” are in the Lord’s sanctuary. In Isaiah’s visit to the divine throne room, echoing between those walls were the words “holy, holy, holy.” And why? Because God IS holy, and there is nothing in His presence which is not holy as well. “Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty, holiness and love are in his sanctuary.”
I shouldn’t, but I will digress for a moment. I was asked to critique a small book the other day. The author died in 2009 after publishing well over a hundred books. The back cover was filled with praises for that author – probably written by himself. It says, “Robert B. Thieme, Jr, is a significant voice of Christianity throughout the world. He has recorded more than 11,000 hours of lectures. His extensive training in Greek, Hebrew, theology, history and textual criticism provided the foundation for his ministry” which resulted in a 53-year tenure at an interdenominational church in Houston.
The book is titled: “The Integrity of God,” and by that Thieme meant: the synchronized operation of God’s righteousness and justice. I had already run into some dubious statements, but with some hesitation, I was ready to read on. Then on page 6, he wrote, “Perhaps you are wondering why you have never before heard of the ‘integrity’ of God. The Authorized of King James Version of the Bible calls the combination of righteousness and justice the ‘holiness’ of God. But the word ‘holiness’ fails to communicate; it is anachronistic, antiquated, about as useful as Model T. I’ll tell you what Isaiah 6:3 (and its ‘holy, holy, holy”) means to most believers. Not a thing! Today, if the word ‘holy’ is not ambiguous, it is vague, if not vague, evanescent (disappearing). We need not tie ourselves to an obscure, emotion-tinged word, especially when an excellent, meaningful modern term is available. ‘Integrity, Integrity, Integrity’ that begins to communicate.” I kept reading that book up to page 25 only because I was on the treadmill at the gym, and I had nothing else to do for 30 minutes. In contrast to R.B. Thieme, I don’t believe the Lord would be upset with me for adding to verse 6 – “Honour and majesty are before him: strength, beauty and ABSOLUTE HOLINESS are in his sanctuary.”
Verses 7 to 9 will make up my text for next week’s lesson on worship, so I will only read them now. In them we see – I see – “conviction,” “fascination,” “adoration” and “oblation.” “Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.”
In the rest of the Psalm we have some EXHORTATIONS and INSTRUCTIONS to God’s worshipers.
For you who love the Lord and know Him to be the King of kings and Lord of lords, it is time to be evangelists. “Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.” Tell the heathen that JEHOVAH is God, and that He shall very soon judge them in absolute righteousness. One of these days, the Lord’s plan for creation will be completed. Whether you wish to talk about the Millennium, the thousand year reign of Christ on earth, or if you picture the new earth under the new heavens, every aspect of the new creation will worship the Lord. “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice… Before the LORD.”
The Lord is coming. This isn’t just a New Testament doctrine. This is a full, plenary Bible doctrine: the Lord is coming again. And “he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.” The Lord talks about this in Psalm 2 – “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little.” II Thessalonians 1:7 – “the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel our Lord Jesus Christ; Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.”
On whom will this judgment fall at the coming of the Son of God? On them that “know not God.” Isn’t this the purpose of our current series of Sunday morning lessons? How can we draw nigh unto God, if we don’t know him? How can we worship the Lord properly, if we don’t know him? Those who do know Him, will worship Him. They need very little encouragement to bless His name. They that know Him, know that “the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.”
And to those who know God by faith through the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ will come for them. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” What great comfort there is in those words.
I have given tonight’s lesson the title: “Knees upon which to worship the Lord.” Next Wednesday we’ll consider some of the aspects of proper worship – what it is to worship the Lord. But throughout this Psalm we have reasons to worship, praise and bless His name. These are the knees upon which to worship the Lord.