A Psalm of Adoration: Psalm 96-Supplication through the Scriptures
A Psalm of Adoration
Psalm 96
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Revelation 5:9-10
Psalm 96 is a psalm of worship and adoration. Worship is “focusing on and responding to God…[it is] the God-centered focus and response of the inner man; it is being preoccupied with God” (Whitney). Worshiping God can be done with our whole lives and throughout the whole day as we live our lives unto His glory. However, there ought to be times throughout our week where we set aside time to really focus solely on our Lord. These times include both public and private worship.
Public worship is gathering together with other believers and singing praises together to the Lord and hearing the preaching of His Word. Private worship are the times throughout the week where we meet with the Lord on our own through scripture reading and prayer (it can include more than this as well). Both are essential for a believer. And both should be done in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). All our worship should be done in sincerity and based on the truth of God’s Word.
One element of private worship that can be neglected is simply praising God for who He is and singing that praise with our lips from our heart. Today’s psalm is an excellent resource to direct our hearts in praise to the Lord. It even calls for songs of praise to be sung. Perhaps some time this week, early one morning or in the car on the way to work, we could set aside time to praise the Lord and respond with songs of joy, really focusing on Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. In today’s prayer guide, I offer suggestions of what to praise the Lord for and a couple of song suggestions.
A new song
96:1-6 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Let’s praise the Lord for:
▫️His salvation. He has called us from darkness to His marvelous light, from being dead in our trespasses and sins to being alive in Christ, from bondage to freedom (1 Peter 2:9-10; Ephesians 2:4-9; Galatians 5:1).
▫️His marvelous works. What has He accomplished for you recently or in years past that you can praise Him for? What wonderful work in Scripture makes you rejoice in Him?
▫️He is to be feared. A fear “that acknowledges that God is all-powerful and sovereign over everything” (Longman). Praise Him that we can approach Him with confidence in holy reverence for whatever situation we face today because He is ruling over that situation for our good.
▫️He is Creator. All belongs to Him and He rules all.
▫️Splendor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
Songs for worship:
Worship the Lord
96:7-9 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
Let’s praise the Lord for:
▫️His glory and strength. His splendor covers the heavens and the earth is full of His praise. His radiance is like the sunlight. The heavens declare His glory, and the skies proclaim His handiwork (Habakkuk 3:3-4; Psalm 19:1).
▫️He is holy. He is set apart, high, and lifted up. There is no unrighteousness or stain of sin in Him. He is light and in Him is no darkness at all (Habakkuk 1:13; 1 John 1:5).
▫️The whole earth shall worship Him. One day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).
Songs for worship:
He is coming
96:10-13 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.” Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 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.
Let’s praise the Lord for:
▫️He reigns. He is ruling and sovereign over all the earth, all the inhabitants of the earth, including us and every detail of our lives. The earth shall never be moved because it is upheld by His powerful word (Hebrews 1:3). And by His strength, we shall not be shaken (Psalm 62:2,6).
▫️He is a God of justice and He will judge with righteousness. He is just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ (Romans 3:26). We can leave all matters in His hands because He is the God of justice and vengeance is His (Romans 12:19).
▫️He is coming. One day we will see all things set right, restored, made new. One day we will see Him. He is coming to bring us to Himself and we will dwell with Him for all eternity perfectly holy and happy (Hebrews 10:37; James 5:8).
Songs for worship:
May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All right reserved.
Photo credit to patuphotos
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