Sunday, January 27, 2013

Tell everyone (a Psalm of mission.)

Psalm 96:1-13 NLT

Sing a new song to the LORD!
Let the whole earth sing to the LORD! Sing to the LORD; praise his name.
Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise!
He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols,
but the LORD made the heavens! Honor and majesty surround him;
strength and beauty fill his sanctuary. O nations of the world, recognize the LORD;
recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong. Give to the LORD the glory he deserves!
Bring your offering and come into his courts. Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor.
Let all the earth tremble before him. Tell all the nations, “The LORD reigns!”
The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
He will judge all peoples fairly. Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise before the LORD, for he is coming!
He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
and the nations with his truth.

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You can hardly help but get all excited when reading this Psalm. This is a Psalm of mission; Psalm 96 is a Psalm of unashamed jubilant declaration of the need to tell everyone who God is.

Let's break it down.

The "new" song? Is it new compared to the songs of the world around us? Or is this a change of song for us? Either way it would be true. And what a welcome change it should be for us and our hearers. Let me invite you to sing with those who are joining in with heaven. And how wonderful and exciting, how meaningful and fulfilling to be singing something true, something real, something that matters to both the singer and the one sung to, and even more the one sung about.

Everyone is invited to join.

And how does the song go?

"Each day proclaim the good news that he saves."

He saves!

These are amazing rescues, God is a super hero. Listen to people telling all of the fantastic, wonderful, amazing, gracious, mind-blowing things God has done and plans to do.

The God who does great things is not the construct of men’s minds. He is not a worthless idol, symbolic of the worthless speculation of vivid wicked imaginations bent on the domination of others.
God is the creator of the universe.
He has made so many things of astounding intricacy, remarkable vastness and inexplicable grandeur that it is obvious we should recognise Him as God.
It is self-evident we should give God the glory he deserves. Say wonderful things about him. Shower him with praise. Speak of him in glowing terms.

Exclaim, Wowsers! Have you heard about what God has done? It's amazing! Better than a man walking on the moon. More monumental than England winning the world cup. This is big, bigger than a cure for cancer.

God reigns! He rules the world. Man can not get out of God's control. The planet is safe in his hands to do with it as he wishes. He brought it into being and he is able to hold it firm.

Maybe you are worried about the world, especially as it affects so many so powerfully. Maybe you worry about the planet because it is the source of life for every thing.
There is something bigger at stake. There is something more profound hanging in the balance. That is God's reputation. War is small in comparison, famine and disease are reversible and global warming or even extinction is not beyond his power. But God's rightful place in the hearts and mouths of God's people is the greatest issue of the day.

The coming of God’s justice requires more preparation than an asteroid plunging to the earth. The imminent judgement of God on this planet--now that is something we can do something about. For this event we can prepare. Your carbon footprint pales into insignificance compared to your injustice impression.
But God saves us from this wrath. We can praise him for his salvation.

Surely this is worth getting worked up about.

Join in the new song.

God saves!

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