August 26, 2005
SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG!
Psalm 96
Why do we exist? Do you ever ask yourself that question? What are we here for? What is our highest, most important calling? One of the church’s ancient creeds answers the question this way: The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. In other words, we exist to glorify God; to declare his praise and to give him the glory that he and he alone deserves.
Turn with me to Psalm 96. (Read the entire psalm.) We are continuing today in our series “Sipping from the Psalms.” In this series I have tried to choose a variety of psalms, dealing with different themes and topics. The psalm I have chosen today represents a type of psalm that is very common. It is what we might call a “psalm of praise.” Now, as we might expect, most of the psalms have an aspect or ingredient of praise in them. But certain ones focus almost exclusively on praise. Psalm 96 is one of those. In fact it is such a good example of psalm of praise that it gives us valuable instruction in the nature of praise and how to do it.
As we look at this psalm, we are not going to look at it verse by verse or section by section. Rather, I want to use this psalm to ask and answer some fundamental questions about praise. There are six common interrogatives in the English language. Can you think back to your school days, and tell me what they are? Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Great! That’s right. I want to use those as an approximate outline for my message this morning.
First, 1. The Who and Whom of Praise. Let’s take the second one first. Who is the whom of praise? In other words, who is the object of our praise? When we praise, who is the focus? Psalm 96 leaves us in no doubt on this subject. The whom of our praise is the LORD. And if you look closely, you will see that this is LORD with all capitals. That means that the word in the original manuscripts here is the special covenant name of God. That name, in Hebrew, is Yahweh. It is sometimes translated Jehovah. It is the special name that God gave to Moses at the burning bush, when he told Moses, my name is Yahweh, or “I AM.” God has revealed himself to us by many names and titles. Many of the psalms use a variety of names for God in the original text. They will use Yahweh, and Adonai and Elohim and various combinations and qualifiers. But in this psalm, only the one name is used, and it is repeated 11 times. (Pick it out of verses 1,2,4,7-8.)
Yahweh is the one we praise. It’s all about him. He is the one true God who should be the one and only object of our worship and praise. But if God is the Whom of our praise, who is the Who? If God is the “praisee” who are the praisers? In other words, who should do the praising? As we survey Psalm 96, we find a very simple but profound truth: The call to praise Yahweh is universal. Everyone and everything is called to join in praise of God.
This note is struck in the very first verse. Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD all the earth.
Another word is used in verses 3 and 10. It is translated in the NIV as “the nations”. But in the KJV you will find the word “heathen”. It is the Hebrew word goy which was the word used to describe all people who were not Jews, in other words, the Gentiles. Now, if we read carefully, we see that in those two verses, the Gentile nations are not so much doing the praising, but rather the Jews, God’s people, are actually being told to praise God in the hearing of the Gentiles. Declare his glory among the Gentiles. (verse 3) Say among the Gentiles “The LORD reigns.” But why is this declaration to be made? The clear teaching of the Bible, including the Old Testament, is that they are to be told of the glories of Yahweh so that they can join in worshipping and praising him. The call to praise Yahweh is universal.
Then there is the phrase in verse 7, O families of nations. The word “families” is the equivalent of “tribes” or “clans”. Not only are all nations and peoples to praise God, but so are all the tribes and clans within the nations and peoples. The call to praise Yahweh is universal.
But the psalm is not yet finished. Who else is called to join in praise of Yahweh? We see here that the whole creation itself is included in the call. In a sense we already saw this in verse 1 when “all the earth” is called to praise. But it is made more specific in 11-12. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.
Isn’t that a beautiful picture? First, all tribes and families and peoples and nations are called to join in praise to the one true God, and then creation itself is called to join the mighty, joyful chorus. The call to praise Yahweh is universal. This is the who and the whom of praise.
Let’s move on to some of our other interrogatives. 2. What is praise and how do we do it? To answer these two interrogatives, I have simply gone through and listed some of the imperatives or commands included in this psalm. These commands give us a pretty clear picture of the basic activities and components of praise.
The first command is a. Sing. This is the command that opens the psalm and it is repeated three times. Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord. Singing is a basic act and expression of praise.
The second command is found in verse 2: b. Praise his name. The King James Version translates this bless his name. The root idea is to say good things about someone or something. The phrase here is parallel and therefore very similar to the phrase “sing to the Lord.” To praise, or bless the name of the Lord is something we can do in song. But it is also something we can do in words and in everyday conversation. Say good things about God and extol his reputation.
The third command is also in verse 2: c. Proclaim his salvation. The emphasis here is on publishing, making known or preaching. The word “salvation” should be broadly interpreted in this context, and not limited to salvation from sin. In the Old Testament context, they would have interpreted this in the context of God saving them from Egypt, and from their enemies, and from their many troubles. The point was to make God’s saving works known. To tell what God had done. And certainly, while this does not refer exclusively to salvation from sin, it would include proclaiming the wonderful truth that God has delivered us from our sins.
The fourth command is in verse 3: d. Declare his glory. This is at the heart of the matter, is it not? This is our chief purpose and our highest calling; To declare his glory. Our church purpose statement begins with the words: “The purpose of the ECC is to glorify God in word and deed…” This is what we have in mind. To make his glory known, both by what we say and what we do.
The fifth command is also repeated 3 times in verses 7-8: e. Ascribe to the Lord. This is then followed by what we are to ascribe or give to him: glory and strength and the glory due his name. What does it mean to “ascribe” or “give” glory and strength to the Lord? Think of the image of a testimonial dinner, at the conclusion of some great project. A great job has been completed and done well. At the conclusion of the dinner is the time for the speeches. The master of ceremonies calls out certain people to receive special awards or recognition. As he calls each one forward to receive their award, he describes their contribution to the project. He “ascribes” to them what they have in fact already contributed, but he does so in order that all will know and recognize and applaud what they have done. This is what we are doing when we “ascribe” glory to the Lord, and give him the “glory due his name.”
How else can we praise the Lord? f. Bring an offering. We see this in verse 8: Bring an offering and come into his courts. There were various kinds of offerings commanded in the Old Testament. There were different kinds of sin offerings. But there were also praise offerings and thank offerings. Simply gifts to express praise and thanksgiving to God for his goodness and blessing. This is why, when we take the offering in our services each week, I usually say something like: “Let’s continue our praise and worship by bringing our offerings to the Lord.” Offerings can be given in time and service as well as money. Of course, the ultimate offering that God desires from us is expressed in Romans 12:1: I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices.
Finally, the psalm says g. Worship the Lord. This one is found in verse 9: Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. The basic idea of the word “worship” means to bow down or prostrate one’s self face down before the Lord. The parallel line says tremble before him. It expresses an attitude of heart and mind that is filled with reverential awe as the worshipers enter the presence of the holy God of the universe.
So that is what praise is and some ways to do it. Let’s look quickly at a couple more interrogatives: 3. When should we praise? There is only one time-related phrase in Psalm 96. It is found in verse 2: Proclaim his salvation day after day. In other words, praise is not an activity confined to one hour a week or one day a week. It is something that is to happen everyday. We could translate this phrase “from one day to the next day.” In other words, continuously.
4. Where should we praise? A quick answer to the question would obviously be, “Everywhere!” Clearly if the call to praise Yahweh is universal, then praise is an everywhere activity. But I would just point out one phrase in the text that is worthy of our consideration. In verse 8 we read, Bring an offering and come into his courts. Now I am not suggesting that the temple courts were the only place that the people could praise the Lord. Surely we can and should praise him everywhere. But there is also this command that we should set aside a special time and a special place for focused praise and worship. It is a time and a place that is more conducive to worship and praise. If we neglect the courts of the Lord, I am afraid that over time our praise will lose its cutting edge, its focus, and be absorbed into the routine of everyday life.
The final point in our message is 5. Why praise the Lord? What is the content of our praise? If Yahweh is the focus and object of our praise, what is it about him that calls us to praise? As I have meditated on this psalm, I would summarize the answer to this question in four categories.
In other words we should praise him for what theologians sometime refer to as his attributes. His character, his very being. Let’s take a quick look at some of the attributes of God’s excellence which are singled out for praise in this psalm.
His name. (v.2: Praise his name) In the Bible, the name stands for the totality of a person’s identity and reputation. Names were extremely important in Biblical culture. God’s name is who he is. Praise his name.
His glory. (v.3, Declare his glory; v. 8: Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.)
His greatness. (v. 4: Great is the LORD.)
His splendor and majesty. (v.6: Splendor and majesty are before him)
His strength. (v.6: Strength and glory are in his sanctuary. v. 7: Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.)
His holiness. (v.9: Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.)
I am not attempting any precise definitions here, nor am I suggesting that this is an exhaustive list. I am simply establishing this as a category for praise. We are to praise God for who he is; His attributes: His very essence. Whenever we find out something new about God, or experience him in some new way, we can give him praise. There is a phrase in this psalm that beautifully sums it all up. It’s found in verse 4: For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise. He is worthy of our praise because of who he is.
We are to praise him for his past works. Three works are mentioned in this psalm. First is his work in creation. Verse 5 says: For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. This was the kind of praise that inspired Psalm 8 when David wrote: When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers; the moon and the stars, which you have set in place. Such meditation leads us to praise.
The second mention is Yahweh’s work of salvation. Verse 2: Proclaim his salvation… When God saves us, whether it is salvation from sin, or salvation from some dilemma or problem, we are called to proclaim that and make known his salvation.
The third mention is broader yet. Verse 3: Declare…his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
A number of the psalms are given over to a detailed accounting of Israel’s history, as the people praised him for his marvelous deeds.
We should do the same. We should look at what God has done in creation, in history, in salvation and in our own lives, and burst forth in praise.
This is important, because God’s works are not all in the past. He continues to work in our world today, and his present working calls for our praise. Notice verse 10: Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” The praise here is for the sovereignty of God in the universe. He is king. He reigns over all. This fact calls us to praise. This verse also points to another of God’s present works. The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; This refers to his sustaining work. The world continues in its orbit and the universe in its order because God sustains it. This fact should inspire us to praise.
In many ways, this is the primary emphasis of this particular psalm. And it particularly looks to the truth that he is coming to judge the earth. Look at verse 10: He will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.
How and why do God’s future works call for such intense praise, and why is it of such particular interest to the earth and the sea and the fields and the forests? I’d like to answer this question by turning to a New Testament passage. (Read Romans 8:18-25)
We live in a world that often seems out of control, and where justice and righteousness are often missing, when pain and groaning seem to be our daily experience. But as the hymn writer states, “That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.” He is coming to judge the world. And when he comes, he will judge with equity; in other words with fairness and even-handedness. We’re also told in verse 13 that he will judge the world in righteousness and according to his utter truthfulness and faithfulness. He will reveal his children and bestow his glory upon them. He will release the creation from its bondage. He will set all things right. And so we wait. And while we wait, we groan. But while we groan, we can also praise. We praise and glorify God because of what he will do.
This is our purpose; to praise his name; to declare his glory among the nations; to ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Why? Because of who he is. He is great and most worthy of praise. Because of what he has done. Because of what he is doing. And, most joyfully of all, because of what he will do.