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.
Psalm 96:1-3
Do you remember who was elected president of the student body of public school 99 in 1998? Probably not. It’s more than likely because you aren’t as old as me, didn’t attend the same elementary school as me, but most importantly because nothing about it was newsworthy. What about the person elected president in 2008? 2016? Most likely you do. Why? Because it’s much more newsworthy and that’s because the implications of who becomes President of the United States are much greater than the student president of an elementary school.
The reason I’m using this illustration is because in Psalm 96, the Psalmist calls for all of the earth to declare the works of the Lord. This isn’t an exaggeration, the Psalmist truly wants every nation, every tribe to hear of what the Lord has accomplished, the deeds He has done. It takes a very clear revelation of God’s glory and splendor to be able to proclaim and demand this type of worship. Here’s the thing: the Psalmist wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s no other reasonable response than for the heavens, nations and inanimate objects (Psalm 96:11-12) throughout the earth to burst forth with praise for all God has done and more importantly, who He is.
The call for us as followers of Jesus is to get honest about what our worship looks like on a consistent basis. If my worship was a currency, would it buy me much? If my worship was a news story, who would hear about it? The level of my worship will always be attached to my level of revelation of who God is, and the beauty of His grace is that even when my worship is small, He’s made Himself available to be known so that our worship can be lifted to match it.
- Pastor Ryan Schlachter
Lord, today I pray that I would see how worthy of song You actually are. If my revelation of You has become dull, reveal Yourself in a fresh way to my heart, so that I can give You a life of worship that reflects just how awesome and wonderful Your name truly is. Amen.
