Our text is from Psalm 96:
“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous deeds among all peoples” (Psalm 96:1-3).
What's the point of life? Where is history headed? Is it just a random series of events? Why even ask questions like this? Isn't it better just to do one's best to survive? Can't we just adopt the old bumper sticker: 'the one with most toys wins'? How would you define toys? What would winning mean for you?
As Christians, Psalm 96 helps us shape an answer to these questions. The point of history and our lives, as short as they may be, is to worship God. We have long believed that declaring the glory of God gets about as close to the heart of living as we can get.
There is an important context to our psalm. It’s a shortened version of the song Israel sang as the ark was given its place in Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 16 tells the story. God is enthroned as King in the worship of his people. His presence, glory, is symbolically present among his people ‘between the cherubim’ which covered the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle.
This presence of God is a shadow leaning forward towards Jesus, for John says, ‘the word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us” (John 1:14). There is more. This psalm is about God as king. “Say among [all] the nations, the Lord reigns” (10). Jesus leans back to this psalm when he says to Pilate, “You say correctly that I am a king” (John 18:37).
The writer of Hebrews declares that “After he had provided purification for sins, [Jesus] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (1:3). Jesus is king. Our text is fulfilled in Christ’s resurrection and ascension. John sees and hears it in Revelation 5 when all the creatures in heaven and earth gather to sing a “new song”: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13).
When we talk about the mission of the church, we start here. Everything the church does flows out of this desire to give glory to God, who is King. The followers of Jesus on this earth long for that day when all glory will be given to God. But here we come up against the problem don't we: do we desire to give glory to God?
Let's not gloss over this matter of our desires. If you are starting your day with this meditation: what is your goal for the day?
When raising your children: what is your goal? If you are on your way to your workplace: what is your goal? If you are in a dispute with a family member, co-worker, or church member: what is your goal? What do you want?
You see, most of us do believe in the bumper sticker: the one with the most toys wins! To believe that the goal of life, of history, of the church, is to give glory to God is much too difficult.
Giving glory to God begins with a passion for Him. The psalms of worship keep repeating: "For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise" (4). Worship that is passionate about God is by nature missional or evangelistic. It desires others to join us. The bigger the crowd the better.
Take some time to examine God. Do you see that he is worthy of worship and exaltation? Do you see his majesty and holiness? Do you see his righteousness and love? Do you see his justice and his mercy? Do you believe that one day the entire earth will 'ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name and bring offerings into his courts'? (8)
The worship of Christians is the aroma anticipating that day. Giving God praise is a necessary part of the Christian life because it reminds us of who we are and where we are going. It moves us away from the bumper sticker philosophy to the life described in Psalm 96.
As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
