Glory Due His Name

Heavenly Father, we have gathered this evening in the middle of the week to seek your face,

to come before the cross of Christ, to receive anew your grace,

so that we might come to you boldly in prayer,

and seek your power for our life and for our church.

So, won't you lead us and meet with us this evening?

Speak to us from Psalm 96.

As we go through that, Lord, instill in a deep passion for your glory,

to spread your glory among all the nations,

because you are due, your name is due, the glory that all the world can bring.

So, please, instill a deep passion for that.

And stir in us for new songs of worship to you as we go through Psalm 96 together.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

We're in Psalm 96, 13 verses.

And I will read it out loud first, and then we can go through it briefly.

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.

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 splendor of holiness.

Tremble before Him all the earth.

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 exalt,

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.

Psalm 96,

really the whole thing is kind of an extended call to worship,

calling us to worship Him,

and really calling the whole earth to worship Him.

It just summons the whole earth to worship God,

who is our Creator King.

And it's divided into three subsections.

Verses 1 to 6 really is,

the whole thing is about how the whole earth should worship Him.

But verses 1 to 6 in particular is directly toward God's people.

So it's the worship of God's people.

Verses 7 to 10 is the worship of all peoples.

And then verses 11 to 13 is the worship of creation.

And in each section,

after calling people,

these different particular groups of people to worship God,

will give a reason why they should worship God.

We're in Psalm 96 together.

And verse 1 kind of captures the main exhortation of the psalm.

It says,

O sing to the Lord a new song.

Sing to the Lord all the earth.

The command to sing a new song doesn't mean,

as you probably know,

that God doesn't want us to sing the same praise song we've sung before.

That you have to compose a new song every time you come to worship Him.

If that's the case,

we'd be in trouble for our Sunday services.

Rather,

I think it's calling for a fresh worship

that springs from a live,

present experience of God's grace.

As opposed to stagnant worship

that's kind of a rote regurgitation

of a no longer experience reality.

Something that you no longer feel,

no longer know,

you no longer experience,

but just thinking about it.

A dead worship.

He's calling for new song,

a live thing that comes from our hearts.

Something we experience in the present.

And so that's,

Jesus asked,

is your relationship to God,

is your relationship to God such that it inspires new songs?

Does your relationship with God inspire new prayers?

Right?

New worship.

Because a Christian should be a fountain of new songs

that will never dry up

because our inspiration,

our source,

is an eternal God

who is infinitely full of grace toward us.

And so the whole earth should sing to God,

but verses two to six focus first on God's people.

Verse two says,

Sing to the Lord,

bless his name,

tell of his salvation from day to day.

So the commands to sing,

to bless,

are directed to those who have experienced God's salvation.

So it's directed to God's people here.

And we should sing every day from day to day.

And God's people who are singing to him and praising him

aren't supposed to keep this to themselves.

It says in verse three,

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples.

So God's people are to spread the worship of God

among all the peoples.

And the reason for that is given in verses four to six.

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.

His splendor and majesty are before him.

Strength and beauty are hidden in his sanctuary.

So in the Old Testament,

no one but God is described as great

in an absolute sense.

So like for example,

Moses is described as great,

but it's qualified.

It's great in the land of Egypt,

in the sight of Pharaoh's servants,

in the sight of the people,

Exodus 11.3.

Or Mordecai is described as great,

but he says he's great among the Jews,

and popular with the multitude of his brothers.

But only God in the Old Testament

is described as great, period.

He is great.

So it's almost like an attribute of God.

So he says,

and because God is great,

he says,

for great is the Lord,

and he is greatly to be praised.

And not only that God is to be feared above all gods,

for,

the reasons given here,

all the gods of the people are worthless idols,

but the Lord made the heavens.

So the word gods and the word worthless

are like kind of,

their workplace,

they look and sound very similar in Hebrew.

So if we were to try to capture it in English,

it would say something like this,

for all the supreme beings of earth,

of all the supreme beings of the peoples

are supremely worthless.

So it's kind of a play,

kind of intentional dig at those idols.

All those gods,

so-called gods,

are worthless.

But in contrast,

but the Lord made the heavens.

The Lord God whom Israel worships,

whom we worship,

is a God who made the heavens.

So splendor and majesty are before him.

So splendor and majesty

representing kingship and royalty.

And because he is king,

as befits a king,

strength and beauty

characterize his sanctuary,

the place of his dwelling.

There are a lot of pretenders in this world, right?

There are a lot of people who claim to rule

and people who seek to exercise power over us.

There are so-called gods

and so-called,

I mean,

people aspiring to be God.

Yet,

there is only one God in the world.

And that is our God,

the Lord who made the heavens.

And so splendor and majesty,

right,

we belong to him.

So that's the worship of God's people.

And then in verses 7 to 10,

the psalmist turns his attention

to the families of all peoples.

So now,

the very ones who worship these worthless idols

are being called to worship the true God

in verses 7 to 10.

So he says to them,

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.

Say among the nations,

The Lord reigns.

Yes,

the world is established.

It shall never be moved.

He will judge the peoples with equity.

So they should,

these families of all peoples,

should worship God.

Ascribe glory and strength to him.

And because glory is due his name,

right,

we ascribe,

you know,

praises or certain attributes

to certain people.

And to God,

we should ascribe glory and strength

because he deserves it.

Because he is glorious.

It's due to his name.

So that's why it's wrong

to ascribe glory to idols.

But to God,

it rightly belongs to him

because it's due to his name.

That's his name characterizes his person.

It symbolizes,

it represents his person.

And verse 8 extends this invitation

to these peoples

to bring an offering

and come into his courts.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

Tremble before him all the earth.

So this invitation to Gentiles

to come into the temple courts

for worship and sacrifice,

it's really looking forward

to a time of universal worship.

When not just Jews,

but all peoples

from all over the world

will come to worship God.

And so they are,

and these people too

are commanded

not to keep this to themselves,

but to share it.

So in verse 10,

it says,

say among the nations,

the Lord reigns.

Yes,

the world is established.

It shall never be moved.

He will judge the peoples with equity.

So these Gentiles

who are coming to worship God

and know God

are also to spread

the fame of God

among themselves,

among other fellow nations.

And because,

and the reason is this,

the Lord reigns.

He is the king.

He reigns.

whatever you can think of

when you hear the phrase

movers and shakers

of this world,

right?

We think of some people

as movers and shakers

of this world.

It doesn't matter

how powerful they are.

It doesn't matter

where they are.

It doesn't matter

how turbulent

our world and our history,

our present moment seem.

He's the king

and under his eternal rule,

the world is established.

It shall never be moved.

His reign is not threatened

by anything

that goes on below.

happens here in our world.

So he is a righteous king

who will judge

all peoples with equity

and for that reason

all the peoples of earth,

all the families of earth

should worship him.

So that's the worship

of all peoples.

And then finally

is the worship of creation

in verses 11 to 13.

When God's equitable rule

spreads over the whole earth,

all creation will be glad

and rejoice.

That's what verses 11 to 13

are about.

So it says,

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

sink for joy

before the Lord.

And this is the reason

for their gladness,

verse 13.

For he comes.

For he comes

to judge the earth.

He will judge the world

in righteousness

and the peoples

in his faithfulness.

I guess we think of judgment

as mostly negative terms

nowadays, right?

And I guess that shows

the kind of world we live in

and the kind of people we are,

right?

Because judgment rightly

administered is supposed

to be something that brings

joy and gladness, right?

It's supposed to bring peace.

And so many people in the world

and so often even we, right,

as Christians resist God's rule

and we presume to think

that we know better

and that if we had our own way

that things would get better

and we seek to rule

our own lives, right?

But what these few verses

are teaching us

is that the true gladness

and true joy

are found not in our own rule

but in our submission

to God's rule.

When he is ruling,

he brings true justice.

He brings true

righteous judgment

because it is God

who judges the world

in righteousness

and the people

is in his faithfulness.

No one in the world,

including ourselves,

is capable of ruling

more graciously

and judging more righteously

and fairly than our God.

So it's when we are submitted,

most submitted to him

as our creator king

that we are most free.

It's when we are most humble

before him

that's when we are most happy.

And if we really believe

this truth

then our lives would be full

of contentment

and thanksgiving

because we would be

submitted to him

and humbly given to him

no matter what situation

we're in

instead of grumbling

and complaining,

seeking to rule

our own lives

and wanting to live

the way we want.

So Psalm 96

as a whole

looks forward

to a time

when all the peoples

and all creation

will submit to God's

gracious reign and worship.

and this plan

really comes to fulfillment

and begins to be fulfilled

in the life, death,

the resurrection

and ascension

and reign of Jesus.

Ephesians 2, 12-13

tell us that Gentiles

like most of us

were once alienated

from the commonwealth

of Israel

and strangers

to the covenants

of promise

having no hope

and without God

in the world.

But now,

in Christ Jesus,

you who once

were far off

have been brought near

by the blood of Christ.

So,

if we're not

ethnically Jewish,

then we were all

once people

who were far off,

cut off.

We were among

the peoples of earth,

the families of earth

who were worshipping

those worthless idols.

But because Jesus

died on the cross,

he fulfilled the requirements

of the law for us

and satisfied God's wrath

and in doing so,

he made a way

for sinners

from all nations

to be reconciled to God.

And that's why

in Revelation 5, 9,

at the end of all things,

the consummation

of all things,

it says of Jesus,

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.

that's the cosmic

end of all things

when people

from every tribe

and nation

will be worshipping God

as this Psalm 96

is picturing.

And Jesus

is the new focal point

of that worship.

This Psalm was quoted

when David brought

the Ark of God

into Jerusalem

for worship

in 1 Chronicles 16.

And now,

so this Psalm,

Jesus now,

he's at the new temple

and new Jerusalem

is the focal point

of this worship.

And so we're supposed

to direct all the peoples

to him.

So our commission

as believers

is, as you guys know,

Matthew 28, 19,

to go and make disciples

of all the nations

because God

is the God over all.

We are supposed

to make disciples

of all nations.

All peoples of the world

are to worship God

because God's king

not over our nation alone,

over Israel alone,

but over all the nations

and all peoples of earth.

And so last question

that I want to end

the Psalm with

is,

do the priorities

of your life

reflect this Christian purpose

of wanting to see

all nations

come to worship God?

Does the way

you spend your money

reflect that Christian purpose?

Does the way

you spend your time,

the way you spend

your vacation,

the way you live your life

reflect that purpose

of wanting to see

all nations

come to worship God?

and I want to pray tonight

in my prayers

that we would be

a church that's consumed

by that desire

to see God's glory.