Give the LORD Glory and Praise!

Psalms 96:1-13 

1 Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

3 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
4 For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the LORD made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

7 Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
Give to the LORD glory and strength.
8 Give to the LORD the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come into His courts.

9 Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns;
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved;
He shall judge the peoples righteously."

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice
13 before the LORD.

For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth.

This song of giving praise and glory to God who comes for judgment in the end, as paralleled in 1 Chronicles 16:23–33, should give us joy in who He is and for His deliverance of saving we His people.  This is our new song no longer looking forward to the Messiah, but having the fullness of Christ’s work finished forevermore (John 17:4-5, 19:30).  We are to be telling of His glory and His works, especially on the cross, to the world around us, pointing to the one God over all who created all things.  He is worthy of praise from them as well as from us, so they need to know who He is and all He has done from the beginning of time until the final consummation.  We are the messengers of His glory and praise of that good news.  They need to see beyond their man made gods to Him who is honor and majesty in character and who therefore deserves His strength and majesty acknowledged and worshiped by everyone.  In the end, all will bow before Him in submission, but not as the twisted view of the muslim to a false god of violence and hate, but in spirit and in truth to the God who loves His creation.  He alone deserves ourselves as living sacrifices of praise and service, He alone deserves our praise for His magnificent and overshadowing glory.  We the people of our Lord and King are therefore to worship in the beauty of holiness, because He is holy.  That is the call of our salvation.  The earth should tremble before the LORD God in face of the impending judgment and call to freely turn to Him instead of facing this terrible eternal sentence.  They need to know He reigns absolutely as Sovereign, not as a limited temporal ruler.  All He says is as firmly established as His word and as our just judgment apart from interceding grace in the Christ.  This brings heavenly rejoicing and peace on earth between God and man (Romans 5:1) and reconciliation to the whole creation groaning for redemption (Romans 8:22).  The assurance is that God’s justice is true and fair, and His judgment is never arbitrary; when He returns, we will be judged accordingly.  May many more be found in His salvation of atoning grace and mercy, recorded in the Lamb’s book of life, and not judged by our sinful deeds.  Give the Lord the and praise due to Him because His salvation in the New Covenant is our new song.  Amen!