A Song of Praise to the Lord for His Salvation and Judgment
A Psalm.
“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm, with trumpets and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it; let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.”
“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” Why sing new songs to the Lord? While there’s nothing wrong with traditional hymns and worship songs, God is always doing new things. Why can’t we find new ways of praising Him? Repeatedly, God has demonstrated His power and His might and repeatedly God has delivered Israel.
When we think of the ends of the earth, our thoughts turn to the people inhabiting remote areas. But we fail to realize that the earth itself and all its creatures may sense the glory of God. Marine biologists have proven that many sea creatures communicate extensively among themselves. One former British District Commissioner who worked in the South Pacific in the early 1900’s has described the ability of local islanders to call pods of dolphins from great distances by some mysterious form of communication. Traditionally, in Great Britain, whether it is a birth, death, or marriage, the bees belonging to a particular beekeeper are to be informed about all important events in their keeper’s lives. It was believed beekeepers had strong connections with the bees, so they deserved to be treated like family and mourn them when they died. When the late Queen Elizabeth died, her bees were informed. (www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-14/why-royal-beekeeper-tells-bees-queen-died/1…)
“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm, with trumpets and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.” In ancient Israel, when the King entered the temple and stood in his place, people shouted so loudly that the earth shook. These days the same spectators who will shout themselves hoarse at a football game on Saturday will scarcely say anything on Sunday; yet, those football teams will not deliver anybody from their sins. If you think ancient worship services were quiet and restful, think again! Harps, trumpets, horns, tambourines, drums, and all kinds of other worship instruments were sounded enthusiastically. Who knows, perhaps someone even used an early version of a vuvuzela!
“Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it; let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.” Seas, the world, rivers, hills-all creation responds to the presence of the Lord when He comes. Only people who have deadened senses and who are fascinated by money or power or other concerns fail to sense the presence of God.
APPLICATION: I don’t know what you’ve gone through this year, but for many of our patients and their families, it has been extremely tough. A fitful rainy pattern during our only growing season has left our farmers with poor yields. We are seeing more malnourished children than we have in a long time, and we are transfusing many children with severe anemia each day. If we look at the international picture, war still rages in Ukraine, Israel, and the Gaza strip. Considering all these things, how can we possibly sing a new song-or any song-to the Lord? It’s good to remember that the writer of this psalm was undoubtedly facing his own problems. Marauding bands of invaders, untreatable medical problems, the ever-present threats of droughts and crop failures-the writer of this psalm was fully aware of all these challenges. And yet, he still wrote encouraging the entire world to praise the Lord.
If we only praise God when we feel like it, we will feel like it less and less. But praise lifts us out of ourselves, causing us to focus on God instead of our problems. Praise not only helps us spiritually but also physically. When we praise the One who created us, we are also thanking Him for our bodies and our bodies will respond. I am reminded of Nana Roberta Hampton.
Nana Roberta taught school until she was 58, at which point, she joined Wycliffe Bible Translators and began teaching missionary children and progressed to training literacy teachers to teach their native tongues. One of Nana Roberta’s favorite phrases was “Rejoicing in Jesus!” In November 1994, we attended a retirement party for Nana Roberta, and she was telling me she felt a little tired. Why? Well it seems that two weeks previously, she had gone to a remote village. She began the journey in a pickup truck, then transferred to a motorcycle as far as a stream, then crossed the stream in a canoe, and then was picked on the back of a bicycle to the village. After fulfilling her purpose at that village, she repeated her journey in reverse and was now admitting she felt a little tired. Nana was 80 at the time. Even Nana Roberta no longer lived in Ghana full-time, she still returned several times for various literacy conferences, last returning at age 85. Nana lived to be 93 and continued to praise God; in fact, she probably praised God with her very last breath. Nana Roberta always promised that she would pray for us forever. For more stories about Nana Roberta, check https://nanarobertablogspot.com
Feel down and depressed? Start praising God for whatever good you can find in your situation. Remember Nana Roberta-rejoicing in Jesus!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to praise You even when we don’t feel like it. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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