Daily Lesson for Wednesday 20th of March 2024

Worship includes singing to the Lord (Psalms 96:1-2), praising His name (Psalms 96:2), proclaiming His goodness and greatness (Psalms 96:3-4), and bringing gifts to His temple (Psalms 96:8). In addition to these familiar traits of worship, Psalms 96:1-13 highlights one not so obvious aspect of ­worship—the evangelical dimension in proclaiming the Lord’s kingdom to other peoples (Psalms 96:2, 3, 10).

Yet, singing, praising, bringing gifts, and proclaiming the gospel are not separate actions but are varied expressions of worship. The proclamation of God’s salvation to all nations gives substance to praise and content to worship. Notice how the reasons for worship coincide with the message proclaimed to other peoples: “for the Lord is great” (Psalms 96:4), “for all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens” (Psalms 96:5, NKJV), “ ‘the Lord reigns’ ” (Psalms 96:10, NKJV), and “for He is coming to judge the earth” (Psalms 96:13, NKJV). Thus, the goal of evangelism is to unite other peoples with God’s people, and ultimately the whole creation in the worship of the Lord (Psalms 96:11-13).

Worship springs from the inward recognition of who the Lord is, that is, Creator, King, and Judge (Psalms 96:5,10,13). Worship thus involves remembering God’s past acts (Creation), celebrating His present wonders (God’s sustaining of the world and His present reign), and anticipating His future deeds (end-time judgment and a new life in a new heavens and earth).

Judgment in the Psalms means restoration of the divine order of peace, justice, and well-being in a world presently burdened by injustice and suffering. Hence, the whole earth rejoices in anticipation of God’s judgments (Psalms 96:10-13, Psalms 98:4-9). The fact that the Lord is a righteous Judge should additionally motivate people to worship Him in holiness and “tremble,” and should caution them against taking worship lightly (Psalms 96:9). Worship involves both immense joy and confidence (Psalms 96:1-2, 11-13) and holy fear and awe (Psalms 96:4, 9).

The universal appeal of Psalms 96:1-13 to worship the Creator and the Judge is reflected in God’s final gospel proclamation to the world, the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12. In many ways this psalm seems to incorporate this end-time message: creation, salvation (“everlasting gospel”), worship, and judgment. It’s all there.