Psalms 96
Bible Passage: Psalms 96
Last night’s sermon taught us what the contents of our prayers should be. Through the word “ACTS”, our prayers should consist of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication.
While we enjoy our existence, we should worship our creator and praise Him.
How do we praise Him?
Hymn Singing
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Psalms 96:1-2
We can sing hymns to praise our God and thank Him, expressing our worship to Him and showing our faithfulness in Him.
Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!
Romans 15:11
At times when we are in troubles or faced with trials, it is difficult to put our pain into words. Singing hymns help to convey the heart and emotion of our thoughts and emotions. It is an avenue for us to experience the solace and comfort we can expect to receive from God.
The lyrics to certain hymns bring tears to our eyes because they describe so well the sufferings we are going through. When I was at a low point in my life a couple of years ago, it was difficult for me to sing “Does Jesus Care?” because I was too busy weeping. The lyrics were so simple yet so apt.
Preach the Word
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. 3 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.
Psalms 96:3
Another reminder for us to not just preach the word of God to everyone you know, but to do so “day to day”. We may feel that there are always church brethren who will spread the word hence there is nothing to worry about.
Yesterday I came across this verse in Ezekiel.
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you gave him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.”
Ezekiel 3:17-18
Preaching the word is a serious matter, not just to save others, but also to save ourselves. The grace of salvation is freely given to us, how do we answer God when He asks us what have we not done?
The End is Near
The essence of this chapter is to praise God because He is coming to execute His righteous judgement on the world.
We should be joyful because justice will be served and people who do us wrong will be punished.
We should be joyful because God is coming to get us, who are sojourners in this world. We have a living hope of eternal life with God.
But are we 100% joyful that He is coming?
Are there certain things of this world that we cannot bear to give up?
Are you reluctant because you know there are people in this world whom you love so much but can’t make it to heaven because they have no salvation grace?
The days to the end are drawing nearer and nearer. Time just can’t seem to stop charging by and before we know it, we are already halfway through the first month of this year.
It is up to us to strive to enter the kingdom of heaven and bring as many people we can with us. How much more time can we afford to waste?