Pastor's Pen

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Shout with joy before the Lord, O earth! Obey him gladly; come before him, singing with joy. What is the attitude we most express when we come before the Lord? Is it joy and gladness as instructed here? When the Lord is in our hearts there is always a reason for joy and gladness. He never forgets us! Do we ever forget Him? How welcome is He in our home and how often are we in His home? Having joy and gladness about Him would certainly make us think that we can’t stay away from Him nor can we refrain ourselves from singing about Him! We would want to serve Him gladly in anything He might ask of us! How close is this to the truth for any of us? Let us seek to know the answer from Him. Amen!

Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem, for he is holy. This doesn’t seem to be an optional choice. It is a command which those who receive it should obey. Our God deserves to be exalted and worshiped. We are to go to the place of worship to give Him the praise and honor belonging to Him. How strange it is for us here who don’t make worship of the Lord a priority! Let’s make it a priority because our God is worthy of worship! Amen!

When Moses and Aaron and Samuel, his prophet, cried to him for help, he answered them. He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud, and they followed his instructions. O Jehovah our God! You answered them and forgave their sins, yet punished them when they went wrong. These are three great names of servants to the Lord. All three of them were greatly used of God to serve their nation. But none of them could get passes from God concerning failures in their role as leaders. Moses & Aaron in the heat of frustration struck the rock instead of speaking to the rock as instructed by God. This led to God’s decision to prevent them from entering the Promised Land. Samuel’s two sons proved to be untrustworthy in their role as judges and he didn’t remove them from those positions. Israel used their failures as an excuse to ask for a king which certainly hurt Samuel as a leader. But God consented for this to take place which led to Samuel’s agony in dealing with Saul as king. These three men were forgiven of their failures but didn’t escape the consequences. As said before about God in this Psalm, fairness is the touchstone of everything he does. He gives justice throughout Israel. There is no favoritism in the Lord which would cause Him to overlook the failures of those who serve Him. Moses told Aaron concerning the priesthood, this is what the Lord meant when he said, I will show myself holy among those who approach me, and I will be glorified before all the people. God holds His leaders accountable at a higher level because they should know better than anyone the holiness of God. Let us learn from this important instruction to be vigilant in our efforts to serve the Lord and to respect His holiness! Amen!

This mighty King is determined to give justice. Fairness is the touchstone of everything he does. He gives justice throughout Israel. Exalt the Lord our holy God! Bow low before his feet. This is a remarkable attribute found in our God. He is fair to the good and to the evil. God is not like mankind in dealing with His adversaries. For example think about Jesus and His confrontations with demons in Israel. Every time these adversaries came in contact with Him then they were sure He would immediately torment them by sending them to Hell. But in those gospel accounts He didn’t send any of the demons to that place before the designated time in the future. The same was true of the encounters of Jesus with human opposition. He could have destroyed them at any time but He didn’t. During His arrest He confessed that He could have summoned angels from heaven to come at once to destroy those arresting Him but He didn’t. Jesus definitely knew who the good and who the evil were during His time in Israel. He dealt with both groups fairly! Let us exalt Him and bow to Him for being so holy! Amen!

Jehovah sits in majesty in Zion, supreme above all rulers of the earth. Let them reverence your great and holy name. Many human rulers have sought such authority but none of them were capable or able to exercise power like this. Only God is capable and able to reign over the earth. Life is always much better with God in charge then with any other person in charge. Let us honor and worship Him as supreme with all majesty! Amen!

Jehovah is King! Let the nations tremble! He is enthroned between the Guardian Angels. Let the whole earth shake. God as King has an unlimited realm. He is in heaven and on earth. Nothing escapes His view so the nations should be terrified about the discovery of anything they are doing of an evil nature. But oh the joys of those who put their trust in him! As the familiar hymn says I am a child of the King with Jesus my Savior! Let us rejoice in our King today! Amen!

Let the waves clap their hands in glee and the hills sing out their songs of joy before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the world with perfect justice. When we know the Lord as our Savior then we too can look forward to His coming with a similar anticipation of joy. He is coming to make everything right on the earth. As John wrote long ago, so let us say, even so come, Lord Jesus! Amen!

Sing your praise accompanied by music from your harp. Let the cornets and trumpets shout! Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King! Let the sea in all its vastness roar with praise! Let the earth and all those living on it shout, Glory to the Lord! The theme of this Psalm is salvation and this instruction fits with the truth of God’s work in salvation. At the incarnation we learn that a vast host being the armies of heaven were praising God. Glory to God in the highest heaven, they sang, and peace on earth for all those pleasing him. I can’t help but think of the symphony by George Handel with a great choir singing, Glory to God in the highest, in my mind. Then I immediately think of the scene recorded in Revelation. The 24 Elders were singing the Lamb a new song with these words: You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it; for you were slain, and your blood has bought people from every nation as gifts for God. Then John says I heard millions of angels surrounding the throne and the Living Beings and the Elders: The Lamb is worthy (loudly they sang it!), the Lamb who was slain. And then John heard everyone in heaven and earth, and from the dead beneath the earth and in the sea, exclaiming, the blessing and the honor and the glory and the power belong to the one sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and forever! I say Hallelujah to all this! Amen!

Sing a new song to the Lord telling about his mighty deeds! For he has won a mighty victory by his power and holiness. He has announced this victory and revealed it to every nation by fulfilling his promise to be kind to Israel. The whole earth has seen God’s salvation of his people. That is why the earth breaks out in praise to God and sings for utter joy! The theme of this Psalm is salvation especially the news that God has redeemed Israel. The news of Israel’s deliverance is an ongoing story that others were talking about even 40 years later as if it had happened yesterday. Rahab told the two Israeli spies, we have heard how the Lord made a path through the Red Sea for you when you left Egypt! It is God’s intention to spread salvation to others just as He did to His people coming from Egypt. This is praiseworthy news for all of us and should fill us with joy to know He cares for us too! Now the story is God’s salvation being experienced by others through out the world! Let us give Him praise for His salvation of us! Amen!