Psalms for a Pandemic Summer 8 Psalm 96

 

Psalms for a Pandemic Summer 8  Psalm 96

 

Psalm 94, that great cry for vengeance, is wedged in between Psalm 93 and 95 which is followed by Psalm 96.  Read together they express the magnificence and righteousness of God.  Our response to God’s judgment and mercy is praise.

Our God is not one to let wickedness flourish for long.  Although we regularly hear about the foolishness and selfishness that this pandemic has brought forth, it has brought forth much more care and community, compassion and a desire for justice.  Why is it that the former is more newsworthy than the latter?  What can we do as people of faith to capture the desire for a better world that is surfacing in our common discourse and bring it to reality? 

Giving praise to God may seem irrelevant to bringing about systemic change but it is our starting point.  When we express our faith in God we are expressing not merely intellectual assent but trust.  Praise reminds us that God is good and that God is great and with that foundation it is possible to build a better world—a world of peace and justice, love and mercy—the good world that God our creator intended. 


 

Psalm 96

O sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
    he is to be revered 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 Ascribe to the Lord, O all peoples,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy splendor;
    tremble before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord is king!
    The world is firmly established;  it shall never               be moved.                                                       He will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;  let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12 Let the field exult, and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 

    for God is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

    and the peoples with his truth.

 

photo by Svyatoslav Romanov (unpslash)

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