August 5 — Psalm 96

“O sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts. Worship the LORD in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth. 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.” Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.”

The Lord is coming to judge the earth — with righteousness and with truth.

Jesus promises to come back — to set the earth right and to judge as he sees fit. This is our biblical witness — Jesus is coming back.

Lutherans and other Christians have traditionally read Psalm 96 on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In that liturgical context, the Psalm looks back to the nativity and forward to the second coming; Christ has come, and Christ will come again. The psalmist then places the Christ event in the sequence of the promises which the LORD made as part of his rule. It interprets that Jesus Christ is above all other gods. There is a power that will set things right at the appropriate time. Through Jesus Christ, the LORD is working out his rule of righteousness and faithfulness among us now.

There are plenty of people who want to look to the unrest around the world and the presence of this pandemic as a “precursor” to the coming of Christ. My answer to these claims is to remind everyone that there have been oppressive rulers and unjust leaders and disease and plagues since the beginning of time. Every time it gets bad on this earth, people think “the end is near”. Well, the end may be near — but all I can focus on is trying to praise G-d every day and give thanks for all the blessings we have. And then, if the Lord is nigh, well, I place my trust on the Grace of Jesus — may he deem me worthy of being on the short list to enter into his courts.

Let us pray:

Ever-living God, the heavens were glad and the earth rejoiced when you sent your Son, the incarnate Word, to dwell with us. Help us to proclaim your glory to those who do not know you, until the whole earth sings a new song to you, with your Son and the Holy Spirit one God, now and forever.

Amen.

August 4 — Psalm 95

O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways.” Therefore in my anger I swore, “They shall not enter my rest.”

In Christian liturgies, Psalm 95 has been used as an invitatory, an invitation to worship — and the Lutheran church is no exception. Psalm 95 is used in our Service of Morning Prayer as a summons to a worshipful day. The Psalm, or hymn identifies G-d as sovereign of all and as shepherd of the church, and then teaches that true worship is the devotion of life, trust, and obedience to our One G-d.

Now, it sounds like the Psalmist is stating the obvious — the Lord is a Great G-d — in his hands are the depths of the earth. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!” I realize those of you reading this devotion would say “Of course our G-d is all of these things” — but it is good to remind ourselves of this reality every morning.

We all have raised obstacles against G-d and maintained some resistance to our obedience. Yet G-d’s love has kept after us and won us. There is not one of us who has not fought against G-d at some time in our lives. Therefore we have nothing to praise in ourselves. We have not added anything to our salvation. We are all like stubborn sheep who go according to their own ways. As Isaiah accurately puts it, “All we like sheep have gone astray.”

Too often we begin a day without the encouragement of the words that G-d has given to us — Old or New Testament — the Psalms or the words of Jesus. The Psalmist pleads with the people to listen to the words of our G-d — just as I plead with people today to do just the same.

Let us pray:

God our maker, you guide us as the sheep of your fold. When we stray into rebellion and unbelief, bring us back and restore us, that we may follow your ways and listen to the voice of our shepherd who gives us eternal life, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.