Psalm 96: Worshiping Rightly

"Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! . . .For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens." Psalm 96:1, 5

Who do we worship? Why do we worship? How do we worship? When we step into our Sunday morning church service, do we think about these questions, or do we merely sing the songs that we are told to be sung? Furthermore, does worship start and stop in the church building? What would it look like if we worshiped rightly?

Psalm 96 answers some questions that we often have about the worship of the Lord. Let us look at them briefly today.

Who do we worship? The answer is obviously the Lord, that is, the God who has saved us, Jesus Christ. Yet, let us realize how the Lord is so often not the object of our worship. How often do we worship something other than the Lord? In this psalm, the author places before us how "all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens." In other words, although we are often temped to worship other things, the Lord is the only one worthy of our worship, since he created all the rest. Do you worship the Creator or the created?

Why do we worship? Ultimately, because the Lord is great (v. 4). But why is the Lord great? As already stated, the Lord has created the heavens and the earth. Although we could certainly name other reasons why the Lord is great, in the Psalms, this is often the big one. Although we often undermine the Lord's created works, let us take a moment to consider that the Lord has created the very heavens and earth by his own word. He said "become" and it became. He said "be" and it was. What great power our Lord possesses! Surely we ought to worship our Creator God who is worthy of all worship. For without his creation, we would be nowhere.

How do we worship? In this psalm, the author gives us many different commands that all point to our worship, yet each contains their own nuances. He commands us to sing, declare, ascribe, worship, tremble, say, rejoice, roar, exult, and sing to the Lord. When is the last time you have done all of these to the God of the Heavens? Let me tell you: you are doing all of these things. The questions is whether you are doing them towards God, or to some other idol.

When and where do we worship? Let us also note that in this psalm, there are no qualifiers to where and when we worship the Lord. Put simply, the psalmist says to "sing." When and where do we sing? Doesn't matter, just do it. Sing to the Lord in the streets, sing to the Lord in your home, sing to the Lord at your work. Why? So that all the earth might know the name of the Lord (see verse 10).

So, do you worship rightly? Is the sole object of your worship the Lord of all creation? Even if he is, are you worshiping in the way that he has required: all the time, in all places, ascribing the glory due his name?