Many churches have a time during their gathering together that is designated for worship. Often it is comprised of singing hymns or other worship songs. Sometimes there might be some time spent in quiet, where believers are encouraged to praise and worship the Lord silently to themselves, or even speak praise aloud, one by one. However it is done, worship should be an important part of a church service. Today’s psalm is a call to worship God, our King, who reigns over all. When we consider all of the attributes of God, as our psalmist has, we should respond with worship.
The word “worship” in the English language means to show reverence, veneration, and adoration for something. We sometimes speak of worshipping beauty or works of art. The word comes from an old-English word meaning “worth-ship”, which basically means to give worth to something. For Christians, worship is the act of magnifying God. It will enlarge our vision of Him. When we participate in real worship of God, our perception of His glory and magnificence should grow greater.
Psalm 98 is a song of praise to the Lord as a victorious king. When kings and rulers in times past would come back victorious from war with some other nation or kingdom, the people would gather in each city he would pass through, and they would joyously sing his praises, playing grand music, throwing flowers in the air, and waving banners and flags as the king passed through on his horse. That is the figure that our psalmist is giving.
Verses 2 and 3 speak of the Lord first coming, bringing salvation to His people. When a mighty king of the past returned from battle victorious, the people rejoiced because he had saved them from being overrun by an enemy army. These verses were fulfilled when Jesus came to earth the first time as our Savior. Cheers of greeting welcome the victorious King. An eruption of praise which cannot be contained (vs. 4-6). He saved us from sin and the power of Satan when He died for us on the cross. As the psalmist said here, Jesus has made known His salvation, and those who have accepted Him as their Savior have seen the salvation of our God. If there is one thing that we have to worship and praise God for, it is that He has brought salvation to all those who accept Jesus into their hearts.
Verse 9 will be fulfilled when Jesus will return to earth a second time, to judge the world. At that time He will judge the earth and all people. The Apostle Peter spoke of this same thing when he preached a message in the home of Cornelius in Acts 10:42-43. At this time all of nature will even rejoice (vs. 7-8). If even nature will rejoice, how much more should God’s Blood-bought children worship and praise Him?
Believers should have joy and excitement knowing the Lord Jesus will return to judge and rule the world. For those who have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior, there should be no fear surrounding His return. The Blood of Jesus paid the price for our sins, and He bore our punishment on the cross. In His judgment, God is perfectly just and perfectly loving. He is merciful when He judges and punishes, yet He overlooks no sin when He loves.
God will be victorious over all evil when Jesus returns. Because of that, all those who follow Him will be victorious with Him when He judges the earth. For all of this God is worthy of all worship and adoration. Whether our worship is quiet prayers of thanksgiving and whispered praise, or whether we sing songs of worship and praise that make us want to stand up and clap our hands, let’s be like our psalmist, and give the Lord God all praise and worship.
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