Psalm 95
Worship and Warning
1 Come, let’s shout joyfully to the Lord,
shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving;
let’s shout triumphantly to him in song.
3 For the Lord is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
4 The depths of the earth are in his hand,
and the mountain peaks are his.
5 The sea is his; he made it.
His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let’s worship and bow down;
let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
the sheep under his care.[a]
Today, if you hear his voice:
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the wilderness
9 where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was disgusted with that generation;
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray;
they do not know my ways.”
11 So I swore in my anger,
“They will not enter my rest.”
Psalm 97
The Majestic King
1 The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coasts and islands be glad.
2 Clouds and total darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and burns up his foes on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax
at the presence of the Lord—
at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
all the peoples see his glory.
7 All who serve carved images,
those who boast in worthless idols, will be put to shame.
All the gods[a] must worship him.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
Judah’s villages[b] rejoice
because of your judgments, Lord.
9 For you, Lord,
are the Most High over the whole earth;
you are exalted above all the gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects the lives of his faithful ones;
he rescues them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light dawns[c][d] for the righteous,
gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.[e]
Psalm 98
Praise the King
A psalm.
1 Sing a new song to the Lord,
for he has performed wonders;
his right hand and holy arm
have won him victory.
2 The Lord has made his victory known;
he has revealed his righteousness
in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
and faithfulness to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth
have seen our God’s victory.
4 Let the whole earth shout to the Lord;
be jubilant, shout for joy, and sing.
5 Sing to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious song.
6 With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn
shout triumphantly
in the presence of the Lord, our King.
7 Let the sea and all that fills it,
the world and those who live in it, resound.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the mountains shout together for joy
9 before the Lord,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world righteously
and the peoples fairly.
Psalm 99
The King Is Holy
1 The Lord reigns! Let the peoples tremble.
He is enthroned between the cherubim.
Let the earth quake.
2 The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great
and awe-inspiring name.
He is holy.
4 The mighty King loves justice.
You have established fairness;
you have administered justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God;
bow in worship at his footstool.
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel also was among those calling on his name.
They called to the Lord and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud;
they kept his decrees and the statutes he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their sinful actions.
9 Exalt the Lord our God;
bow in worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.
This always seems to happen to me… Have you ever heard someone say this? Or have you been the one who says it? What about this: “That’s just my luck” or “I knew it!” Do we really believe that God places a dark cloud onto some people? In our scripture reading today we find an answer to this question.
Psalm 99:4 “The mighty King loves justice. You have established fairness; you have administered justice and righteousness in Jacob.” God is actually the author of fairness and when we make bold statements that bad things seem to be always happening to us consider instead Ps 97:11 “Light dawns for the righteous, gladness for the upright in heart.” Other translations read “Light is sown” as if it were a seed. Remember things can always be worse therefore try on a garment of praise today in response to those times when things just seem to be stacked against you. Seeds of light can sprout and bring you comfort.
Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.”