Walk Of Life – Day 28, November 2022 – Thoughts From The Book Of Psalms

Psalm 96 – Ascribe To The Lord Glory Due His Name

Colossians 1:16 says that “for in him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” The psalmist understood this and was inspired to call all to give glory to their maker. All the celestial objects and living creatures were made for his glory alone. So, he composed this psalm inviting the people of God, all the families of the earth and the creations to ‘Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.’

God’s people should Ascribe Glory

• After God created everything, He looked down from heaven and watched all who lived on earth to see if anyone would walk with integrity of heart. But He found none but Noah alone who sought him. So, He saved Noah and his family from the flood and chose Abram, a descendant of Shem to be his treasured possession on earth. He gave circumcision as a sign of his everlasting covenant.
• Like a potter who does not throw away the defective clay but rather mould it into a useful vessel, God took care of Israel. He scattered them to the ends of the earth in his wrath but later in his compassion He forgave them and promised to bring them back again to the promised land where they would live in safety and with singleness of heart. Jeremiah 32:37-41.
• After the World War Two, Jewish immigrants started to move back to the promised land from the year 1880. On May 14, 1948, the independent state of Israel was formed under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion. When people moved back, the land was desolate, unfit for human living. But God did not forget his promise made to their forefathers and helped them to convert deserted areas to fertile land. Today Israel is a powerful state with best intelligence and technology.

^“I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.” Jeremiah 32:41. For this and for the salvation through the Messiah, his children need to ascribe glory to the Lord.

Nations should Ascribe Glory

• One might wonder why the psalmist wants the nations to praise the God of Israel when the covenant He made was with Abraham and his descendants only and not with the uncircumcised. When God called Abram, He had blessed him and said, “and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” Genesis 12:3.
• This promise was fulfilled through Jesus Christ, the Messiah whose birth brought good tiding to all people not just the Jews. Born from the tribe of Judah, He was ‘the offspring’ through whom all nations on earth would be blessed, Genesis 22:18. The same faith Abram displayed when God called him is what makes us a part of the same covenant when we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour.

Today as the gospel is preached all over the world, many have put their faith in Christ who has promised eternal life to all those who have believed in him. For this all the families of the nations need to ascribe glory to the Lord.

Creation should Ascribe Glory

• Creation need to glorify God more than anything, for they were first to be created by God. “And God saw that it was good” Genesis 1:25. They were made to perfection, but man has violated his beautiful creation which has been dying gradually.
• “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” Romans 8:19-21

For this reason, the psalmist asks the creation whose hope too is in Christ to declare his glory joyfully.

No one, not even the angels nor the Son knows the day or the hour He will return to judge the world but the Father. It will look like a normal day, but one will be taken, the other left. Therefore, keep watch, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him to judge the world with righteousness and people with his truth.