Reading… and Thinking

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of His name;
    make His praise glorious.
Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are Your works!
    Your enemies will cringe before You
    because of Your great strength.
All the earth will worship You
    and sing praise to You.
    They will sing praise to Your name.”
Come and see the works of God;
    His acts toward mankind are awe-inspiring.

— Psalm 66:1-5 (HCSV)

The psalms were written to be sung. For example, the title of this one reads, “For the choir director. A song. A psalm.” In fact, the Hebrew word translated “psalm” means “a poem set to music”.

Some of the psalms are prayers for help. Some are songs of thanksgiving. Some are prophetic. And some, like this one, shout out praise to God, and call others to join in songs that glorify His name.

Church cultures differ, and depending on where we grew up, we may or may not feel comfortable shouting out in praise, singing enthusiastically of His glory. The culture I grew up didn’t encourage the shouting, although we have always included a lot of congregational singing. I was raised to treat worship as a solemn thing – which is good and right, with lots of scriptural backing. As the psalmist teaches us here, worship also can be, and sometimes should be, very joyful and, well, maybe even loud.

I’ve experienced church cultures where the joy and the volume are much in evidence, with little of the solemnity that rightfully accompanies entering into the presence of the Almighty Sovereign of the universe. We need a balance – reverent awe and joyful praise should both be part of our worship. We miss the mark if we neglect either.

Notice even here in this psalm, the awe is spoken of. And there is prophecy here. We are taught that ultimately those who are enemies of the Living God will cringe before Him, that all the earth will worship Him. This has never happened, and won’t happen until the Lord Jesus returns in glory, to vanquish the enemies of God, and rule over all the earth. Appreciating this, studying to learn more about it, praying for it – these are part of our “head” worship. We need that, and we need also the “heart” worship of giving voice to our praise, being filled with joy.

The psalmist invites us to come and see the works of God. He goes on to mention some of the things God did for Israel, including some very interesting, perhaps surprising, features: “For You, God, tested us; You refined us as silver is refined. You lured us into a trap; You placed burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us out to abundance.” (verses 10-12) Among the works of God we’re invited to examine are some instances of trial and suffering. And along with the deliverance, these too are intended us to move us to awe, rejoicing, praise, and fulfilling the promises we have made to God. (verses 5, 6, 8, 13-14)

Responding to trials with rejoicing and praise doesn’t come naturally! It takes a spiritual mind, a mind that looks beyond the moment to the time of glory to come. It takes both a head-faith and a heart-faith. The New Testament writers understood this well – see for example Romans 5:1-5, Hebrews 12:3-11, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:6-9.

Trials will come into our lives. By their very nature, they will reveal the genuineness, or the shallowness, of our faith. Can I sing of the glory of God in the midst of a severe trial? Yes! Because I believe that God has a purpose for me and will never abandon me, that the time is coming when the earth will be filled with God’s glory, and that I can have a share in His glory, by the love and grace of God. The very same God who brings the trial into my life – in order to refine me, to teach me, to help me see His awe-inspiring acts toward mankind.