“Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His Name; bring an offering, and come into His courts! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth! Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.'” Psalm 96:7-10
Devotional Thought For The Day
The psalmist continues his glorification of God – for the wonders of His love, and His great gift of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. All families, nations, and peoples are enjoined to ascribe “glory and strength” to the Lord, for He is Lord and Savior of all. He has taken away the sin of the world; He is the blood atonement for the sins of the whole world. He is Savior of all human beings and Lord of all human beings – He reigns over all people and He loves all people, willing that all should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
I suspect that we do not take this seriously enough. We tend to make distinctions, and to lose patience, considering that if people are not believers it must their own fault. We may even come to the conclusion that God no longer wants certain people to be saved – because their sin is too great, much greater than our own. Yet the psalmist continues to invite and encourage all people to come to know God’s salvation and glory, and to give Him all praise and glory. He hasn’t given up on anyone.
His invitation is to “worship the Lord” and to “tremble before Him.” If we grow accustomed to thinking of others, those who are yet to know and believe His great love for us and yet to embrace His gift of salvation, those still enslaved to various sins and immorality, as being less than us, lower than us, no longer loved by God as we are, then we can hardly be “trembling” before Him. No, we are then commending ourselves to God and negating His gift of salvation – which is given to us by grace alone, purely out of God’s love, and without regard to any human merit or worthiness [of which we truly have none]. And if this is the case then we are yet on the outside – in need of the psalmist’s invitation. But thankfully it is extended to all people, including us. So let us humble ourselves properly and truly confess our sins, rejoicing in His salvation alone, so that we accurately ascribe to the Lord the glory due His Name!
His salvation is sure and secure to those who trust not in themselves but in Him, for “the Lord reigns.” All is in His hand, and what He establishes shall never be moved. All history moves toward the great and glorious day of His return, the day when He restores all the blessedness of His creation to us. He will judge with equity – all are invited to His salvation, and all who call upon His Name will be saved. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins – if we humble ourselves, confess our sin, and receive the mercy and salvation promised to us in Christ Jesus. Then we are also freed to worship Him with both trembling and joy, in the splendor of holiness – that holiness which belongs to all those whose robes have been cleansed in the blood of the Lamb.
If we know these things, and allow them to sink in, our attitudes will change toward the others around us. We will also humbly invite and encourage them to join us in the gracious salvation of God. We will not put others off with hypocrisy and self-righteousness, for we will be accurately ascribing to the Lord the glory due His Name. We will find no ground for self-glorification, but will give all glory and honor to God our Savior. Perhaps the eyes of others around us will also be opened to see the glory of the Lord!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, our great God and Savior, forgive us for the stubborn perverseness of our hearts, always looking for ways to find glory and honor in ourselves and to avoid proper repentance and confession. Bring us to clearer understanding of Your glory and enable us to properly worship and praise You with both trembling and confident joy. May we genuinely invite others to join us in Your saving grace. Amen.