Tell His glory among the nations;
among all peoples, His marvelous deeds.
Psalm 96:3
Need a Blessing? Tell of His Glory Among the Nations! – Psalm 96:1-3
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His Name;
proclaim His salvation day after day.
Tell His glory among the nations;
among all peoples, His marvelous deeds.
For Reflection
For our brothers and sisters of antiquity, singing to the Lord a “new song” was considered a part of everyday life. It was a big deal to them, just as it should be for us today. The psalmists wrote their prayers and hymns with the intention of blessing the Lord’s Name. And this discipline in return brought down blessings for them.
In this particular psalm, the word the psalmist used for “bless” meant to praise Him by kneeling before Him. Praising the Lord by kneeling meant (and still means) to have the greatest of humility and respect for the Father. In addition, the psalmist instructed his hearers to “tell of His [the Lord’s] glory …”. By the proclamation of His ‘marvelous deeds,’ a soul becomes inspired to match the talk with the walk.
From the beginning there has existed a divine call for the whole being of a person to be consistent. If someone is to wear the title of Christian, for example, they are not only called to emulate their Christianity on the outside … but for their faith to be authentically manifest on the inside. This means the whole heart of a person, their faith, should be the same in public as it is behind closed doors – in thought, deed, way and motive.
There is so much to learn from the psalmists today. One virtue of particular importance is their obedience to the Lord. Not only did they praise Him with their mouths, they praised Him with their actions in private. They lived lives of holy obedience; constantly striving to amend their ways and to honestly become like Christ. This universal call to ‘holiness’ is a call for all people. And while we strive to become perfect ‘just as our Father in Heaven is perfect’ (Matt 5:48), we are also to emulate the psalmists in their everyday praise and worship of God.
It is through our continuous outward and inward expressions of love for Him that prompts the Lord to shower His faithful with new graces. Divine grace not only helps the soul to grow in perfect virtue … but to thrive in divine blessings.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Your Word commands us to, “be holy as You are holy”,
and I know that in and of myself I cannot live in true
holiness of heart, except as the Lord Jesus lives His life in me,
and the Holy Spirit carries out a life-transforming work in me.
Thank You, that I have been born into Your family,
united together with Christ and am one with Him.
I pray that increasingly, His nature and character
may be developed in me, until I can say as Paul did,
“my old self has died and been crucified with Christ,
and it is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives
His resurrection life in me and works through me.”
I ask that You would continue to root out all of me that
is counter to what You desire from me,
and I pray that You would increasingly transform
me into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus, day by day.
Lord, I know that this is not an easy prayer to pray
and it will likely cause me much pain,
but I believe that this is the will for each of Your children,
and so I come to You today and say, Father,
Your will be done in my life. Give me I pray,“
that desire and grace to become a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable unto You, to Your praise and glory.
This I ask in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
0 comments on “Need a Blessing? Tell of His Glory Among the Nations! – Psalm 96:1-3”