Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Bible Study / Summer Psalms

Psalm 66 Part 1  06/02/01

Introduction: All of us know people who have to be assured and reassured of their good looks, or of the truth , importance and relevance of their ideas, or of the deepness of their spirituality or even the greatness of their ability to do this or that. What do we usually call people who have to be told over and over again just how beautiful, smart, spiritual or talented they are?  Prideful, narcissistic, conceited are a few that come to my mind. Am I right?

     Is our God like that? Is our God like the wicked queen in Snow White, who stood before the mirror and said 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose the fairest of them all?'  'O, you are Lord, Surely you are.'  Is that the kind of God we have? If so, then I suggest that you all walk out of this building and have nothing to do with that God.

     But, some would say, doesn't God do just that? Doesn't He tell us to praise Him and worship Him and Him alone? Isn't that narcissism?

Explanation: No. We pay honor and respect to God, when we praise Him and when we worship Him, we are only giving God His due. Because of who God is and what He has done, He is worthy, it is right for us to give Him ceaseless praise and worship. God is God.

     I want you to think about this. When we praise and worship God we really don't do it for His sake. Why because He is in Himself, full of glory, self sufficient, complete, secure and no creature can add anything to God.  No. In a very real way, we give praise and honor and reverence and glory to God...for our sake.

     When we worship God, when we take the focus of life off ourselves and places it on the one who gave us life, on the one who saved our lives and on the one who sustains our life, it helps us find out who we truly are and why God placed us here. When we bow to God's presence in worship, we are made complete. Because we are united with one another, with all the Believers throughout the history of the church and most especially, with our head, who is Christ and are then in communion with our heavenly Father.

     The Book of Revelation is known as the book of heavenly worship. It is interesting that of all the songs in the Book of Revelation, not one is a solo. The 24 elders sing and cast their crowns before the feet of Christ. The united voices of countless angels resound, every living creature in heaven and earth and under the earth and all that is in them are joined in one song. In every case, myriad's of people and angels unite in worshipping God by singing the same song....
with absolute unity.

     That's what our Psalm is about this morning. People of the world, along with God's Church, and each and every Believer, are to 'Shout joyfully to the Lord'......... as one voice.

Background: Authentic biblical worship exists in a creative tension. On  the one hand there is the corporate worship of the gathered church. On  the other hand, there is the personal worship of the individual Believer. Whenever this tension is broken great damage is done. Either the individual believes that there is no true worship outside the corporate gathering on Sundays and so  doesn't think it necessary to offer worship to God during the week. Or they believe that there is no need for corporate worship and stay home to worship God individually at the beach or in the park.

     Both ideas damage God's church and hurt His people. We don't like tension do we? Give me right or left but don't ask me to accept both. Ps 66 testifies to maintaining that tension. Verse 1 begins by calling the whole earth to shout joyfully to the Lord in worship. In vs 8, the psalmist speaks specifically to the gathered people of God about the nature of their worship. And then in vs 13 the psalmist tells of his own personal worship experience.

    The idea is that our individual acts of worship only have meaning in the larger context of the earth and the church praising God. One last illustration before we look at the text.

ILL: The story is told of a 10 yr old boy who had the privilege of getting up at 4 am to get the cows so they could be milked. As he came into the house for breakfast, he could smell the beginnings of a soup his mom would make. She would put in hunks of beef and carrots, peas and potatoes and all kinds of good stuff. And he would begin to smell it. He would return to the hose for lunch and he would go over to the pot to get some soup and his mom would say 'No son, you can't have any yet. You'll have to wait for tonight' He would work hard all afternoon and when he came back once again for dinner his mom would put a large pot of that soup on the table for them to eat. She would put a ladle in the soup and the steam would rise off it. You could put your face over the pot and..well, I bet you can almost smell it right now can't you?

    The boy asked his mom why they had to wait so song to eat the soup. She said 'Son, it needed time to simmer so we get all the juices out of all the ingredients. And then they're all mixed together, that's what brings forth that good aroma. And when you taste it, you're getting the very best of what's in each ingredient.'

     Well, that's the way I want God to look at our corporate worship. Sunday morning is a gathering of His chosen people who have been simmering all week in the presence of God. When we simmer every day in the presence of God and then come on Sunday morning and mix all together, there's an aroma and a smell of the grace and goodness of God that rises up to heaven. And God metaphorically pulls off the lid Sunday mornings and says 'Mmmm, that's my people in Calvary Baptist Church'.             That's worship.

     Individual worship must be offered to God every day by each of us. But, our worship is not complete until it is offered in the corporate gathering of God's people, coming as one voice to worship and praise God. It is then that we are a sweet smelling savor to God.

Trans: What is it that will make CBC's worship 'Mmmm, Mmmm good'? Turn to Ps. 66:1 where we find the call for...

I. Universal Praise of God's Kingship  (Ps. 66:1-7)
Read: Ps. 66:1-7

     According to JM Boice's commentary on the Book of Psalms, there is a connection between the last vs of psalm 65 and the beginning verses of ps. 66.

Read: Ps. 65:13
     Here we see that the world of nature does in fact praise and shout to God their creator and it does not need to be urged to do so, it does it naturally. It is the natural and expected response from the creation to it's creator. But, the praise and worship rightfully due God by human beings is usually lacking and that you and I, as well as the rest of humanity need to be told repeatedly to praise God. We all, for many different reasons: comfort, respectability, sin, fear, all fight our natural instinct to praise our creator.

     So, according to vs 1 the whole world (Believers included) is called to Shout joyfully to the Lord. To shout joyfully means just that, a loud exclamation of joy.  No room for inhibitions or fear or high brow respectability here.

     Vs 2 tells everyone to sing and to make His praise glorious. The content of our worship and praise is God. We offer our praise to bring glory to Him, not attention to us and we do this through song.

     In vs 3 the phrase 'Say to God' means to testify. To publicly tell what God has done for you, to proclaim His awesome works. This is something even unbelievers should do. God blesses the just and the unjust with His common grace. And through this God's power is displayed to all. Even unbelievers can recognize this and should praise God for it. But they don't...and neither do Christians as often as they ought.

     I am too shy, I don't speak well....OK, but those excuses didn't stop God from using Moses and they shouldn't stop you from being vocal and public about your praise and thanksgiving to God.

     We gave you an opportunity to tell God and those here this morning what God has been doing in your life. Did you realize it was more than just me asking...it was a command from God? We need to hear what God is doing in your life, it encourages other Believers. The lost, some of whom may be here this morning, need to hear of God's personal acts in the lives of others. That is what Israel did.

     Verses 5-7 tell of some of the awesome works God has done, specifically to the nation of  Israel , that are worthy of praise and thanksgiving by all people. What would you add to that list...what can you say to the world about what God is doing in your life?

     When reading vs 1-7 there are two important things you must know.

     First, vs 1-7 are eschatological  in nature. That means this may not be happening today, unbelievers praising God, but one day it will.

Phil. 2:9-11: 'Therefore God highly exalted Him and bestowed upon Him the name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those who are in heaven and on  the earth and under the earth and that ever tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.'

     The complete fulfillment of Ps 66:1-7 and Eph. 2:9-11 are future, but will come.

     Second, although all creation will one day praise God and worship Him. As Christians it is our duty and privilege to do it right now. Although I will speak in more detail to this next Sunday, I want to touch on it today.

     It is interesting to note that the opening verses of this Psalm speak of shouting, singing, praising and giving thanks to God as the means or the vehicle of worship. Why? It is natural for God's people to worship Him in these ways  because of who He is and for what He has done to and in their lives. What God, YHWY, Jehovah, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe has done for you, personally and intimately. Doesn't that just go straight to the heart? You can not read these verses, nor this Psalm w/o exciting your emotions. Worshipping God, in these ways does require a certain amount of emotion.

     James Boice has said  that where there is joy, singing naturally follows and that is why Christians have always been a singing people. They can't help but sing because of the joy they get being in a loving relationship with the God who saved them from the penalty of sin...which is death.

     But, he says singing in worship is not only meant to express emotion, as if the focus was on us. The focus of all gestures and acts of worship, the focus of our singing ought to be  God alone. Though there should be true emotion in the singing in worship, the content of our worship is God and His glory and not our emotions or experiences no matter how intense or powerful they may be.

     What Boice is saying is that emotion should be expressed in our worship and most appropriately during singing. But, the end result of our emotion in worship is not to feel better but for God to be glorified, honored and praised. But more on that next week.

Conclusion: Let me try to pull this all together. God requires praise...from everyone, believer and unbeliever alike. Not because He is narcissistic but because it is His due and it is for our good. But because of sin humanity forgets to praise God at best and refuses to at its worst.  So God's Word has to constantly remind us to praise our Creator.

     Some of the ways we worship God are by shouting, singing, praising and giving thanks when we come together on Sunday mornings. These acts of worship are universal and are necessarily and rightfully emotion laden.

     But the primary focus of worship is not our emotions or experience, it is God and His glory. One day all will worship God. But for now, those who love the Lord must set the example of being a people of enthusiastic and wholehearted praise to God... together as one as a testimony of God's power before the whole world.

ILL: During a visit to Grandma and Grandpa's, two young sisters watched from the breakfast table as a man came to the back door. When the visitor left, Grandpa explained that he was an appraiser. 'What's an appraiser" the younger girl asked. Before Grandpa had a chance to explain, the older sister quickly cleared up the matter. 'He's a praiser. He goes to church every Sunday.'

     We know the world is not made up of those this little girl would call a praiser....but God church is to be know as the place where everyone who attends is known that way. Is that how you are known?

     Are you 'a praiser'?