Psalm 96:3-5 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Declare his glory among the nations
The other day during my Bible study (I think I mentioned it in another blog post), I learned more about God’s glory. Glory is God being revealed. That is why Jesus is the fullness of God’s glory while at the same time, I can reflect God’s glory. I can, through my actions, help people to know God more fully. This was a revelation to me. Previously I had thought that giving God glory was the same as praising Him. Saying God is good, or thanking Him for what He has done, and while it does include those things, it includes them as a way to show and reveal more of God. Every song with glory in it now has a deeper, fuller meaning for me. I want to declare His glory among all the nations.
His marvelous works among all the peoples
I remember a few years back when I was reading the book Pivot, by Dr. Alan Zimmerman, there was an exercise at the end of one of the chapters that had you write down all the blessings you could think of in your life. I, who can be a relatively negative person (my husband doesn’t call me the cheerful pessimist for nothing), found too many to fill a page. It was astonishing to me all the things I had begun to take for granted. All of the things the Lord had provided me with, blessed me with and the things for which I was now responsible were written on the page. No, that’s probably not true. I probably forgot some. There were more than what I had written down. The good things the Lord had provided me with were too many for me to recount. If you have never done an exercise like this, I suggest you do. Do it now. I won’t be offended if you stop reading here. I think it’s too important to recognize all we’ve been given.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods
great /grāt/
Adjective – Of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average.
Noun – A great or distinguished person.
Adverb – Excellently; very well.
Considerably above the normal or average
Our God isn’t some made up God. He is Great. He is above all gods. By the definition of great, God is considerably above the normal or average. He’s not just a little bit above, considerably above. God is God. He is great, and He deserves our praise.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Sadly we often choose to make things other than God great. We make people, relationships, addictions, greed and so much more increasingly important until they actually replace God at the top of our list. Today in my Bible Study I read in Isaiah how God felt about the false gods, and how crazy it made those that worshiped them seem. Bear with me as I share with you these verses, Isaiah 44: 6-23. Especially take not of verses 9 and 19. Those are the verses that really stuck out to me.
The Lord, Not Idols
6 “This is what the Lord says—
Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.
7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come—
yes, let them foretell what will come.
8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
9 All who make idols are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.
Those who would speak up for them are blind;
they are ignorant, to their own shame.
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,
which can profit nothing?
11 People who do that will be put to shame;
such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
they will be brought down to terror and shame.
12 The blacksmith takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.
13 The carpenter measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in human form,
human form in all its glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.
14 He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
15 It is used as fuel for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says,
“Save me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
20 Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
21 “Remember these things, Jacob,
for you, Israel, are my servant.
I have made you, you are my servant;
Israel, I will not forget you.
22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you.”
23 Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
shout aloud, you earth beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,
you forests and all your trees,
for the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
he displays his glory in Israel.
What’s so great?
