Psalm 102:1-11 “A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, LORD! Let my cry come to you. Don’t hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear to me. Answer me quickly in the day when I call. For my days consume away like smoke. My bones are burnt as a torch. My heart is blighted like grass, and withered, for I forget to eat my bread. By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones stick to my skin. I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I have become as an owl of the waste places. I watch, and have become like a sparrow that is alone on the housetop. My enemies reproach me all day. Those who are mad at me use my name as a curse. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears, because of your indignation and your wrath; for you have taken me up and thrown me away. My days are like a long shadow. I have withered like grass.”

There is a simple honesty and understanding in the Psalms that we don’t necessarily match today. There are many today that like to declare God would never do anything bad to us. After all, we’re His children! We’re His anointed! We’re His priests! He would never let anything negative happen to His people!

The Psalmist disagrees. He knows that God allows bad things to happen, and sometimes God decrees that bad things will happen: “because of Your indignation and Your wrath; for You have taken me up and thrown me away.” He does it for a purpose. His purpose. He’s molding us to be like Jesus or perhaps trying to bring us back to a right relationship with Him. That’s why it’s so important that we cry out to Him when we experience suffering.

Romans 5:3-5 “Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

For additional worship: Rejoice in the Lord (The Hamilton Family)

Psalm 101:1-8 “A Psalm by David. I will sing of loving kindness and justice. To you, LORD, I will sing praises. I will be careful to live a blameless life. When will you come to me? I will walk within my house with a blameless heart. I will set no vile thing before my eyes. I hate the deeds of faithless men. They will not cling to me. A perverse heart will be far from me. I will have nothing to do with evil. I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbor. I won’t tolerate one who is arrogant and conceited. My eyes will be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He who walks in a perfect way, he will serve me. He who practices deceit won’t dwell within my house. He who speaks falsehood won’t be established before my eyes. Morning by morning, I will destroy all the wicked of the land, to cut off all the workers of iniquity from the LORD’s city.”

David makes a solemn promise to God here. He won’t engage in any wickedness or tolerate it in others. He will do His best to make sure the kingdom follows God, even to the point of destroying those who don’t. In reality, he didn’t always keep His promise, either about the kingdom or himself! But his heart was in the right place, and the cry of his heart to follow God should be ours as well.

1 Peter 1:15-16 “but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior, because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ ”

For additional worship: O For a Heart to Praise my God (Charles Wesley)

O for a heart to praise my God,
a heart from sin set free,
a heart that always feels Thy blood
so freely shed for me.

A heart resigned, submissive, meek,
my great Redeemer’s throne,
where only Christ is heard to speak,
where Jesus reigns alone.

A humble, lowly, contrite heart,
believing, true, and clean,
which neither life nor death can part
from Christ who dwells within.

A heart in ev’ry thought renewed
and full of love divine,
perfect and right and pure and good,
a copy, Lord, of Thine.

Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart;
come quickly from above;
write Thy new name upon my heart,
Thy new best name of Love.

Psalm 100:1-5 “A Psalm of thanksgiving. Shout for joy to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. Know that the LORD, he is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good. His loving kindness endures forever, his faithfulness to all generations.”

This is a reminder that God has worshippers across the nations that should praise and serve Him. After all, He created everyone, and all are His sheep and dependent on His care. One day all who know Him will enter the new Jerusalem and its temple to worship, but until then we should come before Him in private and corporate worship with praise and thanksgiving. He is good, faithful, and merciful, and His goodness, faithfulness, and mercy endure forever!

For additional worship: All Ye Nations, Praise the Lord (James Montgomery)

All ye nations, praise the Lord,
All ye lands, your voices raise;
Heaven and earth, with loud accord,
Praise the Lord, forever praise;

For his truth and mercy stand,
Past and present and to be,
Like the years of his right hand,
Like his own eternity.

Praise him, ye who know his love;
Praise him from the depths beneath;
Praise him in the hights above;
Praise your Maker, all that breathe.

Psalm 99:1-9 “The LORD reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned amongst the cherubim. Let the earth be moved. The LORD is great in Zion. He is high above all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name. He is Holy! The King’s strength also loves justice. You establish equity. You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the LORD our God. Worship at his footstool. He is Holy! Moses and Aaron were amongst his priests, Samuel was amongst those who call on his name. They called on the LORD, and he answered them. He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud. They kept his testimonies, the statute that he gave them. You answered them, LORD our God. You are a God who forgave them, although you took vengeance for their doings. Exalt the LORD, our God. Worship at his holy hill, for the LORD, our God, is holy!”

There are various ways of translating verse 4. In our translation we can envision the Lord being described as the king of Israel’s strength. So, in addition to recognizing God’s holiness, His sovereignty, His greatness, His righteousness, and His mercy, we should also ask ourselves some questions. Do we look to God for our strength? Do we worship Him in humility? Do we exalt Him and call on His name?  Do we love His Word and keep His testimonies?

Psalm 96:9 “Worship the LORD in holy array (or “in the beauty of holiness,” or even “in the splendor of holiness”). Tremble before him, all the earth.”

For additional worship: O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness

Psalm 98:1-9 “A Psalm. Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made known his salvation. He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness towards the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Burst out and sing for joy, yes, sing praises! Sing praises to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the voice of melody. With trumpets and sound of the ram’s horn, make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD. Let the sea roar with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein. Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountains sing for joy together. Let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.”

A Psalm = a song accompanied by an instrument. A new song, a joyful noise, for a righteous judge and a merciful and faithful savior! But note: “His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.” For Him? Yes! God is both holy and merciful. Jesus dying on the cross shows God’s judgment and salvation. Both testify to His majesty!

Ephesians 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love, having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved.”

For additional worship: 10,000 Reasons (Matt Redman)

Psalm 97:1-7 “The LORD reigns! Let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of islands be glad! Clouds and darkness are around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. A fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries on every side. His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees, and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare his righteousness. All the peoples have seen his glory. Let all them be shamed who serve engraved images, who boast in their idols. Worship him, all you gods!”

God is awesome, sovereign, and scary. All the so-called gods, all the angels, all those in authority, all people everywhere need to turn to and worship Him. And by Him, we also understand it to mean Jesus!

Hebrews 1:6-8 “When he again brings in the firstborn into the world he says, ‘Let all the angels of God worship him.’ Of the angels he says, ‘He makes his angels winds, and his servants a flame of fire.’ But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.’ ”

For additional worship: Day of Judgment, Day of Wonders (John Newton)

For a very short testimony from the singer/arranger of the Newton hymn, click here.

Psalm 96:7-13 “Ascribe to the LORD, you families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come into his courts. Worship the LORD in holy array. Tremble before him, all the earth. Say amongst the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The world is also established. It can’t be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar, and its fullness! Let the field and all that is in it exult! Then all the trees of the woods shall sing for joy before the LORD; for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, the peoples with his truth.”

We are to recognize and praise God for His glory and strength. We should tremble at His might and bring offerings to His court. One day He is coming to judge the earth with righteousness and truth. One day creation itself will cry out His majesty! Until then, we need to make sure that we say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.”

Romans 8:19-22 “For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.”

For additional worship: Go Tell It On The Mountain (Reawaken Hymns)

Psalm 96:1-6 “Sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD! Bless his name! Proclaim his salvation from day to day! Declare his glory amongst the nations, his marvelous works amongst all the peoples. For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised! He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”

Does anything more need to be said? Perhaps this: “In him are combined all that is mighty and lovely, powerful and resplendent. We have seen rugged strength devoid of beauty, we have also seen elegance without strength; the union of the two is greatly to be admired.” (Treasury of David, Spurgeon, Volume 4, 182)

For additional worship: Jesus Saves (We Have Heard The Joyful Sound)