For Every Season: For a Season of Worship (Psalm 95) – Dr. Matt Kim
As we continue our sermon series For Every Season, we hear from fellow church member, Dr. Matt Kim, a Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Leadership at Truett Seminary. In Psalm 95, we see a calling on our lives to worship and the how, why, and a warning.
PSALM 95:1-11
PSALM 95:1-11
1. THE HOW OF WORSHIP: We worship the Lord by coming to Him, by singing, by making a joyful noise, and by coming into His presence with thanksgiving (vs. 1-2).
There is nothing complicated about the verb ‘come,’ except to say that worship is all encompassing. Worship is personal and participatory at its core, never passive. - Doug Webster,The Psalms:
So we have a parallelism here. Look with me to 1B and 2B.
1B begins “Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.”
2B says “Let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise.”
We come so often to God, if we come at all, as beggars. We ask and beg: give me; bless me; help me; guide me; grant me. And that’s one necessary level of our existence. But in thanksgiving and adoration we come to God not to ask but to give! We come not whimpering but shouting praise; not in guilt but in gratitude. We feel not distant from God but close to God. We are like a traveler who is home again at last, the prodigal at a banquet. Those moments may be seldom, but when they happen we know that we were created for God. - Don Postema, Space for God
2. The Why of Worship We worship the Lord because He is a great God and there is no other! (vs. 3-7)
There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign overall, does not cry, Mine! - Abraham Kuyper,.
He [Satan] is a creature striving to be superior to the Creator. . . . Elevation of the Son is a problem for Satan, but bending the knee before God is what he disdains most. . . . Like any creature, Satan owes more to God than gratitude, though grateful recognition of the gift received is all God requires. In failing to give thanks, Satan is injuring God’s merit; he is refusing to give God even a fraction of what is due to God. . . . The unquenchable desire to be superior to God holds Satan captive. - Miroslav Volf The Cost of Ambition,
3. The Warning of Worship In every season, worship the worthy Lord, before your heart grows hard, and your praise turns cold (v. 8-11).
And I’ll praise you in this storm, And I will lift my hands, For you are who you are
No matter where I am, And every tear I’ve cried, You hold in your hand, You never left my side, And though my heart is torn, I will praise you in this storm. - Praise You in This Storm, Casting Crowns