PREPARE TO GREET HIM!

In a bygone era, kings and princes would sometimes travel through their kingdoms to visit their subjects and learn what they could of the lives of their people. Whenever these earthly monarchs would make a stopover, the best local band would welcome them with appropriate tunes. "Rule Brittania" is one such tune and in imitation of that welcoming tune, we have our own "Hail to the Chief". Of course, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords has not been left out of such honorary renditions. Under George II of the United Kingdom, one of the grandest masterpieces of Christian music was composed. So awesome in majesty was Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" that when it was first played in public, King George II was so moved that he stood up out of humility and respect. Seeing the monarch rise to the occasion, so did the whole crowd that day and ever since. I would suppose that more psalms, hymns and spiritual songs have been written for the honor of our God and King than for all the other monarchs who ever reigned.

A few years ago, it was a special privilege and honor when Brent & Molly Stater offered a new song to the Lord in the midst of our worship! And this type of offering we see is encouraged in all of Scripture. Ever and forever, in coming to meet the Lord, we are invited to sing, sing, sing as the first three lines of our psalm this morning challenge us.

This psalm is called an Enthronement Psalm which type celebrates the Kingship of God. In Chronicles early Davidic portions of this psalm celebrate the coming of the Ark of the Covenant. The Septuagint translation provides a title for this Psalm "When the house was built after the captivity. A song of David." In this sense it may well be a new song as the first verse tells us. All the earth is invited to join in singing to the Lord our Sovereign God. This invitation is repeated three times, Sing, sing and sing. Then in the second and third verses we find the type greeting that we can give the Lord our God. See it there: "praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day."

And that salvation is the glory that we are to declare among the nations as well as his marvelous deeds. Here we learn that our proclamation is indeed the praise He desires. For centuries the Germans greeted another with the phrase "Gross Gott" or "Great is our God". Unfortunately that habit died out when Hitler and the Nazis insisted that people substitute "Heil Hitler" instead.

The psalmist goes on to instruct us in the substance of our praise is well. We are to declare His free gift of salvation and to tell of his marvelous deeds. These deeds and mercy show Him to be great and worthy of praise. Since He is so great, we also ought to learn to fear Him above all the other gods. The psalmist reminds us that the gods of all the other nations are mere idols. By comparison our God has made the heavens. Therefore "splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary." The fact of God's presence is thus the true glory of Israel's Temple.

To Zion's hill are called all the families of nations. Acknowledge and acclaim are the verbs we might substitute for the word Ascribe here mentioned three times in counterpoint to our earlier sing, sing sing. By this calling we may understand that some substance must be added to our praise. A public act of homage is urged on us as part of the service we owe to Him. While the Hebrew word for offering here is in some dispute, Spurgeon believes that the specific offerings here are the bloodless "Thank Offerings", not the Old Testament offerings to atone for sin. So we see here that the way we give our gifts is more important than the size of the gifts. It is not the size but the attitude with which we offer our thanks.

A third way by which we may greet to our God and Father is in the worship described in verse nine. There we see that we are to "worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness". Our clothes, our facilities like our assets are of no importance. We must however realize His holiness when we come into His presence so that we may appreciate all the more the great mercy shown to us in the free gift of salvation.

All the earth, the psalmist informs us must one day tremble before Him! His people however will continue to give Him praise and we are carefully instructed again to "say among the nations, "The Lord reigns." But even as we witness the world will rebel, the worldly are firm in their godless roots and we cannot move them. Our holy God promises justice.

A long time ago when spiritual object lessons could still be taught in the schools, a certain teacher placed two boxes on his desk. One was labeled: "Presents for those who deserve them" and the second: "Presents for those who do not deserve them". The first box contained brightly wrapped cartons while the second box held smaller cartons wrapped in newsprint. Only when the children got home did they learn the lesson of a lifetime. You see those who took what they deserved received a lump of coal and those who accepted what they did not deserve received a personalized copy of the new testament with specific passages carefully underlined and a written invitation to consider the claims of truth!

Very many people will one day receive the justice they demand and so richly deserve because our God is fair as well as Holy. It is only by Grace that we receive the Good News of Jesus Christ. Therefore in the spirit of this psalm, "let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad: let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord."

And all of this shouting array of the natural order will be thrilled with the final coming in victory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. "He comes" in the words of this psalm, "he comes to judge the earth." Until that great day comes, we remain His servants among the peoples. We are set apart by His great mercy to serve His purpose. And so, when He comes let us be found ready to greet Him in person in humility and thankfulness as He so earnestly desires:

Give to Him today and all days the praise of a thankful heart.

Give to Him today and all Lord's days a joyful offering.

Give to Him the honest worship of a thankful heart.