Psalm 96 is known as the "missionary psalm". It has to do with declaring or proclaiming the glory of God. And we see the wedding of worship, singing, and God's heart for missions all the way through the Psalm.
Verse 1 - "Sing to the Lord . . .all the earth!" v.2 - "Sing to the Lord, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day." v. 3 - "Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous work among all peoples." v. 5 - "The gods of the people are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens." v. 7 - "Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, . . ." v. 8 - "Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts!" v. 9 - "Worship the Lord . . ." v. 10 - "Say among the nations, 'The Lord reigns!'" v. 11, ". . . let the earth rejoice."This Psalm is literally packed with references to worship, singing, and missions. It is obvious they all go together in the master plan and providence of our God. We can not separate them, because our Lord intended that they all go together. We must not be afraid to become involved at every level in God's master plan.
We used to joke at seminary that if you wanted to see the chapel empty of people, schedule Mission's Week. The crowds would thin out during that week. Preachers and musicians on campus were scared to death that if they attended, God might call them to deep, dark Africa. How sad that you would even see that on a seminary campus.
Our worship choir will lead a worship time on Sunday challenging us to be involved in worship, singing, and missions in all the world. We will be challenged to not fear the darkness, but to seek the light and seek to be the light to a world in desperate need of a Savior through going, giving, and praying.
Please pray that God will move freely among us as we worship together on Sunday and are challenged by a stirring musical message to get in on what God is doing in our world today! mjm
