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. (Psalm 96:3–4, ESV)
Great is the Lord! He is to be feared above all gods! The point is there is no god like our God. He is more wonderful. He is more beautiful. He is more powerful. He is more loving. He is more grace-filled. He is everything.
These verses invoke a sense of wonder and awe. It is no small thing to come into the presence of God. When we catch sight of his glory, it is a humbling experience.
But our world is filled with idolatry. We allow the created things to invoke a greater sense of awe than the one who created all things. Fans proclaim the praises of their sports teams. Name brands preach the greatness of their shiny new toy. Celebrities are fawned over. Politicians promise us the world.
We are told all these things are so great, but they never live up to the hype. Our sports teams lose. The shiny new toy becomes the dull old toy. Celebrities fall out of the spotlight. And politicians compromise their promises.
But Psalm 96:3-4 tells us to declare God’s glory. It tells us to speak and make known how incredible our God is. There is nothing else that lives up to expectations but God is one who surpasses all expectations.
The Psalmist recognizes that words have power. The words we use go a long way in shaping our perception of the world around us. Maybe the reason you don’t believe more in the greatness of God is because you have spoken more about the greatness of other things. This is why worship is a priority for believers. We hear enough how great everything else is. We are inundated with the idolatry of the world. Worship reminds us how much greater God is than all the rest.
It goes hand in hand. Maybe the reason worship is not a greater priority in your life is because your view of God is not great enough. At the same time, maybe the reason the problems in your life seem so big is that you have not made the worship of God a priority in your life. The smaller our picture of God, the greater our perception of the problems we face. The bigger the picture of our God, the more insignificant we will see our challenges in the face of his glory.
Can I get an Amen?
dominique bovard says
amen !!!