Worship with Joy
Notes
Transcript
OPENING LINE
OPENING LINE
What makes you want to shout?
The Isley Brothers’ “Shout” is one of the earliest and best-known party songs.
Immortalized by the frat-house dance scene in the 1978 comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House.
“Shout” was originally conceived by Ronald Isley nearly 20 years earlier during a 1959 concert in Philadelphia as a way to extend the audience’s excitement.
This evolved out of the call-and-response style The Isleys grew up singing in church.
The organist from their church, Professor Herman Stephens, played on the song.
Though “Shout” only reached No. 47 on Billboard’s pop chart in 1959, it became the Isley Brothers’ first million-selling record thanks to its enduring popularity and covers by many other artists.
The single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Times that we shout:
Watching our favorite team
Rearing children
Frustrated with our spouse
Stump your toe!
While attending a concert
But, what about as a believer?
When God does something miraculous we should proclaim His goodness … provision … protection — Amen?
MAIN POINT
MAIN POINT
The psalmist calls upon all the earth to praise the Lord because He alone is God, He is good and He is worthy of our praise!
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
This psalm has a fitting title for this time of year — Be Thankful!
It was to accompany a thank offering.
It was most likely sung by worshippers making their way into the temple.
Honestly, as we read it, it’s an invitation to worship!
As Warren Wiersbe points out …
This psalm is a fitting climax to the collection of “royal psalms” (Psalm 93, 95–100) and sums up their emphasis in four ways:
Acknowledges God’s sovereign rule
Recognizes His goodness to His people
Declares the responsibility of all nations to acknowledge Him
Recalls the importance of God’s people exalting and worshiping Him together
A universal call
A universal call
All the earth
1 Let the whole earth shout triumphantly to the Lord!
Look back at Psalm 84
4 Let the whole earth shout to the Lord; be jubilant, shout for joy, and sing.
This is a call to worship that goes out to the whole world.
The address goes to all the earth, since the Lord is the Creator of all people, not just Israel.
Israel exists to bring light to the entire earth.
But the psalm will direct its attention especially to Israel later in verse 3.
He is the Creator!
Reminds me of another psalm.
Psalm 146:5–7 (CSB)
5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever, 7 executing justice for the exploited and giving food to the hungry. The Lord frees prisoners.
I can’t help but also think of John’s revelation found in the Book of Revelation, a scene of the ce—les—tial choir that we will one day join.
9 After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.
10 And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!
11 All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen.
As the one true God and maker of heaven and earth, God has the right to command worship from all peoples.
This is where history is going.
This terminal moment in history as we know it will find all of creation standing in awe of the glory of God.
Those who have trusted Christ will stand on the new earth and look out, and there will be a sea of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation — your brothers and sisters in faith — with one voice singing the praises of Jesus Christ.
This call to worship is meant to ring out to the farthest reaches of the earth. And the nations will hear it.
As the prophet Ha—bak—kuk wrote …
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory, as the water covers the sea.
By creating the world, God established his power and authority to rule it.
This Psalm calls for our praise.
Spurgeon comments on this passage, he said …
In every land Jehovah’s goodness is seen, therefore in every land should he be praised. Never will the world be in its proper condition till with one unanimous shout it adores the only God.
One of the first things I thought of as I read Psalm 100 was “even the rocks will cry out!”
Luke 19
Triumphal Entry
36 As he was going along, they were spreading their clothes on the road. 37 Now he came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: 38 Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven! 39 Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.”
The Pharisees thought the crowd’s words were sacrilegious and blasphemous.
They didn’t want someone challenging their power and authority, and they didn’t want a revolt that would bring the Roman army down on them.
So they asked Jesus to keep his people quiet.
But Jesus said that if the people were quiet, the stones would burst into cheers.
Why? Not because Jesus was setting up a powerful political kingdom but because he was establishing God’s eternal Kingdom, a reason for the greatest celebration of all.
This expression is generally understood as proverbial rather than literal, suggesting that it would be more likely for the impossible to happen than for Jesus to enter Jerusalem without receiving honor and praise.
The phrase emphasizes the idea that all of creation, including inanimate objects like rocks, can express praise to God.
This concept is echoed in other parts of the Bible, such as Psalm 19:1.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.
A unique sound
A unique sound
Audible — Loud w/ joy
Psalm 100 speaks of the joy of the church as something audible—even loud.
Shout with joy (NLT)
Make a joyful noise (ESV/KJV)
On your feet now — applaud God! (MSG)
Psalm 100:1 (MSG)
On your feet now—applaud God!
Ssshhh … you’re too loud.
[photo of crowd]
YOU’RE JUST TOO DARN LOUD!
But what does Scripture teach us?
This same Hebrew word translated shout triumphantly is used in Psalm 95 (twice) and Psalm 98.
1 Come, let’s shout joyfully to the Lord, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving; let’s shout triumphantly to him in song.
6 With trumpets and the blast of the trumpet shout triumphantly in the presence of the Lord, our King.
This notion of SHOUTING
Cry … cry out … shout;
Raise a war-cry or alarm
Rejoice or cheer — Dinah’s story
To utter a sudden loud cry
This is the homage—shout, or fanfare (98:6)—given to a king (66:1; 95:1).
It signifies a glad shout, such as loyal subjects give when their king appears among them. As seen in 1 Samuel 10, verse 24.
24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among the entire population.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
This verse is not merely routine or superficial religion, but denotes exuberant praise in response to the Lord.
It’s one that is joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic
Man, when was the last time you were … before the Lord? … for what He has done in your life?
John Piper
Joy is not an option. It’s a command.
You might asking, but wait, doesn’t the lord call us to still?
10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
10 “Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”
Aren’t we to come before the Lord with reverence and awe?
We are, BUT there are also times where, as I read this week, “God has his hand on the volume knob, and he’s cranking it up!”
Shout triumphantly — Make a joyful noise!
Turn it up!
An ultimate goal
An ultimate goal
Worship
The enthusiasm of Israelite worship is illustrated throughout Psalms 93–100.
Shouts are raised.
Praises chanted and sung while musical instruments are played and horns blown.
The noise of the Temple worship was legendary.
Story: Praise Band practicing
We praise him joyfully as God, Creator, and Shepherd.
We give thanks because He is good, loving, and forever faithful.
The Tony Evans Study Bible
As we look into God’s Word, we see people who are engaging in worship with a sense of excitement.
You can’t worship the Lord without your emotions.
[Worship] is no mere intellectual exercise. Worship is all that we are responding to all that He is.
APPLY IT
APPLY IT
(1) Does this passage describe you?
I know I’ve had time of shouting and praise in my life.
I tried to recall a specific time and the exact moment, but I couldn’t.
Oh, but as I was listening, God was preparing.
Then twice on Friday afternoon, both within about 30-45 minutes of each other, I was shouting His praise!
It just comes out!
There is something happening on the inside that has to come out!
Joy … excitement … frustration … anger … passion … praise.
(2) Does this verse describe Bethel Baptist Church?
Psalm 100 isn’t a passage for other churches; it’s here for every church.
God means for his people to be marked by joy.
CLOSING
CLOSING
Why can all the earth praise the Lord?
5 For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations.
Because He alone is God, He is good and He is worthy!
His faithful love endures forever and his faithfulness through all generations.
I want to close today with some thoughts from my ESV Devotional Psalter.
A miserable Christian is a contradiction in terms.
To be sure, life is hard. The pain that accumulates throughout one's journey in this world is a strong temptation to cynicism.
The Christian life is not one of painted on smiles, pretending that all is right in the world when in truth there are horrors all around.
Sometimes the pain in life is so great that the thought of rejoicing seems not only distant, but a mockery to our true emotional state.
Yet we must receive what the Bible says in passage such a Psalm 100 because the Bible itself acknowledges the deep pain of life, not only in other books such as Ecclesiastics, but even through the Psalms.
And even more deeply, the Bible gives us resources for wading through the pain of life with a joy and calm that transcends the darkness.
5 For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations.
Friends …
Your pain never outpaces his love. You're difficulty is surrounded by a deeper reality of his goodness. He proved it by sending his son for you. Even in the pain of life, we lift our hearts and our voices to the Lord.
Will you accept His call?
Will you receive salvation and forgiveness?
Will you rejoice in the Lord today?
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!