#EasterPilgrim daily reflections

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The Psalms summon us to worship and praise to broaden and widen our understanding of God. Like many of the Psalms of praise, Psalm 96 does this in two ways. First, we are called to worship (and we call one another to worship) in a series of commands: ‘Sing to the Lord’; ‘Declare his glory’; ‘Ascribe to the Lord’; and ‘Tell it out among the nations’.

Psalm 96

¹O sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
²Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    tell of his salvation from day to day.
³Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvellous works among all the peoples.
⁴For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
    he is to be revered above all gods.
⁵For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
⁶Honour and majesty are before him;
    strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

⁷Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
⁸Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering, and come into his courts.
⁹Worship the Lord in holy splendour;
    tremble before him, all the earth.

¹⁰Say among the nations, ‘The Lord is king!
    The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
    He will judge the peoples with equity.’
¹¹Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
¹²    let the field exult, and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
¹³    before the Lord; for he is coming,
    for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
    and the peoples with his truth.

Second, the Psalm explores the reasons for our worship: ‘For great is the Lord’; ‘For all the gods of the nations are but idols’; ‘He has made the world so firm’; and ‘For he comes…to judge the earth’.

We praise God because of God’s nature, God’s power and God’s strength; we praise God because of God’s work in creation; and we praise God because of the whole story of salvation. We are caught up in the praise of all the earth.

As you sing hymns and songs this week, notice the reasons they offer for God’s worship and praise: God’s nature, God’s work in creation and God’s work in salvation.

Lord God, you draw us by your beauty
and transform us by your holiness;
let our worship echo all creation’s praise
and declare your glory to the nations;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer after Psalm 96

Create a poster or collage with the theme “The Lord is King”. Cut pictures from magazines or newspapers, download images from the internet or use pens and crayons to illustrate it.

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Reflections from the Church House Publishing Pilgrim Journeys: 40 Days of Reflections on The Lord's Prayer written by Steven Croft are copyright 2019, 2020 The Archbishops’ Council and used here with permission. Full details of both resources are available on the Church of England website.

Bible readings are taken from The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.