Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

 

 

Psalm 98

 

August 13, 2022

 

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

 

 “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.  The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.  He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”

Nowhere can one find entitlement in Scripture unless we are referring to hell, and let’s not miss words, eternal punishment.  Yes, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) And the salvations that King David is referring to in these first three verses of this Psalm are not an entitlement, nor can it be earned.  We live in a time where from childhood people are taught, that they are entitled to almost everything, even what someone else has worked and sacrificed to acquire.  Yes, it is a setup and design failure, so who would do such a horrible thing to humans, the answer is found in John 10:10.

 

John 10:10, not only gives us information on who our real enemy is but also gives us information on where to run for help.  And the Spirit that lives in all who have found peace and joy in this world will find rest for their soul in Jesus.  Shall we look to the words of Jesus found in John 3:16-21, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Grace is not an entitlement, and not earned, it is a gift from God, it is a heart transplant, found in Ezekiel 36:26, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”   We call this act of God regeneration, and it is a secret act of God by which He imparts new spiritual life to a dead heart.  A heart that has always got its needs met, outside of Christ.

Have you experienced this grace, do you have a heart that sings a new song to the Lord?  If not, you have been given enough information in this paper to do so, and Scripture teaches that today is the day of Salvation.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice