Psalm 96
“O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name; tell of His salvation from day to day.”
Are you ever in a situation where you feel uncomfortable about being a Christian? Sometimes when you’re with worldly people, do you ever feel tempted to let your guard slip, to let the breastplate of righteousness sag a bit in hopes of fitting in? My friends, this should not be! We should never forsake the way of the Lord, the way of holiness, to be accepted by sinners. For “[we] are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.” We are the representatives of Christ here on this earth; He has sent the Holy Spirit to guide us in all that we do, so that we might ”be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” We should never be intimidated by worldly people, for we have the Lord our God on our side. “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me [Christ], and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me.” The opposite logic is true, whoever rejects us, rejects the Lord. This is not to say that we are free to be obnoxious and annoying, and if they don’t accept that, then they are rejecting the Lord. No, Christ was never this way, and nor should we. For we should emulate Christ in all that He did, His gentleness, kindness, love, hatred for sin, absolute holiness, and lovingkindness. If we are not these things, then we are not in Christ, for He Himself said, “If you love me, you will obey my commands,” and He is the great example by which we must live. This all is to say that we should have courage to boldly speak the Gospel of Christ in any setting. Surely, the mild persecutions of the American church are nothing compared to the wildly violent persecutions in other nations. There men and women alike spread the Gospel of Christ, the Gospel of salvation and defeat of death, with great courage. Their very lives are on the line, yet they still proclaim His Word. And we muffle our witness here, for what? Because people may laugh at us? Think we’re crazy? Who cares what they think! We are here to serve the Lord, and serve the Lord we shall. “For the message of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” There are quite a few who have simply blocked the Lord from their mind, closed it to even the possibility that He exists. They are far from denying themselves, taking up their cross and following the Lord, unfortunately. These people, the scoffers, are the saddest people on the planet. My heart goes out for them, for they know not what they mock. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” This actually has a double meaning, for it may simply seem to be a warning from those who are mocking God Almighty, but the second half is a deep warning for us as well. We will reap what we sow. Do we sow righteousness and courageously spread the seed of the Lord’s Gospel through the fields, or do we keep it in our pouches, afraid lest we offend someone? Let your very life be a testimony to the holiness and redemptive power of the Lord! For we all have “sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” and it is no wonder that we should “fear not him who kills the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” This fits perfectly with the beginning of this writing, dearly beloved, for we should not fear men, but rather God. We should have no mind for the sons of men, but rather the Almighty, Holy God of the Universe. We should do all to please Him, for He has already given us all, life, earth, a universe, the sun to govern the day and the moon to govern the night, food to eat and water to drink, and a wonderful salvation from our own wrongdoing. What has man done for us? Even if they have given us the world, fulfilled our every desire, everything they might do pales in comparison with the blessings bestowed upon us by the Lord. Man has brought much suffering into the world, but God has brought much beauty and salvation. Reading back the text with which I began, of course we should sing praises to the Name of the Lord, of course His praise should ever be on our lips. For he has done everything for us, and not one of His children does he let get away. He is the Good Shepherd, He cares for His flock, and He has brought us all salvation from our “many and numerous” sins. The Lord of Hosts has broken the back of the devil, who wishes to destroy us, he has completely annihilated his power, neutered him in shame before the sons of men. Praise the Lord for His Almighty gifts to the sons of men! Praise the Lord from the hilltops, dear Christian, praise Him in the streets; let our lives be a testament to the glory of the Lord, the Almighty saving power of our God. I rather dislike calling Him ‘our God’ for He is not ours, rather we are His. We have been adopted into the family with Christ, making us “co-heirs’’ of the inheritance with the very Son of God. How incredible is our Lord, how awesome are all of His deeds! Praise His Holy Name from this time forth and forevermore! Praise the Lord!
