Psalm 96 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 96 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Verse 2Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
Verse 3Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.
Verse 4For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods.
Verse 5For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
Verse 6Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Verse 7Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Verse 8Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts.
Verse 9Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth.
Verse 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."
Verse 11Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
Verse 12let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
Verse 13before 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.
Devotion
The seas roar again in this psalm. The fields exult. Heavens and earth rejoice. Trees and forests sing. God is coming to judge, coming to bless, coming to save. Is God coming for you and me? Yes! But God comes not for humans only. God comes for us amid the fields and the forests, the stars and the sky, the lions and the lambs, the whales and the walruses. God made us all. God loves us all. God is coming. Rejoice with the cuckoos and the crocodiles, the dogwood and the diatoms. Rejoice with all God's creatures, big and small. God is coming to make us whole, to make us one.
Prayer
Creator God, join our voices to those of the shepherds and angels, the donkeys and sheep, the oxen and the barn owls who sang on Christmas Eve. May our joyful noise reach the stars to praise Jesus' birth. Amen.