Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

In the last sermon I preached, we began to explore the subject of worship in the Bible

As we defined the word worship, we saw that it carries with it a sense of bowing down.

Worshiping God implies humility and a heart that lays prostrate before God.

All worship that we give to God is done through lowering ourselves and raising Him up.

While it is important that we have a clear understanding of the heart of worship, and how we should approach it, it is more important that we understand and know who we are worshiping and why we are worshiping.

We must have a clear understanding of who God is because He is the focus of our worship.

If we do not know him, and why He is to be worshipped then we cannot rightly worship Him.

This is because we do not worship an idea or an emotion.

We worship a relational being.

We worship a God who has done so much for us and is deserving of all praise regardless of who we are and what we do.

If we do not know Him, our worship will be void of emotion.

Without this knowledge, it becomes an act without feeling and thought, and reverence.

So we must know who God is and what he has done for us.

We must think about Him.

We must dwell on Him.

We must meditate on Him.

I want to look at Psalm 96 because it is such a guide of who we are worshiping and why.

Turn to your Bible Psalm 96.

While we do not know for 100% certainty who this psalm was written by, it is often attributed to David and highly probably that it is him.

Some of the earliest translations of the Bible say that David is the author.

Many commentators attribute this Psalm to David because of the historical account in I Chronicles 16 where David returns the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.

David gives a song of thanks, quoting Psalm 96 and Psalm 105 nearly verbatim.

As we look at this Psalm, it is quite clear that this is a prophetic and Messianic Psalm because of the focus of the Lord’s salvation and His presence.

There is also a call to tell all people of his Salvation which echos the Great Commission.

We will talk more about at in a minute but first, there are several words in this Psalm that we need to be made aware of and really pay attention to.

They are sing, bless, tell, declare, ascribe, bring, come, worship, tremble, and say.

Psalm 96 (ESV)

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!

9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth! 10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!

Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let 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 comes, for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

I am terrible at grammar but I know that these words are verbs.

They are calling us to action and inviting us to do something.

These words are so important because when you look at the sense of the original Hebrew, they are verbs that are in what is called the imperative form, which means they are commands.

We are not just being lightly told to do something, we are being commanded to do something.

By paying attention to these commands, we begin to see the “who” and “why” of our worship.

We are called to “sing” to the Lord.

We are called to “bless” his name.

We are called to “tell”, to “declare” and to “say” His glory among the nations and among all the peoples.

We are called to “ascribe” glory to God.

We are called to “come” into the Lord’s presence and worship.

We are called to “tremble” before Him.

While there is much to learn from this Psalm, and a sermon on each one of these words but I want to focus on singing.

The Call to Sing

It is very obvious that we are called to sing to the Lord.

We are to sing to Yahweh.

Verses 1 and 2 repeat the call to sing 3 times.

We see this repetition again down in verse 7 and 8 when we are thrice called to “ascribe” to the Lord.

Commentator Robert Hawker suggests that this is a “reference to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Hawker also points out the significance of the phrase “New Song”.

He goes on to say:

The song itself is a new song, such as the redeemed in heaven are said to sing, and which none could sing but the redeemed from the earth.

He is saying all this to show that this is a messianic Psalm that is pointing to Jesus and the work of the Father and the Holy Spirit.

This Psalm is prophetic because he praises the Lord for His salvation which is to be told of daily with a new song.

We are to sing all the time because every moment is a moment where God is showing us new mercies.

He is giving us grace up on grace in every second.

Why Is So Important About Singing

Now, with that in mind, I want to talk about why we are called to sing.

Why is it so important?

Have you ever considered this?

I fear, we don’t give much thought as to why we sing in church because singing is one of those things we grow up doing in church, so we just do it without thought.

But the Bible references music and commands us to sing so many times we cannot ignore its importance.

It is one of many ways we worship God but it is perhaps the most significant way.

There is a reason for this and it is a very important one.

While I am not going to get into the science of song and sound waves, philosophy, or psychology, I do want to quote Yip Harburg who wrote the lyrics to all the songs in the Wizard of Oz.

Though he was not a theologian, I think he gives us a foundation upon which to build.

He said this:

‘Words make you think a thought; music makes you feel a feeling; a song makes you feel a thought.”

I like this because it helps illustrate the mysterious and yet important power of singing which is really key to understanding the “why” we are called to sing.

When you think of instrumental music without singing, there exists a power to evoke feelings and emotions.

Some more than others, and though styles and cultures can differ, the effect is universal.

I remember the feelings I felt once when I sat by the ocean and listened to a piece of music that was meant to portray the ocean.

It was magical.

There is something that happens inside of us when we hear music.

The minor keys tend to evoke sad feelings and the major keys tend to evoke happiness and joy.

Rhythm gets your feet tapping.

But when we combine the power of words and content with melody, the power of music is magnified greatly because it combines the heart and the mind.

We have within song, the mystical ability to not only declare something true about God but also feel that truth within our heart and spirit in a way that we feel differently if we were to simply speak the same words.

I think it is the fullest range of human expression there can be where the cognitive and emotive aspects of humans come together in one form.

Our Worship is Our Witness

As Christians we are called to go beyond the melody.

We are called to declare the truth about God.

The content of our song is important because it ascribes God glory but it is also telling others of God.

In essence, our worship can also be our witness.

We are called to tell of His salvation daily in vs 2.

In vs 3 we are called to declare his glory among all the peoples.

We are to say among the nations, that the Lord reigns in vs. 10.

There is certainly something that happens within us when we sing and when we say the words out loud, but one of the reasons we are to sing the words out loud, is because others hear the testimony of what God has done.

Worship through song is more than just feeling our thoughts about God, but it is a declaration of the Gospel.

I have seen some through the years who have claimed they don’t sing in church because they say they can’t sing, or they are afraid of what they sound like.

They will often say they like to think and meditate instead.

While I get that, and think meditation and prayer is important, we can’t negate the fact that we are called to sing and declare with our mouth.

Of course, you can worship God in your mind without singing, and of course there are those who literally cannot sing because of physical impairments.