Make a Joyful Noise

December 14, 2014 Background Scripture: Psalm 95 Lesson Passage: Psalm 95:1 – 7A I find it easier to appreciate Psalm 95 in the context of other religious faiths of the world that have a large number of followers or practitioners. In some of these other religions, the practitioners create a god for whatever area of their life they want to affect. If it is material wealth, they create a god of money and worship it in the hope of being blessed by this god they have created. In polytheistic cultures, the people worship many gods with each god having a specific area in which to reign. The ancient Egyptians are an example of this. The ancient Egyptians worshiped a god of the sun and another god of agriculture and yet another god of fertility. In fact, there were at least ten gods under consideration when God sent the multiple plagues against the land of Egypt during the days of Moses. Each plague was an affront against one of the gods worshiped by the Egyptians. On the surface, all of this seems convenient for a person faced with the many concerns about everyday life. Each concern can be handled by a different god. At least that’s how it can appear on the surface. However, when I step back and take a long look at this type of thinking, it is clear that these gods are no more than products of someone’s imagination that others have bought into. If you are outside on an August day with a clear sky and it is 100 degrees, you can close your eyes and imagine that it is 32 degrees but the temperature will not change. It will still be 100 degrees. The gods we create in our minds have no power and we can not make them respond by devoting ourselves to them. The human mind is capable of so many things—including a great imagination. When our imagination controls our actions, we can be very creative but we can also confuse ourselves and lose touch with reality. There is only one living God and we did not create Him but rather, He created us. No one went seeking for Him and somehow discovered Him. He revealed Himself to us. He told us about our beginning and the creation of the physical universe. He also told us about the spiritual world we do not see with our eyes. He taught us “cause and effect” based on spiritual principles. He taught us the real meaning of love by revealing His love for us. He watches over us and everything we do. He listens and hears us when we pray—that is, talk to Him. As we come to know His will for us and do it, He responds according to everything He has told us. His character is unchanging and self-existent. He is sovereign and not subject to be controlled by anyone. Although we are born into this world with a terminal condition called sin, He saves us from this condition when we turn to Him and trust Him and His provision for us. We readily praise Him for the things He has done. We freely sing loud these praises. The excitement of the personal relationship He allows us to have with Him causes us to sing forth with joy of heart. As we consider what we know about His person, we bow down and worship Him. We can not comprehend the fullness of who He is but we praise and worship Him for that we do know and have experienced. There is nothing we can imagine that compares to the reality of who He is. This is enough to cause us to offer Him the sacrifice of praise—the fruit of our lips. In this season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Robert C. Hudson December 8, 2014