Psalm 96
June 14, 2015
preached by Doug Cooper
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.”

~ William Temple (1881­-1944), former bishop with the Church of England,
preacher, teacher and author, from his 1934 book Nature, Man, and God

“It is God who gave us minds, bodies, wills, and affections. Let us not choose, then, between thinking and living, between our head and our hearts. In practice—whether we realize it or not—our thinking affects our lives, but our lives also affect our thinking. It’s not a one-­way street.

Simply put, theology is about communion with God. We need to make sure that our worship is directed to the God who is, rather than the deity we imagine. This isn’t simply a problem that ‘liberals’ or non-­Christians face; it is a challenge for all people. This is why ‘theology’ isn’t done simply by academics, but by all of God’s people.

We need each other, the living and the departed, the local and the universal, the academics and the self-educated. And in this way, theology becomes a joy rather than a boring labor: partaking in this journey together we are meant to cultivate genuine worship as we glory in the wisdom and work of God. The question is never if you’re a theologian, but whether or not you’re a good one.”

~ Kelly M. Kapic, present professor of theological studies at Covenant College

“There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.”

~ John Calvin (1509­-1564), French theologian and pastor,
from his 1536 work Institutes of the Christian Religion

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”

~ John Piper (1946­-present), in Let the Nations Be Glad!: The Supremacy of God in Missions

“He that has doctrinal knowledge and speculation only, without affection, never is engaged in the business of religion.”

~ Jonathan Edwards (1703­-1758), in A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections

Sermon Passage

Psalm 96 (ESV)
¹Oh 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.