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by Sandy Shaw
Psalm 95 - begins with the Invitation - "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;"
Here we have another invitation to come into the presence of the Lord God Almighty, the King of Kings - the risen and living and ascended Lord Jesus Christ.
There are certain invitations we receive which are pleasant to receive. We can even feel we have 'arrived' when invited to the certain occasions and be in the presence of particular people - and shake their hand and meet them.
Isaiah was inviting people to come and drink and eat and be filled and satisfied.
Jesus frequently invited people to come to him and follow him – extending the invitation to those who were particularly tired and weary to come for rest – and to receive what he has to offer and give – and you cannot find such riches anywhere else in the world. People need told this – very few are aware of what Jesus offers.
The Psalmist says - Come let us sing for joy to the Lord. And the singing is to the Lord - it is not for personal enjoyment - or to say, "We had a good time of worship today."
What does God think of it? What did He receive from our gathering together?
Come into the presence of the Living God - and sing and shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. This is such expressive imagery - the rock of shelter - support - safety - supply - all in a few simple words.
We are presented with the picture of thousands of visitors to Jerusalem on the hills surrounding the area where the people of God worshipped and sacrificed - and shouting aloud their worship to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Verse 2 – Let us come before Him with thanksgiving - extol Him with music and song. The Psalmist almost cannot get all the words and thoughts and avenues of praise out quick enough. They just seem to tumble out and gush from him, as he encourages the People of God to worship.
Sing with holy enthusiasm - with reverent earnestness - and with abundant joy.
We can sing with gravity and exultation - with fervency and sobriety - with humility and confidence. God encourages us to express freely our praises and thanksgiving - and there is a spiritual release when we come before Him.
Verse 3 – The Lord is a great God - there are times when we need to be reminded of the greatness of our God. He is the Creator - Saviour - Comforter - the One Who calls and chooses and raises up men and women to serve Him and be His witnesses in the world.
He is the great King - above all gods. Our God is no limited local deity. Idolaters had many gods - the surrounding nations must have thought Israel strange to have only one God.
Verse 4 - In His hand are the depths of the earth - and the mountain peaks belong to Him. If we are in the depths - or upon the spiritual heights - the Holy Spirit is there with us, ministering to us.
Verse 5 – The sea is His - for He made it. His hands formed the dry land. Our God is a Creator God. The day He created water and the seas He was so generous.
Verse 6 – Come - let us bow down and worship - let us kneel before the Lord. Praise and Thanksgiving lead on to worship. Worship is something quite different from Praise and Prayer and Thanksgiving. These occasions when we do enter into worship are precious.
In worship - every part of our being is involved - every area of our life - and our mind does not wander. We focus upon God and everything else pales in significance for a season.
To come into the Throne room of the King of the Universe is indeed an honoured privilege, and through the Blood of Jesus we have that access and open door at any hour of the day or night.
There is a pathway here - where Praise and Thanksgiving lead us on into worship and stillness. There is a sense of humble adoration here, where noise gives way to quietness as we bow before Him in the beauty of holiness.
He is our Maker - He is our God - we are the people of His pasture - and the flock under His care. Now - this refers specifically to Israel - but through Jesus, this arena of care, extends to include those who believe in Jesus Christ and who belong to Jesus Christ. When He is our God - we become the people of His pasture, where there is nourishing feeding and refreshing water.
“Almighty God, today we pray for people who have no idea as to what Jesus Christ offers those who come to him – forgiveness and mercy and love and peace – power and encouragement and the ability to live a meaningful life, filled with purpose. Loving Father, we know there is more – much more – the list is endless. Help us to get the full Gospel to needy, sad, distressed, hungry and thirsty men and women – who are unaware of the situation they are in – we pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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