Sing to the Lord, All the Earth

1:30 yard my wife as many of you know by now is from California and so we love spring and summer in Minnesota I mean we all love spring and summer it's hard not to love a day like today but some of us hate winter more than others and the seagulls we express that hatred with gardening we spring really hard. We plant a couple of hundred tulips, red and yellow and white, some white with red stripes, some purple double tulips. They're gorgeous, beautiful. We also have about a dozen peonies, each with about a dozen big blooms. If you've never seen a peony, they're amazing. They look like cloth that's been folded over, over and over and over again, and then stuffed into a big ball.

2:26 We love those blooms. They're blooming right now. They're glorious. I realized this week that I didn't really care at all about flowers before I got married. In fact, I can't remember a single flower from the first 30 years of my life. I can't. But I love them now. I really love them. And I love them for the same reason that Jesus loves them. listen to what he says he says consider the lilies of the field how they grow they neither toil nor spin yet i tell you even solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like even one of them but if god so closed the grass of the field the tulips the peonies which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

3:27 Consider the lilies. Are you struggling with a little faith right now? Jesus says, stop and listen to the lilies. They're singing. These flowers don't sing. We know that. But if you ever stop to look at them, really look at them, they're singing. They're really singing. And they call us to sing with them about God and his glory. And that's what we see right here at the end of our psalm. In Psalm 98, verse 7.

4:06 He says, let the sea roar and all that fills it. The world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands. let the hills sing for joy together. Creation, you see, it's performing for us. Can you hear it? The seas, they're wide and deep and they are roaring out this bass line underneath it all. And in the hills, they're dancing along with the seas and they're adding these high harmonies up above to the song. And then the rivers are watching and they're listening and they're just clapping their hands along with the music. My wife and I, we actually got on Friday to hear an orchestra downtown, Minneapolis. And what's happening in an orchestra like that, that is what's happening around us all the time.

4:58 Except in creation, it's happening with even more precision and purpose. Do you see that? Because it's God that's orchestrating it all, all of it. rivers, hills. He's orchestrating it all so that everything we taste and see and smell and hear, all of it, he's conducting it all so that we might see him and sing.

5:29 Psalm 98, it reminds us that creation is singing for anyone who will listen. And so before we even get into the psalm, I want to go ahead and get to some application for us as a church. Don't squander creation's performance this summer. Don't squander creation this summer. When God's people needed strength, again and again in scripture, when God's people needed strength to keep believing, keep obeying, keep singing, they deliberately went and looked at something God has made. They looked at rivers. They looked at hills. They looked at birds. remember that God himself is telling you right here in Psalm 98 and a bunch of other places, he's telling you that he made all of this to help you worship.

6:21 That's what he's telling us. He knew it was gonna be hard to keep going. He knew that we'd be so prone to wander and doubt. And so he made stuff. He made crazy stuff. He made galaxies and galaxies of crazy stuff to remind you to trust him and to sing.

6:47 My kids, they were studying sperm whales this week. Did you know that sperm whales have the largest brain of any creature on earth? you probably thought it was you. It's not. Sperm whales. Why would God do that? Why would God make these mammoth whales with these massive brains, these whales that plunged 3,000 feet down into the ocean to eat giant squids? They sleep standing up. I learned that this week. Didn't know that. Heads up, tails down. That's how they sleep. Why would God do that? he does it so that my my kids and i and you he does it so that we might see a sperm whale and that big old brain and we would marvel at the creativity and the power and the goodness of our god he wants us to see that and then do Psalm 98.

8:05 Oh, sing to the Lord a new song for he has done marvelous things, hasn't he? I don't care what it looks like for you this summer. I'll just tell you up front, the seagulls, we are not camping people. We're not. But we love flowers and long walks and new parks. And we like to go to the beach. Don't squander creation this summer. Get out there and look and listen and learn and worship. Worship. Let something God has made remind you to sing. And then go find something new the next day. And something new the next day.

8:51 That brings us to the main point of this psalm. The main point is my first point. It's the very first line of Psalm 98. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. And point number one, sing to the Lord. We don't know who wrote this particular psalm, but it's one of a series of psalms here in this particular book of the psalms. It's one of a series that are highlighting God as king. It's a theme that you're going to hear again and again here in these psalms. Verse 6 says, With trumpets and the sound of horn, make a joyful noise before the king, the Lord. The psalm is calling people to sing because their king has saved them again. His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

9:46 We don't know what particular deliverance they're singing about in this case. It could be about the exodus out of Egypt. Or it could be the deliverance from the wilderness. Or it could be the conquest of Canaan. Could be a victory over the Philistines, any number of those victories that God worked for them over their enemies. Could be the return from exile when God brought people back to the land. We don't know. And God has delivered Israel a lot in the history of his people. But whatever deliverance it was, the psalmist saw what God had done and he said, we should sing. because when God saves us, anyone who's been saved by God should sing, right? why do we sing?

10:45 Why do we do that? Why would the infinitely creative, infinitely powerful God alter our brains and our vocal cords, our lungs, to give us the capacity to do what we just did for the last 30 minutes, to make melody and harmony? Why would he do that? I think it's because some things in life under God are just too good to be said. they're too good to be said. For instance, I can tell you, I love Jesus. or I could say, I really love Jesus, or I could say, Jesus is my greatest treasure, and he is, we love saying that in this church, or I could say, Jesus is the greatest, most trustworthy, most satisfying, most glorious treasure in all the world, and he is.

11:58 Or I could just sing. Hallelujah. All I have is Christ. I don't even have to sing it well and it says more than words can say right God gave us singing because there's a joy that's greater than words. he didn't make all of this that he's made and he didn't make us so that he could just be understood and explained. That's not why he made the world. God gave us singing because we were made to worship, to glorify him by enjoying him forever.

12:57 it's not enough to know, study, or describe this God. No, to really know him is to enjoy him, to treasure him, to worship him. And so the point number one is this, sing to the Lord. Sing to the Lord for who he is and for what he's done for you. And before I go on to point number two, I wanna take Psalm 98 as an opportunity to rally our men in particular to sing. Now, a lot of our men sing and sing loud. You just heard them a few minutes ago. I love you men. I thank God for you. Don't stop. Abound all the more. And I'm not talking to you right now.

13:48 No. A lot of our men sing, but I want to plead with the men we don't hear on Sunday morning. This text and a lot of other texts in the Bible, they teach us that a man isn't fully a man if he's not singing. men, you weren't just made to work and protect and provide and carry and fix stuff. No, you were made to sing.

14:24 You were made to sing. And brothers, we need you to sing in our church. I'm gonna get to this in just a minute, but Psalm 98, it's teaching us that one way that we guard and provide for and build the church is to sing together. You have no idea what impact it has on the people around you, especially all the young sons and daughters in this room. You have no idea what impact it has on them to see grown men sing with all their hearts. I really think that there are few things more captivating in our society today than a man so filled with Jesus that he freely and enthusiastically sings.

15:15 Even when he can't sing. I'd say especially when he can't sing. And I could name some names here. Again, it's not about ability. I personally think that's why the psalm says here in verse 4, make a joyful noise to the Lord.

15:40 Sing, shout, make some kind of noise if God has saved you. If you can't carry a tune, if God gave you a bucket, then bang on the bucket. so it doesn't have to sound good. It just has to sound like joy. Grab a trumpet, grab a tambourine, grab a lyre, whatever that thing is. Clap your hands. If God has given you a joy in God this morning, let it be a loud joy. Don't cave to social pressure and expectation. Don't hide your joy under a basket and make bad excuses for sitting out of singing week after week after week. No, we need to hear your joy in God.

16:35 We need a song. And not just any song. We need a new song. And that brings me to point number two. Point number two, sing a new song. When God calls the people to sing here in Psalm 98, he specifically says, oh, sing to the Lord a new song. Don't just keep singing the same songs that you've been singing all these years. No, new deliverance, it calls for a new song.

17:05 If God hears our prayers and he fights for us, he did that this week. He heard our prayers and he fought for us in a hundred ways. If God hears our prayers and he fights for us, we're going to sing about it. This is one of the great lessons of the Psalms, right? I mean, we're in the process here over years of walking through 150 Psalms. This is our eighth summer in the Psalms. And you might think after eight summers, I think we get the point, right? I mean, these Psalms, they say a lot of the same things over and over and over again. We were made for worship. Life is hard and confusing and painful because of sin. But God still reigns. And creation and history are confirming his kingship. And so God watches over his people.

18:02 He satisfies them with himself. And he delivers them from every kind of enemy and trial. So trust in God and worship him. Do we really need 150 versions of that? Oh my goodness, yes. If you're like me, absolutely. We need 150 million songs to try and capture who this God is and what he's done for us.

18:41 And this is why these 150 psalms, they keep telling us to sing even more songs. Don't settle for 150. Sing a new song. Psalm 33. Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully on the strings with loud shouts. Or Psalm 96. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord all the earth. Psalm 149, right near the end of the Psalms. Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song. His praise in the assembly of the godly. When God's people experienced his salvation in some new way, they wanted a new song. we need a way to express all this thanks and joy and faith that we're feeling. We need a song. We need a new song. And notice here and in these other psalms, notice that in Psalm 98, there's not anything new in the psalm. You see that?

19:41 Again, we can't even tell what event they were singing about. The point of the new song here in Psalm 98, the point of the new is not to unveil new information for us. It doesn't say something like, he delivered us from the Amalekites and we wanted you to know. No, songs like this, the new song of Psalm 98, it's rehearsing the same glorious realities about God, but with different words and melodies. Because this God, the God who saved us, he deserves all the lyrics and all the melodies, right? we sing a new song because when we look at God and his salvation, there will always be more to celebrate. I love how Psalm 40 verse five unleashes this kind of worship.

20:39 It says, you have multiplied, O Lord, my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us. None can compare with you. I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. More than can be told. God, I'm going to tell them everything that you've done for me. I will proclaim and tell of them all your wondrous deeds. Yet they are more than can be told. If I tried to say it all, I would run out of ink or breath or time or all of the above. that's why we need new songs our lead pastor is leading us well here pastor jonathan he wrote that song that we sang just a few minutes ago with pastor max and others i am free thank you brother he's not rushing to tell you that and i admire him for it but that's not going to keep me from telling you because i'm so grateful no more death no debt is due the blood of christ has made me new the curse undone my heart is free the risen son has rescued me amen and i hope it's the first of dozens of new songs that we sing together as a church and a song doesn't we don't have to write a song for it to be new there are Lots of songs that will be new to us.

22:16 And that's a beautiful thing when it happened. But it's especially sweet when one of our own pours their heart and mind and faith into lyrics and a melody and gives us a new song. and if God keeps delivering us and he will keep delivering us until he brings us safely home, we're gonna need another new song soon and then another one and then another one. You're not going to exhaust him and his salvation and then singing a new song like we did today, you're not gonna exhaust him and also singing a new song is gonna help you see more of him. Doesn't it do this? You sing these new songs and you see some new dimension of his glory to savor and enjoy and share. So point number one, sing to the Lord.

23:11 Point number two, sing a new song. And finally, point number three, recruit the choir. Recruit the choir. In verses 1-3, notice Israel is singing a new song about the salvation that God has worked for them. His right hand, his holy arm has saved us. In verses 4-6, though, the psalm turns and invites the whole earth into the choir. Let's start in verse 3. The Lord has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all of the earth. Break forth into joyous song and sing praises. Make a joyful noise, verse 6, before the King, the Lord.

24:10 All the ends of the earth have seen this salvation. They've seen how God has loved and delivered this people from their enemies. And so the psalm says, so come and sing with us. You've seen how he has saved us. Come sing with us. You can be saved too. If you just humble yourself and bow to the only true. Okay.

24:39 Notice that we're not inviting the world here with yelling. I love this about Psalm 98. This feels relevant given what we've been enduring now for months. Lots of yelling. We're not yelling back here. No, we're inviting all the earth, even that little stretch of green here across the street. We're inviting all the earth with singing. and we're singing because we're not just inviting them to acknowledge the truth and to bow to the king we want them to do both but we really are inviting them even them into our joy in Jesus world you have seen and heard what he's done for us all the ends of the earth have seen this salvation. Jesus came and died and rose so that you don't have to die in your sins. You don't have to face the wrath of God. You don't have to settle for weak and fleeting pleasures that will not satisfy you.

25:51 you can be saved. Get in on this with us. Come taste something so good that you can't help but sing. psalmist is looking out on all the earth i've just been thinking about our missionaries we prayed together for them at global mission sunday a few weeks ago he's looking out on the whole earth he's saying to all the nations billions of lost people come and join the choir come sing with us. But this choir, it doesn't stop there. Verses 4 to 6, it calls all the tongues, tribes, peoples, and nations into the choir room with us. All the earth, praise him, make a joyful noise to the Lord, to the king, come and have what we're having. Look again at verses 7 and 8 though. The psalm goes even further than that. He says, let the sea roar and all that fills it, the world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the hills sing for joy together. He's not just content to have the nations join into the choir and sing this worship to the Lord. He says, no, I want the rivers and hills and oceans and sperm whales, I want them all to get in on this too.

27:23 Now, we already saw in the beginning that creation is singing. Creation is already singing. We know that. And they really are. But by verse 7, even creation is singing a new song. I want you to see this. It's a new song. And we know that because of verses 9 and 10. I'll begin in verse 8 again. Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord. For he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity. Why are the rivers clapping in verse 7? It's because God has come to judge the world. He's finally come to put an end to all this sin.

28:21 He's come to pour out justice on all those who refuse to receive his mercy. He's coming to make all things wrong right in the end. The psalm, it tells us that creation isn't singing at full strength yet. And we know this at the Siegel House. I told you about our peonies. Well, a couple days after our first one bloomed, big, beautiful, white blooms. Yellow center, bright red target right in the middle. A couple days after they bloomed, a storm came through and the rain knocked off every single pet. It's just a big green shrub of ugly little stumps.

29:12 I told you that we had planted 200 tulips last fall. I didn't tell you that we only got to see about a dozen. Because deer came through and ate every single one of them before they bloomed.

29:33 Now deer are pretty amazing. We had two baby deer born around our backyard this summer. I stepped on one by accident. I was hiding under a hosta. It was terrible, just awful. Deer are amazing. But did they have to eat all of our tulips? What's the point? Creation is not singing at full strength yet.

30:02 Consider the lilies, City's Church. They're dying. They're getting eaten. In six months, they're going to be buried with feet of snow. Creation is cursed because of sin. Our strawberries might get moldy before we even get them to the fridge. Parasites are going to wipe out crops and other animals. Wildfires break out and destroy communities and then push smoke for hundreds and hundreds of miles. It gets brutally cold in Minnesota for half the year. And don't even get me started about construction.

30:43 Construction, of course, is our creation. It's not his, but man, it's an incredible picture of the curse under sin, isn't it? When your favorite street is torn up, you don't know how to get home, it's going to take you twice as long, and you just want to go home. the creation is beautiful and it is singing, but it is also cursed for now. And when Christ comes to judge the world, there won't be any more construction or disease or mold or cold.

31:28 This is why I've come to love joy to the world even more. Isaac Watts, he wrote this hymn in 1719. As I was preaching this morning, I thought, he wrote this in 1719. It was a brand new hymn in 1719. A new song. It's an old song to us now. But that hymn is based on this psalm. This is the psalm he was reading, studying when he wrote Joy to the World. I sent a note to Pastor Max this week to try to get him to sing Joy to the World this week. But I learned that Pastor Max doesn't listen to Mariah Carey or sing Joy to the World unless it's December. So now we know.

32:07 This isn't only a Christmas hymn, though. Listen to this, Pastor Max. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. That's Christmas. He did come. Love this hymn. He has come. Let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare him room and heaven and nature sing. Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns. Let men their songs employ. New songs. I am free.

32:45 Let men their songs employ while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy. Do you hear Psalm 98? No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow, far as the curse is found. Stop. That's not Christmas. Not yet, anyway. No, when Jesus came the first time and lived and died and rose and ascended on high, His blessings didn't flow yet as far as the curse is found. If you don't believe me, just step outside for a few minutes and stand with the guys serving on the security team. In fact, that gives me an opportunity to say we need more men to serve on our security team in this season.

33:44 So if you're available and willing, we'd love to have you. his blessings have not flowed as far as the curse is found. So step outside and you can see, but you don't even need to step outside, do you? No, there's enough heartache inside this room to tell us that this hasn't happened yet. But it will. It will. He's coming again. And that's what Isaac Watts is singing about. Romans 8 says, the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

34:42 So creation is singing, but it's also waiting. and groaning and straining. It's in bondage, Paul says. This psalm, it looks back and it celebrates past deliverance. God has saved us. His right hand and his holy arm, they've rescued us. And it's preparing for a final deliverance. When even the seas and the hills and the rivers are finally set free with us. Jesus is going to come again and he's gonna save us, City's Church. And that means that we can sing even now while we're waiting for justice and deliverance as a people. Can we sing songs like this during hard days? Can we do it?

35:35 Of course we can. He has delivered us already. The work is finished on the cross and he will deliver us again soon. And so we can sing right now, wherever we are in between. In fact, we must sing as a church because singing is one of the ways that God delivers his people. We have no idea how much God has saved us from as a church because we gather every Sunday and sing together. We don't know. So sing a new song to the Lord. And how could we not when we have seen an even greater salvation than the psalmist has seen? This brings us to the table.

36:28 We say these same words, verse 1. His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation. But when we sing about his holy arm, we imagine two real arms. Spread out, bloody, straining for air on the cross. When we talk about his right hand, we see the nails in his hands, the thorns in his head, the spear in his side. And we sing, oh, sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things for us. Has he not? his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him the lord has made known his salvation he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations yes he has done that and that's what we remember with this meal the king has come and worked salvation for us he lived without sin. He was convicted without a crime. He was put to death without justice and he died for our iniquity. And then three days later, he rose from the dead and he will come again to bring a full and final salvation. As we celebrate the Lord's table now together, this meal is a meal for the members of City's Church.

38:04 It's a meal that we eat together every week to remember what his right hand and his holy arm have done for us. But if you have believed in his name, if you've tasted this salvation, if you have a new song to sing this morning, we'd invite you to eat with us. If you have not believed in Jesus and repented of your sin, we'd ask you to let the bread and the cup pass, but let today, let this day be the day. Let this hour, this service, let it be the hour that you finally come and join the choir. Come and get in on this with us and sing with us. If that's you, we'd love to talk.