“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.”
Psalm 95 v 1 – 7
As we start this New Year, there is no better way to begin than by fixing our eyes on God, the Rock of our Salvation (v1). When we reflect on the last year, through all the peaks and troughs, God is the only one who was unchanging, faithful and worthy of our praise. Therefore, we can come before Him with thanksgiving (v2), taking time before all the busyness of 2020, to thank Him for being our Rock (v1), the King above all gods (v3), our maker (v6). Above all, we can thank Him that we are His flock, and always under His care (v7).
God is great, and no one is like Him (v3). He is worthy of our praise and attention this year, always, and forever! In fact: because He cannot be compared to anything or anyone on this earth, He is utterly worthy of all of our time, all of our focus, and all of our hopes. This year, because we are confident that He holds the earth (v4) and everything in it, we can be confident that nothing is out of His control or beyond His reach. This year, we can appreciate this world because we know that it is God’s marvellous creation. This year, we can show and share the gospel because we know that we’re surrounded by people that God has designed and made in His image.
Reading this Psalm, at the start of the year, should be a bit overwhelming: our God is so great, and we are so small. We are called to humble ourselves before our Almighty God and worship Him for who He is (v6). Yet, when we realise that we’re not in control, we remember that we are safe in the hands of our Redeemer. This Psalm reminds us that He is taking care of us, that we are well fed with all we need as the people of His pasture (v7), so we can be encouraged and take heart that, no matter what is to come, our Father is with us.
So far, in this GB session, we have been studying the Psalms through the GBNI Scripture Course, looking at the topics of security, hope, rescue, awe, protection, joy and love. It is exactly these truths, that we’ve been teaching and hearing, that we can all meditate and dwell on throughout this year. So, even if you haven’t been doing this Course with your Seniors and Brigaders, take time to read the following Psalms together: 13, 42, 51,
54, 63, 67, 73, 91, and 139. As GBNI, let’s join together in encouraging each other to read these Psalms, alongside the rest of Scripture, by spending time talking together about Scripture, sharing our hopes and needs with each other, and praying to our God together.
If Psalm 95 is calling us to praise God, singing with joy, and delighting in this control, then how are you planning to do all of this, as a GB, this year?
Laura Kelso