Universal Call to Worship: Acknowledging God's Goodness

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The psalmist is issuing a call you will notice here that is not in any way limited nor in any way territorial. Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord all the Earth all the Earth so in other words this is not some tribal deity of Israel that is being called to be worshiped by a select and small group of people. [00:02:00]

God has revealed himself to all of creation and he then calls all of creation the psalmist calls all of creation to worship The God Who has made himself known. Now the fact is that every individual who has been made has been, if you like, as one of my friends puts it, stung with a knowledge of God. [00:03:15]

When you encounter design and complexity and Beauty you realize that beauty, as one scientist puts it, slips through our scientific net. The beauty of a sunset or the beauty of a rainbow, which only a few of us may be able to give any explication of scientifically, whether we are able to do that or not, each of us understands Beauty. [00:04:30]

The Bible actually helps us to understand why it is that people then would respond in that way. They would face up to the complexity of life and still not have any interest in pursuing the notion of a God who made them and certainly not of worshiping a God who made them. [00:06:27]

The pre-praise and the Thanksgiving of the people of God Is Not An overflow of our experience but is to be an expression of our faith. You see we often go immediately South on this when we talk in terms of Praise or worship and that's why people will then talk about their preferences. [00:09:59]

Calvin says no no person, he says, can arrive at a true knowledge of himself without having first contemplated the Divine character. So in other words it is until we encounter God in his revelation of himself both generally in creation and in Providence and in conscience, and then savingly in the person and work of his son. [00:11:03]

The Bible is very clear there is only one living and true God. There's only one living and true God who is infinite and who is perfect. That's a staggering statement, isn't it, in the pluralistic polytheistic culture in which we live. But all the way through the Bible, and I challenge you, encourage you to read the Bible and see if this is the case. [00:11:43]

He is self-existent before there was time, before there was anything, there was God. He is, he is God and he alone is God. Now it is that, you see, which underpins the call for the whole earth to praise him. Otherwise it seems rather bizarre, doesn't it, that the sist would be saying and I'd like the whole world to praise this person. [00:13:15]

He made us, that's true of all creation, and what is true of creation is also True by way of redemption and presumably the psalmist has in mind here the call of God to Abraham that I will be your God and you will be my people and he establishes a people for himself. [00:14:00]

For the Lord is good and his love doesn't vacillate, it's steadfast, it's the Covenant keeping love of God hassid in in the Hebrew the hassid love of God endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations. Now let me end by just allowing the word of God to to settle in our minds in in relationship to this. [00:17:28]

God as the Potter does not discard his work. We're broken, chipped, fragile, misshapen. He does not discard his work. Why? Because he's good, because his steadfast love never ceases. The shepherd does not abandon his sheep. You're a Wandering sheep this morning, yeah, you try to go out under the fence and off on your own. [00:19:47]

The most dangerous thing that any one of you can do this morning is hearing the call to bow down before God and acknowledge he made you and he saves you in Jesus to affirm the fact yes I believe that he actually is God and I believe that he is good and I'll get round to it when I'm good and well pleased. [00:22:40]

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