Weekly message:
Sing to the Lord a jubilant song
By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce Christian Arts Ministries:
Biblical precepts &Gospel Music
My
friends, thanksgiving season is approaching, do you have a new song in your
heart to praise Lord for he had done the marvelous things in your life? Facing
nature disaster do you use your lips give thanks for the life prolonging and
protection by the grace of God? In
O.T. there were many Psalmists made new songs with music, harp, and trumpet to
praise Lord and gave Him thanks for his wonderful deeds and marvelous things the
Lord has done. In Psalm 75:1 says,“We
give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near, men tell of your wonderful deeds.”(Ps.75:1)
In Psalm98:1-2, 4-6 says,“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. The Lore has made his
salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nation. Shout for joy to the Lord all the
earth, burst into jubilant song with music.
Make music to the Lord with the harp and with trumpets. Shout for joy before the Lord, the
King. (Ps.98:1-2,4-6). In Pslam96:1-3 says,“Sing the Lord
a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth sing to the Lord, praise his name,
and proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare
his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among the people.” (Ps.96:1-3).In
Pslam97:1, 12 says, “The Lord reigns, let
the earth be glad let
the distant shores rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are
righteous and praise his holy name.” (Ps.97:1,12). In Psalm 99: 1-3 says, "The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble, he
sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the
earth shake, great is the Lord in Zion, he is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name- He is
holy.” In Ps.100:1-5 says “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with
gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he,
who made us, and we are his, we are
his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter
his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, give thanks to him and
praise his name, for
the Lord is good and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues
through all generation. (Ps.100:1-5)
The Psalmist commanded us to praise the Lord seven times
a day. My friends, do you use your lips to praise Lord and give thanks to him?
In O.T. the Prophet Isaiah is a man with unclean lips; he described himself as
follow,
“I
am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen
the King, the Lord Almighty.” Then, one of seraphs flew to him with a live coal in his hand, which
he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched Isaiah’s mouth and said, “See, this has touched your
lips, your guilt is taken away
and your sin atoned for.”(Isaiah6:5-7). The Lord touched and cleaned Isaiah’s lips, and
his sins were atoned; God unveiled His vision to Isaiah, and questioned “Whom
shall I send? Who will go for me? Isaiah answered God’s calling to be sent out
as prophet. During the fulfillment of delivering prophetical message of Israel
future blessing, Isaiah composed a hymn of praise to the Lord in anticipation
of the Millennium in Isaiah 12: 1-6, He sang out, “I will praise you, O Lord,
although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I
will trust and not be afraid. The
Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song, he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells
of salvation. In that
day you will say: give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim
that his name is exalted, sing to the Lord, for he has done
glorious things, let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and
sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One
of Israel among you.” (Isaiah12:1-6).
Isaiah’s
unclean lips was not only atoned by the Lord, The Lord also revealed the
highest vision to him and used him as prophet to deliver the prophetical
message concerning the Israel’s future coming Messiah Christ. This prophetical
message especially in Isa.7:14 said, “therefore, the Lord himself
will give you a sign, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a
son, and will call him Immanuel.” had fulfilled and narrated in the N.T. Luke 1:28-38. “That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”(Philippians 2:9). The Lord delights our lips to praise
Him, honor Him, glorify Him, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord. For He is the Lamb of God, He was slain and with his blood he
purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
(Rev.5:9). Apostle John received the vision in the book of Revelation, which
has affirmed the prophet Isaiah’s vision, and foretold the Messiah Christ
Jesus’ second coming. The angels, thousands upon thousands and ten thousand
times ten thousand, and living creatures, angelical elders, every creature in
heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them
singing, “ Worthy is the Lamb , who was slain, to receive power and
wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! To him who sits
on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever
and ever!” (Rev.5:12-13).
The
entire Bible from the O.T. to N.T. Book of Revelation, unveiled the historical
battle between God and Satan. The victory was gained when His servants and His people
kept praising Him, made music to worship Him, and gave Him thanks for His awesome
deeds. In the Book of Revelation unveils Lamb of God who was slain is final
victory, the angels, thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten
thousand, and living creatures, angelical elders, every creature in heaven and
on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them singing
and praise Him. This victory praising song has been singing in heaven since the
world began, and it will not be diminished.
My friends, today you and I, are His servants,
and we must keep praising the Lord, make music, hymn to worship the Lord and
give Him thanks for His marvelous deeds. You may be a man (or woman) of unclean lips like
Isaiah and live among a people with unclean lips, full of critical thinking, complaining,
judging, backbiting, gossiping, slandering, and libeling. My friends! let Lamb
of God, Jesus’ cleaning blood clean your lips, confess your sins, and believe
in Jesus who is Lamb of God, has taken away the sins of the world. Instead of
complaining, judging, gossiping, slandering, backbiting, let God uses your lips
as psalmist praise Lord seven times a day. If God could forgave and used Isaiah
to be prophet in 740-680 B.C. He can use you and send you out as prophet in
this era. Generation to generation, we are singing the same praising hymn to
worship the Lord, “Holy, holy, holy, God almighty, who was, and is and is to
come… Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and strength and honor and glory and praise! To him who sits on the throne and
to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!”
(Rev.5:12-13).
Bibliography,
Bauer, Walter. A
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian
Literature. 3rd Chicago: The University of Chicago press, 2000.
Brown, Robert, Philip
W. Comfort and J.D. Douglas, ed. The New Greek English Interlinear New
Testament. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.1990.
Friberg,
Timothy, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller et al., eds. Analytical Lexicon
of the Greek New Testament.1st ed. Victoria BC: Trafford
Publishing, 2005.
Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim,
CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible
(NIV). Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.
Strong, James. Strong’s:
the expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas
Nelson Publishers, 2010.
