In Awe of God

Grace for All

Psalm 96:1-4

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.

Like many of the Psalms, this passage starts out very uplifting. It truly puts joy in my heart when I hear the words, “Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Praise his Name, proclaim His salvation day after day.” What if we started each day with those positive words.

Perhaps we could also memorize the next part, “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples (yes, that means me as well). For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise! As I read these words, I think this is the God I want a relationship with, this would be so magnificent.

And then, the last part of verse 4 seems to change the tone completely from being positive and uplifting, to something perhaps scary when it says, “He is to be feared.” How did we suddenly go from Sing his Name to He is to be feared. How am I to have a deep relationship with someone I fear.

I don’t believe God wants me to be afraid of Him. From my reading of scripture and learning about the character of God, I truly believe God desires a loving and deep relationship with Him. I also have come to understand and to have awe, a deep respect for God’s holiness. When I read some different translations of this passage of scripture, I found one that I liked much better as it read, “He is awesome beyond all other gods.”

God is awesome and we should sing His praises, we should proclaim His salvation every day, His marvelous deeds among all peoples, for He is worthy of praise.

Will you pray with me?

Lord, I want to be so in love with you that I sing your praises every day. I am in awe of your Holiness and your desire for a relationship with me. You are worthy of praise. Amen

This devotion was written and recorded by Owen Ragland.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.