Let them be
by Pastor Reid Matthias
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Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it (Psalm 96:11).
Read Psalm 96
In four stanzas, the psalmist encapsulates a life of immensity, from recognising God’s power among the nations and giving voice to it through song to all creation erupting with praise.
If there was a psalm I’d recommend reading every day and then putting it into practice, it’s this one.
Command one: sing!
Sometimes when I ask people if they sing, they put a hand to their chest and say, ‘Me? I don’t sing’. This statement is ridiculous. Everybody sings. Not everyone sings in tune, but everyone sings. God doesn’t command that your new song will go straight to the top of the Billboard charts. Just sing your song of praise to the God who is worthy of praise.
Command two: ascribe and worship!
‘Ascribe’ is not generally used in common conversation, but it means ‘to regard a quality belonging to someone or something else’. In other words, tell about the qualities of God that we can’t possibly have. ‘Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”’ That’s enough.
Command three: let!
In the last stanza of Psalm 96, we find this ‘churchy’ verb ‘let’ appear. It’s the same command that God speaks as creation explodes into reality. Let there be light. Let there be a vault. Let the water … I always read it as if God is giving permission for something amazing and supernatural to happen. In Psalm 96, the command is for creation to sing again. Let the heavens rejoice. Let the earth be glad. Let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord!
Perhaps today is the day for you to sing, ascribe and hear all the great things God is doing in the world!
Creator of heaven and earth, you are majestic and glorious. Great are your astounding works. Help me to rejoice and be glad in them today. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, who is part of the Grow Ministries team. Together, they have raised three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine and Greta. Dedicated to the written word, Reid has recently published his fourth novel, Blank Spaces, maintains the blog ireid.blogspot.com and regularly contributes to The Lutheran magazine.
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