The Song of Joy

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info, visit us at thrive-fl.org Why are you talking about songs? Well, not just because we do a lot of Christmas caroling this time of the year, but because if you really would read through Luke chapters 1 and 2, the first Christmas story, it's a musical. Did you know that? You've got Zachariah singing out, you've got Mary singing out, you've got the angels singing, and you even have Simeon singing. All four songs are located there, and it's a musical. And there's a reason why human beings sing. We sing out of joy. Often we sing because it connects us to who we are, as well as what's going on around us in so many ways. And you can find throughout the Bible, the whole biblical story, time and time again, when great things are happening, when God does amazing things, people sing. And we can see Miriam and Moses, when God rescued the slaves, who were the Israelites, out of Egypt, they broke out in song after their rescue at the Red Sea. And Hannah, she declares God's glory and goodness after having been barren for year after year after year. And she gives thanks to God for who he is in song in the book of Samuel at his birth. And finally, even in the great prophet Isaiah, we go through 11 chapters in that book describing how the Messiah who will come is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father. And then we get to chapter 12 to sum up all of this. And Isaiah states, Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust in him and not be afraid for the Lord. God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. Now, I know, I can carry a tune, and I've been singing since I was a really little kid. In fact, Miss Marcy, my kindergarten teacher, told my parents, I don't remember this. I'm kind of glad I don't. Maybe I shouldn't share this, but I loved singing in kindergarten so much. I was in the bathroom, and the class started to sing. I run out and join in, and I hadn't even pulled up my pants. I know. But, you know, you kind of forget yourself when you're singing. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes not so good. And there's something about it. I don't know if you've ever been to a concert or been to a service of some type where you've got a huge crowd, and you are just, you can't even hear yourself. Everybody is singing with you, and you are just rejoicing. It's just a little taste of what we're going to experience before our God and Savior, who is coming to rescue us and to love us. So today, we are going to start maybe nowhere better than in the Psalms. The Psalms are many times songs of praise, and specifically Psalm 96 and 98, by the way. The two of them together were used to compose the lyrics to one song called Joy to the World. The Lord is come. So we're going to read Psalm 96, and after that, talk about it today. Okay? So here it is. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord all the earth. Sing to the Lord. Bless his name. Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him. Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, oh, families of the peoples. Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. Tremble before him all the earth. Say among the nations, the Lord reigns. Yes, the world is established. It shall never be moved. He shall judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar and all that fills it. Let the field exalt and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord. For he comes. For he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness. This psalm is astonishingly happy, celebratory, joyful. All nations, all creation, all parts of the world are called, and they do in harmony together sing and rejoice and ascribe to the Lord. All these words, right? And it kind of begs the question because it ain't the world that we know, right? There's a huge disconnection between this psalm and what's going on right now or has been going on or will be going on. This world just does not seem to at all be described in this psalm. So why? Why is this recorded this way? What are we supposed to get out of this? Is it just this type of song? And then we go like, but that's totally inaccessible and impossible. And it could make you kind of feel like kind of a letdown. I think AJ and I, we did one of our podcasts from the Wings Up podcast. We were talking about how we have these expectations of what the holidays are going to bring. And then the realit...