Mike Fuselier
As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our precious United States of America, let us turn to God’s Word for wisdom. May Psalm 96 recalibrate our often wayward hearts and remind us of God’s desire for us as individuals and as a nation. “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth…Proclaim the good news of His salvation. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples.”
What a wonderful instruction— to glorify the Lord and proclaim His goodness among the nations. Life has never been about exalting ourselves but about magnifying our great God. When we seek our own glory, we forget that we were formed from dust by our Creator and will return to dust shortly. We were created to worship Him alone. May we turn from the poison of selfworship and use our lives to exalt Him. Psalm 96 continues: “For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised… For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens…Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name… Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. Tremble (in submissive wonder) before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’” These verses explain why God alone is worthy of worship. Scripture boldly declares that every other god is a lifeless idol, while the Lord alone is the Creator of heaven and earth. He is majestic, holy, beautiful, and worthy of reverent fear. Throughout the Bible, God calls His people to exclusive worship because He alone is God.
As a nation, we must remain faithful to the God of Scripture. Many of the values that shaped our country and influenced our founding fathers were rooted in biblical truth. While America has always welcomed people from many backgrounds, we should never abandon the matchless principles of God’s Word by treating them as equal to every belief system. The Lord reigns, and His truth does not change.
Psalm 96 concludes with a preview of what is coming. “He will judge and rule the people with fairness. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice… Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD, for He is coming. He is coming to judge the earth…with righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.” Jesus is coming again. His first coming was to redeem mankind as God’s perfect lamb. At His second coming, Jesus will return as King, Judge, and Conqueror to judge the world, defeat evil, and establish His reign. Evil will finally see the vengeance of a holy God, and those who have rejected the mercy and grace offered through Christ’s great sacrifice will stand before Him in judgment. But, those who know Him, love Him, and are waiting for Him will rejoice in His salvation and so will the trees! As we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, may we remember that our greatest hope has never been in our nation but in the Lord who reigns over all nations. Let us faithfully proclaim His glory, worship Him alone, and humbly submit our lives to His authority as we await His return.
