Corliss Street Baptist Church
Morning Message
Rev. Andrew Sullivan
Sing to the LORD a New Song
Psalm 98
Singing praises to God often brings a smile on the face.
Sometimes the Song leader will remind us to smile when we are singing the Praises of the LORD.
Smiling is a note of joy, happiness and just having a good time.
But we really don’t want our smiles to be fake smiles. Some people today are using Botox to make them appear serene or happy no matter what they may actually be feeling.
In the business world letting your true emotion show can mean losing a sale, coming out on the short end of a negotiation, or missing a job opportunity. So a growing number of lawyers, bankers, stockbrokers and salespeople are having Botox shots to shape their faces into poses of tranquility. With just a few injections, they are wiping away frowns, scowls and the appearance of weariness, and replacing them with effortless smiles.
Botox gives a whole new meaning to the song “Put on a Happy Face.”
This might work for some people but in truth you would just be a fake. And sooner or later it’s going to show. Remember the appearance of joy is not the same thing as joy itself.
Now there is nothing wrong with trying to put on a good face. There is an old saying that is true in many ways “When Irish eyes are smiling the whole world smiles with you.” When you smile many people will smile back. Putting on a smile can make you feel good. We smile to forget unpleasant things, or we smile as a motivation to overcome sadness. But nothing is quite the same as having a smile that’s real.
In the April 26 edition of “Our Daily Bread” a story is told about a smile:
Jay is talking to Julie - “Smile,” said Jay as we drove to church. “You look so unhappy.” I wasn’t; I was just thinking, and I can’t do two things at once. But to make him happy, I smiled. “Not like that, he said”, “I mean a real smile.”
Julie wrote, His comment got me thinking even more intently. Is it reasonable to expect a real smile from someone who’s being issued a command? A real smile comes from inside; it’s an expression of the heart, not of the face.
We settle for phony smiles in photographs. Why? We are trying to create an icon of happiness, so it doesn’t have to be genuine.
But phoniness before God is unacceptable. Whether we are happy, or sad, or mad honesty is essential.
This brings us to Psalm 98 where we are reminded when God is in our life, we don’t have to wear a fake smile. Our smiles may not always be real but the smile on our face can be genuine when we commit our way to the LORD.
Psalm 98 begins with, “O sing to the Lord a new song, for he performs amazing deed!” - the Psalm continues with attitude of joy all the way through.
The joy of the psalmist is so overflowing that he’s not content to rejoice in the Lord by himself; he asks his audience to join him in the party. “Shout out praises to the LORD, all the earth!” Even then, he’s not content, and thus adds that creation itself should join in the glee: “Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands; let the mountains sing together for joy.”
But why is he so happy? Frankly, it is because he knows what he knows.
His joy is rooted in the loyal love and faithfulness of God — the psalmist says that very thing in verse 3 — and what he knows is that because God has done amazing things in the past, he can do them again in the present and the future.
Although the psalmist does not specify what marvelous things he’s referring to, we can pretty well guess. Again and again in the Old Testament, writers point back to the exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt as a mighty work of deliverance. And they attribute that deliverance not to the power of Moses or the weakness of Pharaoh, but to God. Since God did that in the past, nothing is impossible in the future.
• If — IF you believe that God did great things for you earlier, you’ve got a reason to at least lean toward optimism.
• If you know that God once intervened in the course of history for your benefit, you have to believe that he can do it again. And more than that —
• If you believe God is in charge and will bring all things to the right conclusion at the end, you have every reason for a genuine smile.
“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he performs amazing deeds!”.
Just in case we don’t quite get it, the psalmist says it even plainer in verse 4: “Shout out praises to the LORD, all the earth! Break out in a joyful shout and sing!”
Isaac Watts got it. He based his hymn “Joy to the World” on this psalm.
Joy to the World! The LORD is come;
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.
Since Psalm 98 in found in Psalms Book 4 (Psalms 90-105) it is most likely written in response to the crisis of exile and its aftermath. In other words, this Psalm 98 wasn’t written for a celebration of a happy event; it was written for people who were in the midst of hard times – in captivity.
When we are in difficulty we don’t feel much like celebrating, like singing or smiling to the Lord. But we ought to trust the LORD for he knows best. The LORD knows what we don’t know. But he is not able to tell us for we aren’t receptive to it.
Think of it this way. Pastor John Ortberg, from California gives us this idea –You have a five year old daughter whom you love but she gets sick. You worry about her survival.
But the doctor comes and tells you the operation is simple and the child will be fine. You are relieved and have great joy. But the child is scared to death and frightened of the doctor.
Even though you have reassured her she will be well, your reassurance doesn’t help. She doesn’t understand. Acting joyful in her presence would make her feel worse. – showing that you don’t care. So you have to meet her where she is, be appropriately empathetic and maintain a somber face. But when you are not in the room with her, you have a smile on your face, for you know all will be well.
The author of Psalm 98 is something like the parent in that scenario. He’s writing to people weighed down with troubles, but he knows that in the long run, everything will be all right.
“Let the sea and everything in it shout, along with the world and those who live in it! Let the rivers clap their hands! Let the mountains sing in unison before the LORD! For he comes to judge the earth! He judges the world fairly, and the nations in a just manner” (Psalm 98:7-9, NET).
When you know what you know, it makes all the difference – God’s love and faithfulness. And it’s the reason to sing to the Lord a new song — a song with a real smile.
Join together in song #462 “Savior, Like A Shepherd Lead Us”
Sources:
Alden, Robert. Psalms Volume 2 Songs of Dedication. Moody Press. C.1975
Chesterton, G.K. Orthodoxy. New York: Images Book, 1990; Reprint of 1908 book from Dodd, Mead & Co.
Hwang, Suein L. “Some Type A staffers dress for success with a shot of Botox.” The Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2002, B1.
Kidner, Derek. Psalms 73-150. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Inter-Varsity Press C.1975
Leupold, H.C. Exposition of Psalms. Baker Book House. C.1969
Ortberg, John. “Hunger for joy.” Christian Century, September 4, 2007, 39.Smile My Day. smilemyday.com/about/.
The New Interpreter’s Bible. Vol. IV. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996, 1072.
