Psalm 98:1–9

Commentary

Singing and music

The psalmist calls people to worship God in song and music: ‘Sing to the LORD a new song… Burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the LORD’ (vv.1,4–5).

This psalm is full of noise, as the people are asked to celebrate God’s goodness in a whole host of different ways. There is a call to sing, shout for joy, play instruments, and even applaud in our celebration of God:

‘Shout your praises to God, everybody!
   Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!
Round up an orchestra to play for God,
   Add on a hundred-voice choir.
Feature trumpets and big trombones,
   Fill the air with praises to King God.
Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
   With everything living on earth joining in’ (vv.4–7, MSG).

This is all a response to what God has done for us. You are called to worship the Lord who is Saviour (vv.1–3), King (vv.4–6) and Judge (vv.7–9).

As we read this through the lens of Jesus, we can see this as a prophetic psalm. Jesus is the one at God’s ‘right hand’ who has ‘worked salvation’ (v.1). He has made God’s salvation known and ‘revealed his righteousness to the nations’ (v.2). (See also Romans 3:21.)

There is a joyful anticipation of the universal restoration of all things when the Saviour will come to judge the earth (Psalm 98:9). Then all creation will be restored (vv.7–8). As St Paul puts it, ‘The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed… the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God’ (Romans 8:19–21).

This psalm is a growing crescendo of praise – from the worshipping community of the people of God (Psalm 98:1–3), to all people (vv.4–6) and finally to all of creation (vv.7–9).

Prayer

1 Corinthians 11:11–34

Commentary

Awe and thanksgiving

Paul addresses the issue of honour and propriety in worship, and in particular he looks at the role and place of women in worship. A huge amount of ink has been spilt discussing what this passage means.

Paul’s concern was that nothing should cause an offence to the gospel. There is general agreement that much of it is cultural – few churches today expect women to cover their hair, for example.

What is clear is that both men and women were expected to pray and prophesy in services (vv.4–5). It is also clear that there is an equality of the sexes and mutual dependence (vv.11–12): ‘Neither man nor woman can go it alone or claim priority... let’s quit going through these “who’s first” routines’ (vv.11–12, MSG).

Next, Paul goes onto discuss the ‘Lord’s Supper’ (v.20), or ‘the Eucharist’ as he calls it elsewhere (Eucharistéin is a Greek verb meaning ‘to thank’).

This is probably the earliest account of this element in our services of worship. It has been a vital part of Christian worship for the last 2,000 years, celebrated almost universally by the church worldwide. Again, there has been a huge amount of discussion about what exactly Paul means. However, it seems to me that from this passage a number of things are clear:

1. It is frequent
   There is an expectation that when they ‘come together’ in their ‘meetings’ (vv.17,20), the ‘Lord’s Supper’ will take place.

2. It is important
   Jesus tells us to ‘do this’ (v.24). The consequences of not doing it properly are very serious (v.27 onwards). ‘Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe’ (v.28, MSG).

3. It is proclamation
   It is one of the ways in which you proclaim the gospel. ‘For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes’ (v.26).

4. It involved both remembering
   Jesus (vv.24–25) and ‘recognising the body of the Lord’ (v.29). Expect to encounter Jesus as you receive the bread and wine.

5. It is a participation in Christ’s body and blood (10:14 onwards). The Greek word used here is koinonia, which can also mean ‘sharing’ or ‘fellowship’. It is a way for us to receive and share in the benefits of Jesus’ death.

6. It is a form of thanksgiving. We drink from the ‘cup of thanksgiving’ (10:16).

7. It is an expression of unity. ‘Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake in the one loaf (v.17). One of the great tragedies of church history is the way in which this great expression of unity has become a cause of division.

8. It anticipates the Lord’s return. You are proclaiming ‘the Lord’s death until he comes’ (11:26).

The bread and wine are the body and blood of Jesus (vv.24–25). This is one of the ways in which we experience his presence today. What exactly this means, of course, has been the subject of great speculation, debate and controversy. One approach might perhaps be simply to accept it as a mystery and not go behind Scripture and speculate too much about how exactly it works.

Prayer

2 Chronicles 7:14

Commentary

Integrity and passion

Solomon ‘succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD’ (7:11). He glorified God through what he carried out.

The chronicler focuses his account of the reigns of David and Solomon around the building of the place to worship God, the temple in Jerusalem. For him, virtually everything else in their reigns pales into insignificance. They built the place of worship and God blessed them richly.

Solomon’s fame spread (as we read in chapters 8 and 9). The Queen of Sheba (probably in modern-day Yemen) came to visit and was so astonished by what she saw (9:1–7) that she herself praised the Lord (v.8). (Interestingly, in the light of the New Testament passage about women, no question is raised here about a female monarch ruling a country.)

Solomon’s splendour was great. After Solomon had built the temple, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘… if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land’ (7:14).

This verse is justly famous and it is often used as a template for worship and prayer. In it we see the conditions for integrity in our worship. They are also the conditions necessary for revival. In the light of COVID-19, it is pertinent to note that the immediate context was the possibility of a pandemic (‘plague’ v.13). We see in this verse that we need to do four things:

1. Humble ourselves
2. Pray
3. Seek God’s face
4. Turn from our wicked ways

Then God promises that he will do three things:

1. Hear from heaven
2. Forgive our sin
3. Heal the land

Prayer