Text: Psalm 98:1-9
Theme: “Above the Din”
6th Sunday of
Easter
Mother’s Day
May 10, 2015
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Denton, Texas
Rev. Paul R. Dunklau
+In the Name of Jesus+
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2
The Lord has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the
nations.
3
He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
4
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the
earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
5
make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
6
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s
horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
7
Let the sea resound, and everything in
it,
the world, and all who live in it.
8
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
9
let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
A special word
for this day is the word “din”: d.i.n.,
din. It’s a noisy little three letter
word that showed up on dictionary.com’s “Word of the Day” some time ago. Din.
The definition reads as follows:
“a loud, confused noise; a continued
loud or tumultuous sound; noisy clamor”.
A din. That’s
what we appear to live in. A case could
be made that a “din” is what we basically have beginning when our eyelids open
in the morning and continuing until they close at night. In other words, it’s a noisy world. No wonder we’re not happy when the dogs start
barking at 3 am. It disrupts our peace
and quiet. Peace and quiet seem to be
the opposite of din.
Last week, one of the generals elevated the “Force
Protection Level” from “Alpha” to “Bravo”.
Why? It was on account of
terrorist chatter. Indeed, there is the
din from those who would do harm – to others and themselves.
There is something to be said for peace and quiet, for
solitude, and for even meditation. In
church, we talk of preparing to worship.
Being here on Sunday isn’t all just chit-chat and time for what one friend
of mine used to call “fellowshipping.”
Somewhere along the line, we’ve lost the full impact of “Be still and
know that I am God”; that’s Psalm 46:10.
Yes, it’s a noisy world – and increasingly so. Yes, taking time for peace and quiet can be
of assistance.
Yet, what if we could be led above the din? Similarly, what if there is something
different than peace and quiet?
The author of Psalm seems to know, so it is best to sit
at the author’s feet and listen to what is being said to us in today’s psalm,
number 98.
The psalmist encourages shouting and singing a new
song. It sounds noisy to me. Yes, but when one looks deeper it’s not a
confused noise or a clamor. In fact, the
psalmist rises above the din with solid reasoning. There are good reasons to
encourage shouting and for singing new songs.
They are outlined!
Sing to the Lord a new song. Why? God has done marvelous things. God’s own arm worked salvation. That salvation has been made known. Stated differently, righteousness has been
revealed. So, it’s a new song above the
din – and not the usual loud, confused, tumultuous noise. It is not the sound of looting, or protest,
or justice gone haywire, or the endless babble of the 24-hour news cycle.
The psalmist
is just getting started. We’re not the
only ones in on this. “Shout for joy to
the Lord all the earth!” Looks like no
one is left out. Harps, trumpets, and
horns are employed. Sounds like we’re
getting a band or an orchestra together!
There’s talk
of the seas and the rivers “clapping their hands”! Wow! I
didn’t know the seas and rivers hand hands to clap. But then again, I don’t see things as God does. What I see is the seas, rivers, lakes, what
have you no longer suffering from drought.
Now the water levels appear above normal in some places! The sound of the rains pounding and pelting
is almost like clapping.
Why are these
bodies of waters and mountains and living things called upon to shout? It is for this reason: above the din of the world, a promise will
one day be kept. God will come again to
set the wrong to right. In God’s time,
God will judge in righteousness and fairness.
It will only
make gloriously clear to you now it is with you now, for you are a
believer. In Jesus Christ – crucified on
Good Friday, raised from the grave by the glory of His Father, ascended into
the heavens – the judgment against us has been pronounced and the penalty
paid. Above the loud, tumultuous din of
this world, we shout for joy and sing a new song.
Grandma
Dunklau loved “Oh that the Lord Would Guide My Ways.” Grandma Eggert loved “What a Friend We Have
in Jesus”. Mom loved “Let us Ever Walk
with Jesus” and “Beautiful Savior”. The
latter she would sing as a soloist.
What about the
rest of us? Try out the words of Ken
Rose:
Without a song the day would never
end
Without a song the road would never
bend
When things go wrong a man ain't got
a friend
Without a song
I've-a got my trouble and woe and,
sure as I know, the Jordan will roll
And I'll get along as long as a song,
strong in my soul
I'll-a never know what makes that
rain to fall
I'll never know what makes the grass
so tall
I only know there ain't no love at
all
Without a song
…above the din.
Amen.
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