Amen. C.S. Lewis once said that all of creation acts as a sunbeam that can be traced back to the source of light, the sun. In it he meant that all of creation acts like an arrow, a ray of light, or a signpost that points us back to the creator, to God. Let me ask you, when was the last time you looked intently and listened carefully to creation? To the stars, to the waves, to the mountains. Power. They point to God. But now we have to ask, what about us? What about us? We who are made in his image, made to most uniquely reflect his glory, what do we say? Look and listen to humanity. Some sing his praise, yet many turn away. Some look up, and yet some look down. In deafening defiance, many will say in our day, I will not worship God. In the church, we see this problem revealed not in our open defiance often, but in our silence. Tucking our lips, holding our breath, and letting fitting moments of God-exalting praise pass, what will we choose? Silence. Does this describe you? It often does me. And this is the dissonant chord in creation's chorus. While the rest of creation cries, glory! Much of humanity is muted. If you've never reflected on it, this silence is actually why missions exist. To quote one preacher, he says, missions exist because worship doesn't. The chief end of man, as the Westminster Catechism says, is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. The scriptures tell us, and the Catechism summarizes it, that we were made to worship God. We were made to worship God. We were made to declare his praise. And yet, knowing this, we have to ask, why is it that we don't do that? Yesterday, Jim and Dina took me around the area. I got to go to this place called High Head. Is that right? Is it called High Head? Okay. I keep forgetting the name, but it's this glorious, beautiful scene. And after going to High Head, we went to Peggy's Cove, and we had lunch at a little restaurant there, and I was talking to the waitress, and hearing about what it was like to grow up in the area, she just oozed about how beautiful it is and how wonderful it is. And yet, at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder. How is it that she can be surrounded by so much beauty and yet not know who God is? How is it that even me in that moment, seeing God's beauty in one moment, this is to my own shame, and I had to repent in the moment. Having seen God's beauty in that moment, and having an opportunity to actually share the gospel with that girl, why is it that I faltered? Why is it that I kept my mouth shut when I could have actually easily in that moment made a connection between what I saw, what we were reflecting on to God? Why is it that so many of us, including me, struggle to declare God's praise when that is what we were made for? Is the issue with our understanding of the Great Commission? Is it because we don't love the lost? I can tell you, having gone through seminary, it's not because of lack of understanding necessarily, but it actually might be something deeper. Our problem is with our vision. See, you cannot praise what you have not clearly seen, and you cannot bless what you have not beheld. Humans naturally praise what they find beautiful, art, nature, people, and experiences, yet with God we hesitate, not for lack of love, but for lack of sight. When I was visiting Peggy Cove and looking at High Head, I was seeing the beauty, but I wasn't seeing who that beauty was pointing to. I didn't look intently enough, and I didn't let creation move me to deeper worship. It wasn't until after that night I actually took a minute just to think about it, that my heart was able to repent, and my heart was able to see the beauty of God again in creation, and have my heart renewed in the longings to live missionally again, because that wanes and it wavers at times, as so many do, but I needed Psalm 96 to help me as I read that Psalm again, this Psalm again, and that's why I want us to turn to Psalm 96. Many of you are surrounded by great beauty, and many of us stop at just the beauty of our creation here, the creation that we see, but creation is calling us to look at the one who is most beautiful, the Creator Himself, and so inviting God to give us a renewed vision for who He is, that He might remobilize us to live on mission for Him. I want us to behold God's glory this morning, point number one, and then I want us to consider how we might declare God's glory together as point number two. Point number one, beholding God's glory. Here in verse one we see creation's universal call to worship found. It says, oh sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth, sing to the Lord and bless His name. In verse 11 the rest of creation gathers on stage in choir formation. It says, let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice, let the sea roar in all that fills, that let the field exalt in the trees of the forest sing. Here this passage shows us that creation is neither voiceless nor aimless, but creation worships. With joy they worship, with eagerness they come and say to us, come and join us. Think about it for a minute. How glorious must God be that the stars would flash like cosmic photographers before Him. How radiant must God be that the earth would bubble with gladness. How splendid must He be that the sea roars with thunderous applause every waking moment. I couldn't see it when I was standing there by the ocean, but in looking at the scriptures God helped me see what the sea was saying. How dazzling, how dazzling must He be that the fields, the fields that we have here dance in the trees sing for the Lord. What is it that they see? They see glory, the unfiltered shimmering of deity. In verse 4 and 6 we're told explicitly why all of creation praises God. Look at verse 4 it says, for great is the Lord and greatly is He 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. Why does creation praise God? It's because put it shortly they see His unparalleled greatness beyond any comparison. He is great, but not just that. He is also supremely worthy. Gather the rarest treasures of the universe and place them beside God and they will look like worthless pennies compared to Him. Just as the sun's light erases the stars at dawn, so God's splendor dissolves every other lesser glory. That's why the scriptures say He is clothed in splendor, robed in majesty. It's the Bible's way of saying nothing compares to Him. Nothing. Even the so-called gods of our day pale in comparison to Him according to the scriptures. The scriptures actually call them out for what they really are. They're idols, knockoffs, fakes, powerless copies of a God who cannot be controlled or even contained. He is unrivaled, unmatched. He is incomparable. And the reaction in creation is only appropriate. It says this here in the scriptures that it invokes fear in creation. Not just terror alone, but trembling awe. Like a storm that strikes both fear and awe and shakes and captivates the soul, so God's greatness produces this reverent fear. My daughter when she was two, it was thunderstorming in the backyard and for whatever crazy reason I thought it'd be a good idea for me and my daughter to go and sit in the porch in the middle of a thunderstorm. It wasn't a good idea. It's quite dangerous actually. And nonetheless, as we were sitting there, we heard the thunder strike. And in that moment, you know what my daughter did? She quickly jumped out of her seat and ran right next to my shoulder. But then, but then as she huddled up close, she said, wow. She experienced trembling awe and fear at the same time. This is the kind of fear that creation experiences when they see God. Not just terror, but awe. This is the God that creation beholds. This is the God whom we today behold. He is exceedingly great, supremely worthy. He is unmatched in glory. But that's not all. He is also our creator. Don't miss the stunning point here in our text in verse 5. It says that he created the heavens. Our Psalms here shows us that everything in the created order was crafted by him. Every blazing star in the sky is not self-form. Every galaxy and cluster of light, it says, has a maker formed by him. Isaiah 40 would say later on that he calls the stars by name. Sustained by him, Job 38 says he establishes the laws that govern their existence. The gravity that holds a star, the energy that fuels it, the precision that stabilizes it, all of that is designed by God. This is God. His dominion stretches from sea to sea and even star to star. And the scriptures invite us today to behold him. Behold him. Behold him. And don't just stop there, for there's still more to behold. As the scriptures will reveal, the God who rules the galaxies is not a distant God. No, he is not some distant clockmaker who simply winds up the world and lets it off and walks away. No, creation rejoices not only because of who God is as its match as creator, but also who he is as redeemer. In verse 10 and 13, the scriptures revealed that God will come and judge the world, it says. He's going to come and set the world right again. I know for many of us here this morning, perhaps you're investigating Christianity and you're visiting us here for the first time. I know as you hear the word judge, you're probably feeling a little unsettled in your seat right now and I can understand that because oftentimes when we hear the word judge or we read it in the Bible, we instinctively think condemnation. If that's you, I want you to know actually the Hebrew word for judge is actually far richer than that. God's judgment isn't about just condemnation, it's actually primarily about restoration. Fixing what's broken, God will reorder what's disordered and this is worth pausing for. Why? Well, because in our world, as beautiful as it is, we have to acknowledge that it is a broken place. There's corruption, there's chaos, there's injustice, sin, the sickness and darkness. All that, all that according to the scriptures, all that will be set right when God comes to judge the world, when he comes to restore the world. And this is good news. I know some of you here this morning are wrestling with health issues. I know some of you here this morning come here with past hurts, whether it's from the church or from someone in your family or friend's life. The scriptures here tell us that God's vindication will come and nothing will stop him from making all things right. In fact, if all the strength of the entire universe would arise against holy God and try to resist him, there would be no more strength than if the weakest of the world were to stand alone. Like an ant beating its head against a piece of granite. No angel, no demon, no man would be able to stand against the paragon of power who comes. And that is something to take heart in. Yet here is also something to be a little concerned about. There is a tension. If God is coming to make all things right and praise God for when he does, we have to also wonder what will happen to us. What do I mean by that? Well, see, the reality is that while we like to often think we are the ones who are wronged or that we are the ones who have been wronged, we're often the people who do wrong. We sin against each other. We sin against the world. We sit against holy God. And if God is coming here to judge the world and to make all things right, we do need to ask then what will happen to us. This is where the psalm becomes staggering. The Hebrew word I mentioned is quite rich. There's actually two meanings to this word, two sides to the coin, if you will. On one side, the word to judge means to execute just judgment, judgment as we know it. Yet at the same time, it also means to plead a case. Isn't that fascinating? According to the scriptures, while God will come to execute just judgment against sin and all that is wrong with the world, the scriptures say he will also come to plead the case for those who deserve to be judged. How is that possible? How can he accomplish such a marvelous thing? How can he do this? Well, the New Testament actually shows us how. If you were to take your Bibles and flip all the way to the Gospels, pick your Gospel, Matthew's Gospel, Mark, John, Luke, you will see that here in the psalm, the psalmist is hinting to a reality that will come to full light in the New Testament, a reality when God himself will come not only to judge but to be judged for us. Pleading our case, the Gospels will show that God himself will shed his robe, a splendor, and majesty and dwell among us. And during the sinful world to eventually die for us on a cross, the scriptures tell us that Jesus Christ, our creator and redeemer, came. Clothed in the flesh, think about this, the shaper of stars would come to dwell among us. Coming for us, the one who gave forms to the the trees would come to be pinned on a tree. Bearing divine judgment for our sins, he would pray for us and plead our case before God and say, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. So he might plead our case for eternity. God came. Jesus Christ came for you, for me, and for all those whom he's called to himself outside these doors. Behold him. This is God. Gracious and good, glorious and great. This is how he accomplishes redemption for those who would believe in him. Well, friends, creation cannot look away from him because there is none like him. They can't stop praising him because there is none more praise worthy than him. They won't stop adoring him because there is no one more glorious. When you truly behold him, the same will happen to you. You know, it's this massive vision for the supremacy of God and all things that's actually driven all major missionary movements throughout the centuries. It's what mobilized people to leave their comforts behind in order to help others discover God. It's what galvanized people to sacrificially give in order to advance the gospel. It's what moved men and women across the centuries to gladly say, Lord, I give you my life, my money, my time, my energy, my attention, my love, my worship. I give it all to you. It's why your pastor Jim and Dina here, this beautiful family left the comforts of their family in Ontario to come here to be amongst you, to buy a home and lay down roots here. It's not just because you all are beautiful people. You are. Don't get me wrong. It's not because you're a sweet bunch, which you are, but it's because they have seen and beheld their glorious God. And they want to help you behold Him too. They want to help your town behold Him too. They want to help your province behold Him too. They want to help you help others in your province behold Him too. And so Bedford Presbyterian Church, you beautiful bunch, behold your God. Behold your God who was revealed to you in the scriptures. Behold your God who was revealed to you in your beautiful landscape. Behold your God. Now, this is our first point, beholding God. We must ask at this point, having beheld Him, what's the appropriate response? This is where we look at our second point, declaring the glory of God. Having beheld God's glory, maybe even wanting to declare it, where do we start? Verse one tells us, we start by singing. The first thing we can do is sing. Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord, praise His name. Sing to the Lord, bless His name. That's what the scriptures say. Not just privately, but corporately. The first thing we can do is sing. Sing. I used to live in a, well, I grew up in Windsor and I used to go to a Chinese church, much like this one here in a neighborhood with surrounding neighbors. When the church was selling its building because we had outgrown that space and we were moving out of that neighborhood to find a new neighborhood to move in, do you know what our neighbors said to us? We had hundreds of neighbors when they found out and they saw the for sale sign out in the road, we had hundreds of neighbors come up to our pastor and say, why are you leaving? Why are you leaving? We explained it to them. They said, we don't want you to leave. And I remember my pastor, I was there when I was a kid watching one of these conversations unfold in the parking lot. I was there when my pastor was told from this one neighbor, one of the things I'm going to miss about your church is the singing on Sunday. She said, you don't know this, but for weeks I would sit by my window and open up that window just to hear you sing. Because even though I don't understand or I don't really care for your God, your songs give me hope. Isn't that fascinating? This church is in a neighborhood with windows that can crack open and I'm willing to bet if you are willing to commit your heart to singing for the glory of God, maybe one day, maybe one day, you might have neighbors opening their windows wanting to hear the songs of hope that herald from this place. And maybe, maybe just one day, you might actually see them willing to walk into this place to learn about that hope in which you're singing. Your songs have powerful, powerful means and can be a powerful means of grace to your neighborhood and it can be a powerful means of declaring God's glory to those around you. If only you're willing to sing. You guys do sing very beautifully. You do sing very, very beautifully. If I can encourage you as a congregation to keep singing, sing until you have no more breath. Oh, this place would be a light. It would be a delight and a delight to your neighbors. Sing. That's our first application. The second thing is to tell. Tell. Tell people of God's goodness and glory. Going back to that minister that I had and the woman who was saying about how she liked to open the window to listen to the songs and asking about and telling him about this event, how she would open her window every single week to listen to the songs. The pastor eventually took that opportunity to tell her about the hope of the gospel. Here, our scriptures tell us to tell people of God's goodness. In verse three, we're told to declare God's glory among the nations. Verse seven and eight, we're called to ascribe to the Lord's glory and strength. Verse 10 tells us to say among the nations that the Lord reigns. Aside from singing, one of the ways we can respond to the glory of God seen is to tell others about him. Did you know that the word ascribe means to give? We can give God honor and praise through his name when we tell people about who he is. Joining creation in the head-turning work of saying, look at him, isn't he lovely? Look at him, isn't he powerful? Look at him, isn't he glorious? Look at him and what he's done for us in redemption. We can redirect the world's attention to God. I had the opportunity to do that with that young woman yesterday at the restaurant. I didn't do it again to my own shame. Having beheld God's glory, I wish I could go back and tell her, girl, you should look a little more. You should look further and deeper to see who it is that all this stuff is pointing to. You live in one of the most ripe fields for the harvest. You live in one of the most beautiful places of our country. Every day people look out at the ocean and at the rocks and they think, wow, isn't that lovely? You have the opportunity to tell them, don't just stop there, go further, look deeper, look further, look higher and see who they're pointing to. God's given you that incredible opportunity. I would encourage you to do that. Do that having beheld your God this morning. I'm going back to Windsor after today. Having been renewed in my time here with you all and being renewed from Presbyterian, renewed in the word of God here, guess what I'm going to be telling people when I go back? I'm going to tell them about Peggy's Cove. I'm going to be telling them about High Head. I'm going to show them pictures. Having seen God, I'm not just going to stop there. I'm going to ask them, what do you see? And then having looked at it with them, I'm going to say, let's look further. Let's look at God, whom these things point to. Oh, that you would do the same. Tell people about God. With gentleness and respect and wisdom, share with others about who God is and who all of creation is pointing to. Share with them how it is that God has worked in your life, saving you from your sins, dying for you in mercy, in grace. Tell your neighbors about what God has done and who God is for you. Tell the story. If you find it scary, I encourage you, be creative. You got who's coming coming up, what was it? In a couple of weeks. Can I encourage you? Make Dina's life a little bit more difficult. Don't just treat this as a church internal event. Treat this as an outreach event. If you have a friend in your neighborhood who you've been engaging and you're like, hey, I would love to share the gospel with them. Tell Dina, I'm coming plus one. And bring your friend. Let them be warmed by the warm and beautiful community that you hear. Let them experience what the love of Christ is in and through you. Let this not just be an internal church event, but actually even an outreach event. Jim, if that's not okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But you said you as a church want to make Christ known. It's on your website. Make Christ known. Live missionally. For God has called you for it here in this beautiful, beautiful city. Sing, tell. These are the two ways that we can apply this. We have time maybe for one more. One more. Let's consider our deeds. How we live. Let's focus on our deeds. Why? Because deeds speak. The scriptures tell us here if you're exploring Christianity, that we are to worship the Lord. To worship the Lord in the splendor of His majesty. The word worship in verse nine means to lay down. If you've never laid down your life to God and surrender and in faith before, the scriptures would invite you to do so today. You've beheld God and you see how great He is. The scriptures command you to worship God. The scriptures don't just invite you to worship God. The scriptures command you to worship God. This is the very purpose for which you were made. Bend your knee. Yield to Him your life. Don't simply yawn at Him, but yield your life to Him. For us Christians, the application still applies for us. What does worship look like for us? Well, verse eight and nine calls us to consider our offerings and to offer a Lord a sacrifice. Scholars are a little debate over what this is referring to. Some wonder if this is referring to a tithe. Some are wondering if this is referring to an animal sacrifice. At either rate, in the New Testament, the New Testament clarifies for us what sacrifices look like for us. We're to offer our lives as living sacrifices to God. Holy and pleasing to Him is what Romans 12 says. And so let me ask you, Christians, what does it look like for you to offer not just your time, but your whole life to the Lord? Your workplace, your schools, your family. What does it look like to worship God in that space? With the resources He's given you, with the money that He's given you, with the strength that He's given you as a young man or woman, with the time that you have for those of you who are more mature in life, with the years of experience that God has given you, how can you worship the Lord and use that as a means of grace of advancing the kingdom in the world around you? This church is a generous church. Mission Windsor is a grateful recipient of your generosity as you help us in our work and ministry by making a generous donation to us this year. We are so grateful for that. How can you excel all the more in your giving, not just to Mission Windsor, but to other church plants in the country, to other initiatives in the city? In terms of service, how can you, with your time, serve some of the needs in the city here? We have people on worship. We have people in greeting. We have people in the AV, and there's probably more that I'm missing. How can you get more involved in this if you're not already? For our elders in the room, I'm not just talking about the elderly, I'm talking about those who are ordained officers in the church. Elders, how are you worshiping the Lord in the time that you have, and the gifts that He's given you, and the space and the presence that He's given you here in this church? Are you modeling for your church and your followers here, the followers of Jesus Christ, the sheep that God has entrusted you with, are you modeling for them what it looks like to worship the Lord with your head, heart, and hand? Oh, I pray that we would consider our deeds, because our deeds do speak. There's a songwriter, Benning Manning, who once said, the greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips. Sorry, he wasn't a writer. A band took his quote. He was a priest. He once said, the greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, but walk out the door and deny Him with their lifestyles. This is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable. How can we with our lives show that God is worthy of belief, that the gospel is believable, and it's more than reasonable, that it's beautiful and worth worth everything. Consider how we live. Consider how we sing, and consider telling your friends about who Jesus is. So all might sing, let worship be heard, let our worship be heard, let our faith be seen, and our lives be a glorious melody unto God. Amen. Amen. Let us pray.