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Make a Joyful Noise

Psalm 95 1
Psalm 95 (English Standard Version)
1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
As we read verses 1 thru 7 of  Psalm 95, let's be reminded that our God is not just good, but very good, and He is worthy of our praise and adulation for who He is and all that he has done.  The Psalm admonishes us to make a joyful noise.   
A few years ago my wife and I were invited to a birthday celebration. It was party where we were all asked to dress in white outfits.  Now mind you I did not have anything in my wardrobe that was all white. So I had to go shopping for the right attire for the event. It was a celebration of the victory/milestone that someone else had achieved of reaching their 60th birthday, and I needed to come in the required “attire” with the right “attitude” to celebrate properly for the triumphant occasion.
Likewise, in the same spirit of what Jesus has done in gaining the victory for us, more importantly because of who he is as the rightful King of creation, it requires that we come prepared to celebrate, clothed in the right spirit, and with the proper attitude. The text tells us what that response should be, make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  This is not cultural or social, or based on personality type; this is Biblical call to action. It does not say if you can sing like, you fill in the blank. It says make a joyful noise, and that with Thanksgiving.  
To help you see the power of this call please review the Psalms 98:4 in multiple versions of the Bible.
Psalm 98:4NASB Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Be cheerful and sing for joy and sing praises.
Psalm 98:4NIV4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;
Psalm 98:4 NLT4 Shout to the Lord, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy!
Psalm 98:4CSB 4 Let the whole earth shout to the Lord; be jubilant, shout for joy, and sing.
Psalm 98:4ESV4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Psalm 98:4 King James Version4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
Psalm 98:4The Message4 Shout your praises to God, everybody! Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!
At the party my wife and I came ready to party with everyone else to celebrate what they had accomplished. So too we come to celebrate what Jesus has accomplished for the whole earth. As the church of Jesus Christ we need to come in our holy garments clothed in his righteousness and come ready to make a joyful noise and sing to the rock of our salvation. 
On that evening we all sang Happy Birthday to our friend and most of us could not sing a note.  We made a joyful noise at his celebration, and he was not listening to see if we were in the right key, he was rejoicing with us because of what God had done in his life and we were there singing and celebrating with him. How much more should we sing, celebrate and surrender to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords that saved our souls. 
May this Christmas be a season of singing and celebration. Beyond the crisis of covid, we can sing a new song of salvation to our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.  
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