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Sermon Notes
VERTIGO
Psalm 96 (CSB)
April 26, 2025
Background
Psalm 96 appears again in 1 Chronicles 16:8–36, sung when David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem; a moment of enormous transition for Israel. The psalm is an enthronement hymn: a declaration of God as King, sung not after the uncertainty resolved, but in the middle of it.
John 21 provides the New Testament mirror.
Three weeks after the resurrection, the disciples; disoriented, afraid, uncertain of what came next went back to fishing. Jesus met them on the shore, fed them, and recommissioned them. The new song broke through not with a plan, but with presence.
Psalm 96 (CSB)
1. Sing to the Lord in the Vertigo (vv. 1–6)
The disciples went back to the boat — not out of faithlessness, but disorientation. That is vertigo. And Israel under a new king was standing in the same place.
Into both moments the same word came: not “here is the plan” … but SING.
The psalmist commands it three times. Then he gives concrete content:
▪ Proclaim his salvation from day to day.
▪ Declare his glory among the nations.
▪ Declare his wondrous works among all peoples.
The act of declaring who God is — out loud, to others, in the middle of not knowing — is itself what reestablishes your footing.
2. The Lord Reigns and the Earth Cannot Be Shaken (vv. 7–10)
In every season of disorientation, the oldest question surfaces; not “God doesn’t exist” but the serpent’s quieter question: Can He actually be trusted?
The psalmist contrasts worthless idols - the things we reach for when God feels far away - with the God who made the heavens.
His answer to the question:
▪ He made the heavens.
▪ He has never been surprised by a transition.
▪ He is not disoriented by your disorientation.
"The Lord reigns. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken." v. 10
3. Hold On. He Is Coming. (vv. 11–13)
The psalm turns from commands to people — to creation itself. The heavens, the earth, the sea, the fields, the trees: all shouting for joy. Not because circumstances are resolved.
“for he is coming — for he is coming to judge the earth.” v. 13
Biblical hope is not optimism or a feeling. It is forward-leaning confidence in a God whose coming is certain. The last two words of the psalm are righteousness and faithfulness; His, not ours.
Our Calling:
▪ Turn toward him.
▪ Sing to him.
▪ Declare his reign.
▪ And hold on.
REFLECTION/APPLICATION QUESTIONS
- The disciples went back to fishing out of disorientation and fear, not faithlessness. What is your version of “going back to the boat” when life feels unstable?
- The psalm commands “Sing” three times before explaining anything. Have you ever experienced declaring or worshiping God in the middle of confusion and found that it reoriented you?
- The psalm calls us to proclaim and declare outward, to all peoples, not just inward. How might declaring God’s character to others help you hold onto it yourself?
- What would one outward declaration about God look like this week — to a friend, coworker, or neighbor?
- The serpent’s move in the garden wasn’t to deny God — it was to question his trustworthiness. Which of these feels most alive in your current season:
- Where is God in this?
- Why is he allowing this?
- Can he actually be trusted?
- The psalmist names the alternatives to God as “worthless idols” — not lesser gods, worthless ones. What is your version of the boat? What do you reach for when God feels untrustworthy?
- “The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken” - not because circumstances are favorable, but because the Lord reigns. Where is it hardest for you to believe that right now?
- Creation shouts for joy not because circumstances are resolved, but because “he is coming.” The trees don’t wait — they lean toward his arrival. What does it mean for you to lean toward his coming rather than waiting for your circumstances to settle?
- The psalm ends with righteousness and faithfulness — His, not ours. What does it mean that God’s faithfulness to you and to Newsong is not attached to any particular leader or season?
Time of Response
Take a few minutes of silence. Allow your own thoughts to quiet and be still. Where does the Holy Spirit want you to decrease so that Christ could increase in your life? What part of your life, if reduced, would make more room for you to thrive spiritually?
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHILE READING SCRIPTURE
What does this reveal about God?
What does this reveal about you in relation to God?
What do you need to do about it?
The Covenant Prayer from John Wesley's Covenant Service, 1780 (adapted)
I am no longer my own,
but Yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing,
put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You,
exalted for You or brought low for You.
Let me be full,
let me be empty.
Let me have all things,
let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to Your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
You are mine,
and I am Yours.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
I HAVE A QUESTION
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS:
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED:
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(On occasion, questions answered following Sunday.)
How Can I Be Intentional When Reading Scripture?
One Method To Use When Reading Scripture:
The S.O.A.P.S. Method
S.cripture: Write down the Bible passage you will be studying.
O.bservations: Examine the text and write down what you notice and see. Start with the obvious and move to the deeper.
A.pplication: Apply God’s Word to your life in a practical way. What is God saying about Himself, about you and about what He is calling you to?
P.rayer: Respond to God’s Word with your own words.
S.hare: Commit to share what God is showing you with someone else.
- Inductive Bible Study:
- Observation (what does the passage say?)
- What is happening in the passage?
- Who is involved in the passage?
- What happened before and after the passage.
- Where are they located and how is that influencing the passage.
- Interpretation (what does it mean?)
- What is the passage saying considering everything I have observed and what I know from the rest of Scripture
- What does the scripture say within context of the entirety of Scripture?
- Application (how does it apply to my life?)
- What does the passage say about God?
- What does the passage say about me and to me?
- What am I being called to DO because of the passage of Scripture?
How do I talk with God?
WAYS TO PRAY
One Way to talk with God is to:
Pause.
Rejoice.
Ask.
Yield.
ANOTHER OPTION
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication: Requests
