Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!

Psalm 96:7-9 (ESV)

Ascribe. That’s a word we don’t see or hear often. Most people wouldn’t even know what it means. I had to look it up to be sure I knew what it meant.

What does it mean to ascribe?

ASCRIBE: to credit or assign, as to a cause or source; attribute; impute; to think of as belonging, as a quality or characteristic

This portion of Psalm 96 could go something like this:

Belong to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Give the Lord glory and strength!
Give the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!

Do you belong to God? Do you give Him the honour that is due to Him? If you do, do the people around you know it?

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”

Psalm 96:10 (ESV)

When you’re married, you wear a ring to display that you belong to someone. When your team scores in the final play of the game, you cheer about it and let people know about the great thing they did. How much more deserving is God of similar displays?

Daily Bible reading: Psalm 96-98; Romans 12