From Genesis 3 forward, the Bible’s narrative is marked by a sense of anticipation. God makes promises to people throughout history, promises that all build toward one shared fulfillment in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. But the anticipation doesn’t stop there. It keeps building toward another promise, the promise of the final restoration of all things and the final establishment of God’s kingdom in all of its fullness (see Matt. 6:10).
Anticipation Turns to Praise
So what does that have to do with praise or worship? Wherever we see this sense of anticipation spring forward in the Bible, as it often does in the Psalms, it frequently turns to praise. Psalm 96, with its call to declare the splendor and majesty of God, starts by looking at the present moment, looking at who God is and what He has already done for His people. This is right and fitting. When we have experienced the grace of God in our lives, when we have seen and experienced His work in saving and sustaining us day by day, how can we not praise Him? Yet the psalmist’s praise didn’t stop with what God had already done. His praise pointed forward, anticipating something greater from the God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Worship Looking Forward
Creation declares God’s glory right now (Ps. 19:1) but does not do so as fully as it was meant to because of the curse of sin. Creation was meant to be filled to the brim with the celebration of God, but its praise is muted to a whisper. Yet we also worship looking forward, as the psalmist anticipated, waiting for the day when those whispers transform to shouts of joy (Ps. 96:12). That day is not here yet. But we can praise God now full of anticipation for the day it arrives, when Christ returns and makes all things new.
This post is adapted from Day 3 of Unit 1, Session 3, “Made for His Glory,” published in the Daily Discipleship Guide for The Gospel Project for Adults Vol. 1 (Fall 2021): From Creation to Chaos.
