Let us praise God with thanksgiving.
“O Most High, with the ten-stringed harp, with the lyre and the harp, we give thanks to the Lord, and praise Your name. We proclaim Your love in the morning and Your faithfulness at night” (Psalm 92:1).
Pastor Charles Swindoll, in his book The Church Awakening, encourages us to commit to worship. He says that, despite our need to dedicate ourselves to worship in the church, we are, in fact, at war. The reason for this, he points out, is that we are focusing on the expression of worship rather than its essence. Within the church, some argue that we should only sing hymns, while others say it is fine to sing contemporary Christian songs. Similarly, some believe it is acceptable to use drums in worship, while others strongly oppose this. These differing views lead to conflicts, or "wars," within the church. However, Pastor Swindoll asserts that this is simply each person defending their personal preference. He urges Christians to prioritize the essence of worship and dedicate themselves to it. In other words, we must remain devoted to the “teaching,” “fellowship,” “breaking of bread,” and “prayer” as outlined in Acts 2:42. Personally, I agree with Pastor Swindoll’s views. I particularly resonate with his distinction between the essence and expression of worship. I wholeheartedly agree that the expression of worship should naturally flow from the essence of worship. At the same time, I believe it is essential that in order to be the true worshipers God is seeking (John 4:23), we must first come to know God, which in turn helps us to know ourselves (Calvin). We must come to know God through the truth of His Word. As the Holy Spirit reveals to us the greatness of God through His Word, we inevitably come to know ourselves. By doing so, we can be transformed into true worshipers who humbly bow down, giving praise and glory to God.
In today’s passage from Psalm 92, the “Song for the Sabbath Day,” the psalmist declares that it is good to thank God and praise His name. He also says it is good to proclaim God’s loving-kindness in the morning and His faithfulness at night. Why is this so? The reason is that the Lord, in His loving-kindness and faithfulness, made the psalmist rejoice through His works (verse 4). Therefore, the psalmist rejoiced and sang because of the works of God’s hands (verse 4). He praised the Lord with joy and thanksgiving as he reflected on the great deeds God had done (verse 5). Specifically, the psalmist gave thanks and praise to God with joy for His very deep thoughts (verse 5). The psalmist understood the deep thoughts of God, which the foolish and ignorant cannot grasp (verse 6), and that is why he praised the Lord with thanksgiving and joy.
What are the very deep thoughts of the Lord that the psalmist has understood? In short, they can be summarized as follows: God will eternally destroy the prosperous wicked (vv. 9-11) and cause the suffering righteous to flourish (vv. 12-14). In other words, the very deep thoughts of the Lord are to judge the wicked and to save the righteous. God will certainly judge "His enemies" (v. 9), the "wicked" (v. 7). Although the wicked may seem to succeed quickly without effort, through devious means, in reality, this is not true success blessed by God. To the eyes of people, their prosperity may appear like the abundance of wild grass, but the important thing is that they bear no fruit that God has caused them to bear. Even though the wicked may appear to be thriving in the eyes of the world, from God’s perspective, their prosperity bears no fruit, and in the end, it will be eternally destroyed (v. 7). The prosperity of the wicked in this world is only for their eternal destruction. The enemies of God who commit sin will certainly perish (v. 9). God will repay those who do evil (v. 11). However, the righteous will be saved. God will certainly save those of us who have been declared righteous through faith in Jesus. God will certainly make us grow, prosper, and bear fruit (vv. 12-13). He will make us bear fruit even when we are old (v. 14). Therefore, not only will God lead us to praise Him with gratitude and joy, but He will also declare that He is righteous, that He is our rock, and that there is no injustice in Him (v. 15).
With the earnest desire to understand more and more of the very deep thoughts of the Lord by His grace,
Pastor James Kim
(With a heart of gratitude, as I reflect on the great things the Lord has done in my life, I cannot help but praise Him)