Let us sing praises to God with thanksgiving.
“It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High” (Psalms 92:1).
Pastor Charles Swindoll encourages us to make commitment to worship God in his book “The Church Awakening”. He said that the Christians are now at war instead of making commitment to worship God in the church. The reason, he said, is because we aren’t focusing on the essence of worship, but on the expression of worship. Some in the church say that we should sing hymns, while others say that we can sing the gospel songs. There are also some who say that the drums can be used in worship while others claim that they shouldn’t be used. The difference between this and that thoughts is that they eventually become disagreements and are at war with each other in the church. But in the end, Pastor Swindoll says, it’s all about asserting what each person has a preference for. In the meantime, he urges us Christians to prioritize the nature of worship and make commitment to it. In other words, we must continue to devote ourselves to the Bible teaching, fellowship, breaking bread (communion), and prayer (Acts 2:42). I personally agree with Pastor Swindoll. In particular, I fully agree with him that the expression of worship should flow naturally from the essence of worship. At the same time, what I personally think is very important is that in order for us to be established as true worshipers that God seeks (Jn. 4:23), we must know ourselves by knowing God (Calvin). We must get to know God through the word of truth. When the Holy Spirit lets us know that God is God through the word of God, we have no choice but to know ourselves. Then we can humbly bow down and be raised as true worshipers who praise and glorify God.
In Psalms 92, “A Song for the Sabbath,” the psalmist says that it is good to thank God and praise the name of the Lord. He also says that it is good to proclaim the Lord's lovingkindness every morning and the faithfulness of the Lord every night (v. 1). What is the reason? The reason is because the loving and faithful Lord made the psalmist glad by what he did (v. 4). Therefore, the psalmist sang for joy at the works of the Lord's hand (v. 4). He praised the Lord for joy and thanksgiving when he thought of the great works God had done (v. 5). In particular, he praised God with thanks and joy for God's very deep thoughts (v. 5). Because the psalmist realized the very deep thoughts of the Lord that a senseless man and a stupid man could never understand (v. 6), he praised the Lord with gratitude and joy.
What was the Lord's very deep thought that the psalmist realized? In short, it was that God would destroy the wicked who prosper forever (vv. 9-11) and that the would make the suffering righteous prosperous (vv. 12-14). In other words, the very deep thought of the Lord is to judge the wicked and to save the righteous. God will surely judge the enemies of the Lord (v. 9), the wicked (v. 7). Although now the wicked may seem to succeed quickly without labor by cunning means, in reality it is by no means a true success blessed by God. To people, their prosperity may seem like the lushness of wild grass, but the important thing is that they have no fruit from God. In the eyes of the world, the prosperity of the wicked, who aren’t bearing any fruit in the eyes of God, even though they are in prosperity now will be destroyed forever (v. 7). The prosperity of the wicked in this world is only for eternal destruction. The wicked enemies of the Lord will surely perish (v. 9). God will repay the evildoers (v. 11). But the righteous will be saved. Surely God will save us who are justified by trusting in Jesus. Surely God will make us grow and multiply, and bring us fruit (vv. 12-13). God will make us fruitful even in our old age (v. 14). Therefore, God will not only allow us to praise God with thanksgiving and joy, but He will also make us to declare that He is upright, our rock, and that there is no unrighteousness in Him (v. 15).
Desperately wanting to understand the very deep thoughts of the Lord little by little by the grace of God,
James Kim
(With a heart compelled to praise God with thanksgiving because of His great works in my life)