Psalm 92 is a psalm of thanksgiving and worship. The
title of this psalm reads: “A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day”. It is
a psalm the children of Israel sang on the Sabbath days.
The opening words of this psalm are reminder that we
must worship God with thanksgiving: "It is a good thing to give thanks
unto the LORD" (vs 1).
The adjective "good" is spelled
"tob" in Hebrew. It means beneficial, pleasant, favourable, happy,
right and even well! Giving thanks to God is hence the right and pleasant thing
to do.
When the psalmist says “It is good to give thanks
to the Lord,” he means worship is a delight, a pleasure. It is also right
because it is beneficial. For example, all of us can remember our mother saying
to us, “Take this; it’s good for you.” In the same way, worship is good for
us.
Worship is good and pure pleasure to those who truly
love God. Worship is a show of gratitude to our Creator and Provider of
blessings. In worship we remember God for His blessings. When we partake the
Lord’s Supper, we remember the great sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son
of God: “Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in
remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). In songs, we sing of His great
love and the wonderful works He had done. Worship is thanksgiving.
Do you realize that we are commanded by God to give
thanks every day, all the time, and for everything? (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Paul did not say we should wait until Thanksgiving Day to give thanks; every
day should be filled with appreciation and gratefulness! "Is any merry?
let him sing psalms" (James 5:13).
The worship of God is expressed by praising Him “with
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your
hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16, ESV). Note the word “thankfulness”.
Worship is an expression of our gratitude and thankfulness to God. And this is
done through expressions from the hymns that we sing, in the words of our
prayers, in the sermons that are delivered, and when we partake the Lord’s
Supper.
Giving thanks in worship is rightly expressed in
another psalm: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts
with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalm 100:4).
The psalmist did not come to the house of God with a
bad attitude. He did not come in late and to sit and to sulk. He entered in
with great joy and praises. He came in with singing and gladly served God.
He came to serve the LORD and flourish: “The righteous shall flourish
like the palm-tree…. They are planted in the house of Jehovah; They shall
flourish in the courts of our God” (vs 12-13, ASV).
Those who are grateful will come to God in worship to
give thanks to Him and serve Him. They shall flourish like the palm trees. It
means they shall be fruitful. Those who enter the house of God with a good
attitude to worship God will leave benefited by it. But those who come with a
poor attitude will leave poorer spiritually.
Let us come to God with thanksgiving and sacrifice of
praises to Him: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to
God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name”
(Hebrews 13:15).
Jimmy Lau
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