“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” (v1-4,12-15)
This Psalm is titled “A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.” “The Jews have for a long while used this Psalm in the synagogue-worship on their Sabbath, and very suitable it is for the Sabbath-day; not so much in appearance, for there is little or no allusion to any Sabbatic rest in it, but because on that day above all others, our thoughts should be lifted up from all earthly things to God himself.” (Charles Spurgeon)
I’d say Mr. Spurgeon summarizes this well, though I have my own takeaway too – we are to not only praise God on the Sabbath, but multiple times each day. “to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night…” (v2) This verse indicates that just like David, Daniel, and others, we are to lift up our thoughts to God more than once per day.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deu 6:5,7) “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.” (Jos 1:8a) “And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.” (Lk 2:36-37) These are only a few examples.
There are many ways of doing this – through our prayers of course, but also through our work and our play. We are to do all things unto God at all times.
I realize that seems impossible, and under our own strength it is – thankfully we have a gracious God who understands our shortcomings and forgives us when we fail to think of Him for a time. When we go hours or days without praising Him, we can simply confess that fleshly fault and continue on with praising Him.
Where I used to get stuck was beating myself up over what a poor Christ-follower I am – though I’ve come to realize that self-deprecating behavior is not helpful, in fact it’s the enemy’s trap. Satan wants us to be self-deprecating since it prevents us from doing the Lord’s work and seeing ourselves as God sees us. God calls us His handiwork and His strong “oaks of righteousness”, and trades our spirit of despair for one of praise, so the He may be glorified in and through us.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me… to bring good news to the poor… to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound… to comfort all who mourn… to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” (Isa 61:1-3 abr)
Father God, please forgive us our shortcomings. We confess that we often err and need Your grace to carry us forward. May we learn from our mistakes, or at the very least not dwell on them, lest we wallow in a spirit of despair. Father may we learn to see ourselves as You see us – Your beloved and valued children – so we may overcome the lies of the enemy (that we are insufficient failures) and continue worshiping and obeying You. Please free us of any unnecessary burdens we carry, and help us to keep our eyes on You, not on our circumstances. Thank you Father. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training