Psalms

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.

This Psalm was written for the Sabbath day.  This was the day that work stopped for the Jew.  It was a day of rest granted to them by their creator.  So that day is used in reflection of who God is, what He has done and how it affects our life.  We know many things about our God, how do those things affect our life?  What should our response be to the mighty works of the Lord?  We reflect on similar things and we answer the same questions in our life in light of the New Covenant.  Our Sabbath rest is found in Jesus Christ.

¹ It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

² To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
³ On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.
⁴ For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.
Why is it good to give thanks to the Lord?  I believe the simple answer is that men will give credit to something or someone.  Failure to give thanks to the Lord is in essence a failure to recognize what God has done.  When someone credits the creation to evolution they don't really give credit to any one thing, but they certainly steal the glory from God.  Giving thanks to the Lord is our recognition of who He is and how he has moved in our world.  Why do we need to sing praises to His name?  God has a name and that name should be used.  People randomly 'thank god' all day long with no thought as to who they are talking to.  Others follow false religions that have other gods or many gods.  Our God is Yahweh, Jehovah or Jesus.

In the morning the Psalmists says it is good to declare the loving-kindness of God.  Every night is a fine time to sing of God's faithfulness.  These attributes of God never change.  All day long we are to give thanks.  What would it be like if God's attributes changed?  How would we relate to God if his faithfulness changed from day to day?  Praise God that He never changes.  We can know Him and all His attributes. 

God's people find the joy of the Lord in recognizing the hand of God.  His work is so visible in all of creation.  We see His handiwork in the stars and in the depths of the ocean.  We see it in the microscope.  The child of God sees the handiwork of God in all these things and much more.  They give thanks to Him and sing His praises.  We are to be people of worship.  It's not just something we do, but something we do in response to our understanding of who He is.

⁵ O LORD, how great are Your works!
Your thoughts are very deep.
⁶ A senseless man does not know,
Nor does a fool understand this.
⁷ When the wicked spring up like grass,
And when all the workers of iniquity flourish,
It is that they may be destroyed forever.
God's purposes are beyond our understanding.  Even the wicked spring up like grass and serve his purpose.  Even when the workers of iniquity flourish, it is by the authority of the Lord.  We see this and ask why.  It makes no sense to us.  No man can understand the mind of an eternal God.  The created cannot completely know the creator.  We have a relationship with Him, we have dealings with Him but we could never completely know all His motives and thoughts.  If we did, we would have to be equal in knowledge and power with God.  Those who believe they completely understand God have created a small, false god that they can understand.

The senseless man is the brute that lives only to satisfy his appetite.  They are like grass in that they spring up quickly.  They aren't deeply rooted and don't grow strong.  They rise and fall in a short time. 

⁸ But You, LORD, are on high forevermore.
⁹ For behold, Your enemies, O LORD,
For behold, Your enemies shall perish;
All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
God is enthroned on high for all eternity.  No enemy will prevail against Him.  While it seems like the enemies of God are all around in our world, in the end, they will all perish. All sin will be dealt with, the workers of iniquity will be scattered.  But for now, God is patient with sinners.  He was patient enough to wait until we received our salvation.  He is allowing that same offer for others.  A time is coming soon when that offer will end and the book will be closed.

¹⁰ But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox;
I have been anointed with fresh oil.
¹¹ My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies;
My ears hear my desire on the wicked
Who rise up against me.
The Psalmist was strengthened and empowered by the Lord alone.  He saw his enemies fall before him.  He heard of the wicked receiving what he desired.  The Psalmist takes no credit.  He gives the glory and thanks to God.  In seeking the Lord, the Psalmists desires aligned with the desires of the Lord God.  God has changed his heart.  We could do no better than to find our desires being aligned with God's desire.  We don't change God's thinking......God changes our thinking.

¹² The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
¹⁵ To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

God is the solid, unchanging rock.  As we grow in the Lord, our hearts are changed; our desires are changed.  Our righteousness comes from the Jesus.  There is no righteousness of our own.  The righteous is like the tree that grows strong and mighty like the cedar.  To be planted in the house of the Lord is to find have our root system in Holy ground.  This is the picture of a tree that grows because of the outstanding nourishment and supply of Living water.  To be fed with living water and standing on the Rock will keep us fresh and flourishing and bearing fruit, even in old age. 

We can see how our lives would change if we reflected on these truths every Sabbath.  This would serve as a constant reminder of who He is and who we are and that our source of life is found in Him.