Give thanks!

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High. — Psalm 92:1

Psalm 92 is a “Song for the Sabbath day,” a resting place for those who are troubled.

The song begins with a commendation of praise: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord.” It does us good to turn from our unsettling and anxious thoughts to declare God’s “lovingkindness in the morning, and [His] faithfulness every night” (v. 2). God loves us and is always faithful! He makes us glad (v. 4).

Praise not only makes us glad, it makes us wise. We begin to understand something of God’s greatness and creative design in all that He does (vv. 5-9). We gain a wisdom that is hidden from those who do not know God. The wicked may “flourish” and “spring up like grass” for a moment (v. 7), but ultimately they will wither away.

The righteous, however, are joined to the One  who dwells in eternity (v. 8). They “flourish like a palm tree” and “like a cedar in Lebanon” (v. 12), symbols of graceful beauty and unbending strength. For they have been “planted in the house of the Lord” (v. 13). Their roots go down into the soil of God’s faithfulness; they draw on His unquenchable love.

Give thanks and praise to the Lord today! — David Roper

 
Oh, render thanks to God above,

The Fountain of eternal love,

Whose mercy firm through ages past

Has stood, and shall forever last. — Anon.

 
READ:  Psalm 92

A heart in tune with God can’t help but sing His praises.

 The Bible in one year:

• 1 Chronicles 7-9

• John 6:22-44