Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

PSALM 92: IT IS GOOD TO GIVE THANKS The Sabbath of Praise

This is the only Psalm that is designated to be sung on the Sabbath day and was traditionally ‘sung in the morning at the drink offering of the 1st Tamid (sacrificial) lamb 1 .’ Some Rabbis fancifully imagined it to be a Psalm written by Adam as a celebration of when God rested on the Sabbath of Creation while most Rabbis throughout history viewed it ‘as descriptive of the final Sabbath of the world’s rest 2 .’ It is a wonderful revelation of how thanking and praising God is a practical way of entering the promised Sab- bath rest transplanting us from the deserts and mountains of this world into the courts of God’s house. ‘Yaweh’, the most sacred name for God appears seven times in the psalm corresponding to the Sab- bath theme of seven days. Jesus is seen as the ‘Lord of the Sabbath’ bringing true rest, joy and victory to the heart of mankind. It is outlined in three segments:

I IT IS GOOD TO PROCLAIM - 1-4 II WHAT GREAT MIRACLES - 5-9 III THE GODLY WILL FLOURISH - 10-15

INTRODUCTION:

“A psalm to be sung on the Lord’s Day. A song.” (“For the Sabbath day.” NIV)

There is no certain author presented for this favorite gem of a song. The church has sung this for centuries on their weekly celebrations while the Jews also sing it on the second day of the holy ‘Feast of Shelters’ commemorating their yearly harvest.

I

IT IS GOOD TO PROCLAIM - 1-4

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by the harp and lute and the harmony of the lyre.” (1-3) If this psalm is ‘the final Sabbath of world history 3 ,’ as Delitzsch says, then these verses illustrate the worship of the church that is alive at the end of time; ‘giving thanks… singing praise…with harp…lute…lyre.’ God is telling us that these are good things to do when we celebrate the Sabbath. We look forward in faith by proclaiming his ‘unfailing love in the morning,’ and we look backward in gratitude by singing of his ‘faithfulness in the evening.” This psalm was sung at the lamb offering each day; “Offer two one-year-old lambs each day, one in the morning and the other in the evening.” (Ex. 29:28,29) After Christ offered himself as the Lamb of God we replace the physical lamb offering with these spiritual sac- rifices of thanks and praise. The various instruments named here are the predecessors to our modern guitars, lutes, violins, mandolins, harps and even the piano. The victorious church is represented in the Revelation of John singing the song of the lamb with harps; “They were all holding harps that God had given them. And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:” (Rev. 15:2,3) In a deeper sense God is unveiling ‘praise’ as a practical means of entering the Sabbath rest. When we praise the ‘Most High’ we cease from our own works and enter into the victory that is his alone! “So there is a special ‘Sabbath rest’ still waiting for the people of God. For all who enter into God’s rest will find rest from their labors, just as God rested after creating the world. Let us do our best to enter that place of rest.” (Heb. 4:9-11) We enter the realm of spiritual rest as we do our best to thank and praise him.

“You thrill me, Lord (Yahweh), with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.” (I sing for joy at the works of your hands. NIV) (4)

In the highest sense, Christ himself is the Sabbath rest of God and all who come to him find relief from the toil of this life. “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy bur- dens, and I will give you rest (Sabbath).” (Mt. 11:29) In the gospels he did special “works” on Sabbath days to prove his Lordship: “One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman

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