The calendar tells us that this is “Thanksgiving Week.” But we know that beyond the day-off from work there is very little genuine thanksgiving. And you know that Friday is extremely important in the world of commerce. Also the ink of Black Friday has been seeping over into Thanksgiving for years. But have you noticed that those stores which are trying to jump the gun with Pre-Black Friday sales, seem to deliberately avoid saying “Thanksgiving?” They only say, “Sale starts Thursday.” There is less and less Thanksgiving every year.
Where there is an expression of thankfulness, it is often misplaced. It is a thankfulness for those sales; for a nice family; for good health; for no snow yet this winter. But I suggest that it cannot be true thanksgiving when the One to whom the thanks should be given is utterly denied, rejected or redefined. I think that these five verses deal with this subject.
Of all the great Psalms, this is one of those which Psalm-loving people really love. It is commonly ascribed to David, but that is open to debate. It is a part of a set of Psalms from 93-119, sometimes entitled – “Jehovah is King.” This evening, I want to take our thoughts beyond simple thanksgiving into the broader area of worship.
Some good synonyms for “worship” are: adoration, homage, reverence, and glorification. My dictionary says that worship is “an act of giving thanks; an expression of gratitude, especially to God.” A more spiritual definition might be: “the overflow of a grateful heart, under a sense of Divine favour.” Someone has said that it is “the outpouring of a soul at rest in the presence of God.” It is the occupation of an heart, not with its needs or even with its blessings, but with God himself. The origin of the English word “worship” lies in its linguistic mother – “worthship.” It originally meant to ascribe to God His worth or worthiness. “Worship” originated in “worthship.”
I think that there are three major things in this Psalm that we should consider about worship.
True worship, and therefore true thanksgiving, is founded on knowledge.
How can anyone ascribe to God His worthiness, if we don’t know His worth? Just as you’ll never enjoy a book written in language that you can’t understand, you will not read, nor enjoy, the worship of Jehovah without knowing Him. “Know ye that the Lord he is God” – verse 3.
There is a mistaken idea floating about that worship is a thing entirely of the heart. And without controversy, without the heart there will be no genuine worship. But you cannot worship the Lord properly without the engaging of your mind. To paraphrase Shakespeare, “Words without thoughts never to heaven fly.” And someone else said, “Whoever the mother of worship is, it’s definitely not ignorance.” And this is one of the things which really drives me crazy with the modern use of “worship” choruses and their vain, repetitive monosyllabic babbling. Empty words, no matter how religious they may sound, cannot be called “worship.” And no one can really worship the Lord before they know the Lord.
There are many people who THINK they worship the Lord, but who don’t. They run off to mass several times a week or recite the so-called “Lord’s prayer” over and over again. They make the sign of the cross and genuflect, and so on a so forth. But they aren’t worshiping the same Lord who is found in this Psalm. Genuflecting and making the sign of the cross across our chest are not to be found in the Bible. And that includes the repetitive recitation of the “Lord’s Prayer.” Despite the fact that every good thing this nation enjoys today has been given to it by Jehovah, Thursday will not be a “Thanksgiving day,” because the thanksgivers don’t really know the Lord. Sometimes – rarely – they recognize the gift, but they haven’t recognized the Giver. I am of the opinion that those who don’t worship the Lord regularly, at least Sunday after Sunday, are not very likely to properly worship Him on the fourth Thursday of November. They don’t worship the Lord once a year, because they don’t worship Him more often.
We have in these verses, three kinds of relationships described. First, the Person that Bible believers worship is our Creator. “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” Isn’t it amazing Lord foresaw the latter day conflict between Christianity and Evolution? Of course not. I was reading Gill’s Commentary on this text, and there isn’t a word there about evolution. That’s because John Gill came before Charles Darwin. Ah, but then we come to Spurgeon whose life began about the time that Darwin’s was dwindling. In his commentary on the same scriptures, he mentions evolution as though it was a dangerous monster that had been around for years. Today evolution has it’s tentacles reaching into almost every area of thought. But God gave to the Christian a sword with which to strike it down – before it was ever born.
We owe our Creator thanks and worship for permitting us to enjoy the wonders His creation. The Lord has graciously showered us with physical blessings. The beauty of the snow-covered mountains; the brilliance of the sunset. The fascination of the new born baby; the healing capability of own bodies. We owe our Creator our worship. Not forgetting for a moment that the new creation in Christ Jesus, is infinitely more miraculous and beautiful than anything that we can find in this world.
Secondly, we worship Jehovah as our Owner. “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people.” We are the property of Jehovah through His rights as Creator. As every beast of forest is His, and cattle upon a thousand hills, we belong to the Lord as well. But for the Christian, it is much, much more than that. “What, know ye not your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you which ye have of God and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price.” You have been bought with the precious blood of the Saviour, haven’t you? He deserves our highest praise!
And then the Lord is our sustainer. “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” That thought about sheep leads us into Psalm 23; and John 10. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,” because He is my shepherd. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters.” “He restoreth my soul.” Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd” – the good shepherd giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
This is the God to whom our worship and thanksgiving is due. “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Most people begin and end their thoughts of God, if they have any, in only the things which He has given. But those who truly want to worship aright concentrate on knowing and worshipping Him. The Psalmist encourages us to worship by saying, “I’ve looked at His character. “I have found the Lord to be GOOD.” This is the sum of His character, the whole reason for His worship. But then He is merciful too, as the Christian has found out personally. He’s not a cold and stern judge sitting upon an unsurmountable throne. He has a warmth that can only be described as “mercy.” And then too, He is consistent with Himself in truth. “Every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from heaven, from the father of lights in whom is no variableness neither shaddow of turning.” “He is the rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment, a God of Truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. True worship begins in the knowledge of Him Whom we worship – it is founded in knowledge.
But then it is sounded in praise.
There is a devotional kind of worship that is expressed secretly in the heart. Like Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus There is a communion between the saint and Saviour that is just as real and warm in a deaf mute as it is in the most outgoing extrovert in the Kingdom of God.
But the kind of worship which the Bible really extols is the noisy kind. “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. “Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” This is an area that so many fundamental Baptists seem to neglect. Maybe it’s out of fear that we might be depicted as holy-roller, charismatics. But Isaac Watts was no Trinity Broadcasting Network, charismatic, rapper or rock’n’roller. Yet through his songs he preached, and we concur, every time we sing. “Let those refuse sing who never knew our God, but favorites of heavenly king, but favorites of the Heavenly King, must speak his praise abroad; must speak his praise abroad.”
Devotion toward our Lord is most beautifully expressed in praise and song. And it makes our service of God all the more delightful. There is a story of the construction of a cathedral in land where there were already many cathedrals. The wealthy king who commissioned this new house of prayer wanted it to excel all others. So he ordered that there be a choir present to sing the praises of God as workers put mortar to stone. The workmen were not any more skilled than any of their predecessors. They had no more money or any better equipment or supplies. But when the cathedral was finished – in record time – it surpassed anything ever built in that land. The sound of praise to the Lord, not only stirs the best within us, but it enlists God’s blessings on our behalf.
“When thou hast eaten and art full, thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. ” “Let us be giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints of light.” “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
True worship is sounded in praise.
And then true worship is expounded in service.
“Serve the LORD with gladness.” To “expound” something is to explain it and define it. And my point this: Words of praise from lives of waste are like wooden nickels from the man pretending to be wealthy. I won’t say, hold your tongue if you refuse to serve the Lord with your life. But I will say, stop playing the hypocrite and put it all together. Words of praise coming from an empty life are like fancy wrapping paper around an empty present. Isn’t such a gift better not even given?
And then David says, “Make sure that your thanksgiving service is rendered with gladness.” There is no need for the child of God to serve with slavish fear. For there will never be found a better Master than our Lord.
What does this short Psalm teach? “Know ye that the Lord he is God;” True worship is founded in Knowledge. “Make a joyful noise unto Lord;” True worship is sounded in Praise and Thanksgiving. “Serve the Lord with gladness:” True worship is expounded in doing His will.