I’ve been meditating on Psalm 92, a song for the Sabbath. It is a wonderful psalm of corporate worship and praise. Allow me to share a few thoughts with you.

The first sentence says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord to sing praises… to declare your steadfast love in the morning and Your faithfulness by night.” Ask yourself, what is good in your world? What causes us to rejoice and hope today?

I think about my children, grandchildren, the ability to work, good health, having good friends, seeing our loved ones succeed, having food, a home, some leisure time; all are God’s blessings. Of much less significance, yet still bringing us joy, is our team’s ability to win, having a hobby that brings us pleasure, enjoying good music, good food, or a peaceful evening of conversation with those we love. But all these pale in comparison with our union with Christ, the blessing of forgiveness, love, joy, peace and the promise of our future glorification.

That is why the Psalmist says that it is good to give thanks to the Lord. His steadfast love never ends. The works of the Lord make us glad and sing for joy. The thoughts and plans of the Lord are deep, beyond all that we could ask or think. They are for our good and for His glory. We can be grateful as we consistently see our life and circumstances coming from God’s hands.

Think for a moment about the works of our God. The Westminster confession says in chapter 5: God, the creator of all things, doth both uphold,  direct, dispose and govern all creatures, actions, and things from the greatest to the least, by His most wise and holy Providence…to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. We are confident that our God is sovereign and good; that nothing reaches us without passing through His divine filter.

This psalm goes on to say, “That though the wicked may sprout up like grass and evildoers flourish for a time… behold your enemies shall perish and be scattered.” What a comfort to know that those that oppose us will be defeated. In fact He goes on to say, “That the righteous will flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar.” It reminds me of Psalm 1 that declares, “the righteous will be like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season.”

Psalm 92:14 speaks directly to many of us as we mature. “They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green.” Tim Keller says, “If we maintain fellowship with God over the years, there is a kind of freshness that comes with increasing age. It is not the naïveté of perpetual spiritual adolescence. It is the spiritual vigor that grows only out of years of trusting God in prayer, coupled with the wisdom that comes from a treasure chest of rich memories, both sorrowful and sweet.” Amen!

This Psalm closes with, “Declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Psalm 18:2 says it similarly, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer… in whom I take refuge” He is holy, never changing and always with me. It is good to give thanks!