Monday Devotional: July 24, 2023

Bible Reading: Psalm 105:1-11, 45b (NRSVUE)

1 O give thanks to the Lord; call on his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
5 Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles and the judgments he has uttered,
6 O offspring of his servant Abraham,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He is mindful of his covenant forever,
of the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”
45 Praise the Lord!

The word thanks may be one of the most widely used words in the English language- or any language for that matter. To say thanks is to acknowledge gratitude for the generosity of another. In this psalm, however, we may better translate the word thanks as “praise”. When we offer praise we go beyond merely saying thanks. We express more than gratitude; we express worship. Worship involves bowing down before God, demonstrating that we acknowledge God as ruler of the universe. God is God and we are not. The psalmist wants us to sing songs of praise and worship that honor the Lord, that communicate extreme appreciation for God’s active involvement in redeeming humans, that reveal to the outside world God’s love for all humanity.

God is an everlasting presence whose love compels human beings to love God in return and love others as a result of God’s love for us. God’s great activity of redemption displayed through God’s mighty works of miracles, wonders, judgments draw God’s worshipers to “seek his face,” to live in continuous pursuit of God’s presence, to remember all that God has done for humankind- and for us personally. We worship God most fully when we obey God’s laws. God has faithfully kept the everlasting covenant with us. What results from that covenant? Land, portion, inheritance. The psalmist recalls Israel’s salvation history of miraculous action, faith in God’s promise, a future of hope, and lives of well-being. “Praise the Lord.”

Prayer:

Help me, God, to move past a flippant “thanks” to you and replace it with songs of praise that emerge from my faithful obedience. Amen

By Chris Folmsbee, The Upper Room Disciplines 2017, page 250.