“A Good Thing”
Psalms 92:1
In this 19th book of the Bible, admits its 150 chapters, 2,461 verses, 43,743 words, we find the three words that formulate the subject of this message, “A good thing.” Now the book of Psalms is broken up into divisions or subcategories, and book four where Psalms 92 is arranged carries a theme for instructions for the future of Israel. In other words, it is an instruction as to how the children of Israel, God’s elect people, the church, are to behave themselves, especially on the Sabbath. For the Jews on Saturday, for us on Sunday. Although the Sabbath is a day of rest, and I should not be working in the field, tending to my animals, washing my car, painting my house, cutting the grass, barbecuing and drinking, there is something that is good to do, the Psalmist declares , ”It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.”
First of all because it is a privilege to do so. God allows us, He admits us, He permits us to give Him thanks. There are so many that do not have the chance, who are not given the opportunity each day to thank the Lord. Some did not make it here today. Somebody died last night, somebody is dying right now, and they will not have the chance give thanks to the Lord. Don’t you know creation gives thanks unto the Lord, because it is a good thing? The birds give thanks to Him with their sweet, sultry, songs in the morning time. The Sun gives thanks by ascending with a great shout and bursting forth with beams of radiant light in the morning time. The green grass gives thanks as it grows with up outstretched blades up toward heaven as if it were arms, saying thank you Lord, for letting me grow here where I have been planted! Therefore, the Psalmist declares, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord!”
Secondly, because it is a good thing. It is pleasant, it is proper to do so, it is right, it is best, it is delightful, to both us and to God. It carries with it the connotation that God smiles on it, and we should be happy to extol Him. It is a good thing! We know we can’t give God anything, for how can we give God anything, when He has everything! However, we can offer and render unto Him thanks. It is a good thing, the Psalmist declares to give thanks to the Lord. He does not need us to thank Him. Some of us believe God needs our half baked, half done, halfhearted thanks. If God’s existence, power or majesty, depended on our thanks, He’d be gone by now. Our thanks is fair weather thanks. I’ll thank Him when I feel like it. I’ll thank Him when everything is going fine. I’ll thank Him when my pockets are full. I’ll thank Him when there is no trouble. I’m singing in the choir, I am making rehearsal as long as I lead every song, or I am the leader of my section, or we sing every song I suggest. But as soon as a rain cloud pops up. As soon as they pick someone else. As soon as the pick a choir robe color I don’t like. As soon as somebody else becomes choir president, I stop singing, I stop going to rehearsal, and I stop giving God thanks! As soon as the money gets funny and the change becomes strange. As soon as our health fails and we get a diagnosis, we stop thanking the Lord. The Psalmist did not indicate in the Psalm what type of situation to give thanks unto the Lord. He said, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.”, which lets me know anytime, any place, or anywhere, in any state I may find myself in…it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord! Giving thanks unto the Lord certainly has its benefits! Am I right about it? Is there someone here that has benefited from giving thanks unto the Lord? In contrast to the dangers of ingratitude, the benefits of a thankful attitude include: Guarding against ungodly attitudes and works. Teaching God’s "way of give," as we give thanks. Promoting good spiritual, mental, moral and physical health. In addition, it is good common sense (mother wit) to thank God when He has answered our prayers. After all, we undoubtedly will need help again! The Psalmist says it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.”
Who do we give thanks to? Unto the Lord. LORD should be in all capital letters in your bible. Every time we see this it is a proper name of God and it denotes Jehovah, which means the Self- Existent One. This name for God appears in the Old Testament 6,823 times, and signifies God is self sufficient to exist. His existence depends on no other. I have always existed in the past and will always exist in the future! I am that I am! I know you want to give thanks to your Momma for making you so fine. I know you want to give thanks to your Daddy for giving you good hair, and all those muscles! I know you want to thank your plastic surgeon for improving your curves and boulevards. I know you want to thank the makers of wigs, eyeliner, mascara, toupees, hair grow, but we should be thanking God! Yes, we should thank folks that do some things for us, but we should thank God that does everything for us! We should acknowledge and thank God for His loving kindness and faithfulness toward us. In His love and faithfulness, He had endowed us with so much. We should constantly think about blessings and thank God for them, and be careful not to take them for granted: His truth, which He continues to reveal to us. His gifts, spiritual and physical, that He continually pours out to us. His church and our part in it. His ministry and their unstinting service to us. Our brethren and the opportunities for fellowship with and service to them. Our families and their health and prosperity. Our nations and all the blessings that accrue from our citizenship. And myriads of other gifts and good things He bestows so freely. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.”
What else does the Psalmist declare is a good thing? “And to sing praises unto thy name.” I believe this is what we are celebrating today. I believe both choirs and musicians have done an excellent job in giving thanks to God through song and music here today. There is something about singing. There is something about giving thanks unto God through singing praises in song. With uplifted voices and stringed instruments. What did the nation of Israel do right after Pharaoh’s army drowned? What did Deborah and the sons of Israel do after they subdued the king of Canaan? What did Jesus and the disciples do right after the first Lord’s Supper? What did Paul and Silas do at midnight in prison? They sang! In fact, the largest book of the Bible—the Psalms—is nothing less than a hymnbook. Did you ever ask ‘why’? What’s the big deal about singing? What’s so special about blending words together with the proper intonation and rhythm? Why is this such a good tool for worshipping God? I freely admit I don’t know. I speculate that God is pleased by the unity required. The voices of His people declaring praise to Him all at once should communicate our unified belief in the truths we are singing, in the greatness of our God and in His worthiness to receive glory. I also believe that God invented music and made it a natural response of His creatures to Him and His work. God informed Job that the “morning stars”—the angels—sang as He “laid the foundation of the earth”. I know our old one hundreds or meter hymns were passed down from our fore parents symbolized God’s mercy, grace, and deliverance! Everytime I hear an old one hundred it sends chills down my spine, probably the same chills that Momma felt as someone sang them to conversion on the mourner’s bench. Singing is powerful and moving! “It would be difficult to overstate the power of the musical language,” according to Ronald Allen, Old Testament Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, and Gordon Borror, Associate Professor of Music and Worship at Western Theological Seminary, in their now classic book, Worship: Rediscovering the Missing Jewel. They continue, “It has emotional-mental stimulation unmatched by any other means of communication. Words alone can be and often are very strong, but couple them with the ‘right’ music and they can be burned into the mind and consciousness indelibly.” Singing well-crafted lyrics can have far more impact than the same words simply spoken. How many of us learned our ABC’s by first learning the “Now I Know My ABC’s” song? How many of us can recite the words to an old song only by singing the melody? How many of us 30-somethings can list all the ingredients of a Big Mac because of that old McDonald’s jingle? Singing is a regular part of our worship services. We begin and end by singing songs together. But singing is more than just a tool to get everyone in a good mood. It is more than just preliminary to the preaching. It is more than just something we do because that’s what Christians do. We do it because:
The Bible tells us to sing!
In the book of Psalms alone one can quickly count more than 35 times where we are told to sing. In the process of counting, you’ll find no conditional clauses. In other words, we are not allowed to opt out of singing if we can’t sing very well or if we don’t feel like it or if we don’t like the looks of the worship leader. Another 30 times or more, the psalmist declares, “I will sing!” He is saying that even if I am the only one, even if I don’t feel like it, even if life gets in the way, I will do it! I’m committing myself to this worthwhile exercise.
The Bible tells us who should sing
“All the earth” (1 Chronicles 16:23; Psalm 96:1) and “all the kingdoms of the earth” (Psalm 68:32) are instructed to sing praise to the one, true God. No one is exempt from giving thanks and honoring the God who has made Himself known through the world around us (Romans 1:20). How much more should we—who have been given the right to become children of God (John 1:12)—be singing His praises?! It is not just the choir’s job, but everyone should help them lift Jesus!
The Bible tells us what to sing
Several times in the Psalms, we are instructed to “sing a new song” to the Lord. Why a new song? Because God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23)! A new song can be an old song sung with a new sense of God’s presence in your life. A new song can be a spontaneous noise—a whistle or a hum—coming from a joyful heart. We are also instructed to sing a variety of songs to the Lord (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19)! It is not exactly clear what Paul meant when he told us to speak “to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs...” My understanding is he was telling us to use a variety of songs. “Psalms” were almost certainly selections from the Old Testament book of Psalms. “Hymns,” according to Greek scholars, were songs of praise “in honor of a divinity.” It is a good thing to give thanks and sing praises unto the Lord, O most high!
The Bible tells us when to sing
Obviously, singing is not just for Sunday morning! The Psalmist says in the morning and every night. In Psalm 104, the psalmist resolved, “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” That’s all the time! This idea of constantly singing is echoed in Psalms 5 and 61. Our mentors in the Bible sang in times of deliverance from evil—such as when Pharaoh’s army was defeated (Exodus 15). They sang in times of great joy—such as when Solomon dedicated the temple (2 Chronicles 5:13). They sang in times of revival—such as when Hezekiah restored temple worship (2 Chronicles 29:30). They sang in times of persecution—such as when Paul and Silas were beaten with rods and thrown into prison with their feet in stocks (Acts 16:22-25). Like Babie Mason sings, “Right now is the right time to praise the Lord!”
The Bible tells us how to sing
Over and over we are instructed by the writers of Scripture to “sing with joy”,” thanksgiving”, and “gladness”. The bottom line of “how” we should sing is wrapped up in the word heart. Paul tells us that we should be “making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). Singing—as with all outward expressions of worship—is a matter of the heart behind the expression. Jesus said, “True worshipers shall worship the father in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). Jesus used the word “spirit” referring to our spirit—our inner person. If you’ve been blessed with a good singing voice—fantastic! Use that instrument to make melody from your heart. If you use it to show off or draw attention to yourself, you’ve stopped using God’s gift for spiritual, true worship. Don’t just sing from your diaphragm—sing from your heart! If the word “gift” or “blessed” does not come to mind when you think of your singing voice, don’t let that stop you from singing the way God wants us to sing—from the heart.
The Bible tells us why to sing
Did you ever ask why we are to sing? Is it so we can impress others? Enjoy ourselves? Win the lost to Christ? Win over the visitors so that they run to the pastor after the service and say, “I’ve got to join this church—the singing is wonderful!” No. We are to sing to God because He is worthy of our songs of worship. Verse 4 says, “For thou, the Lord has made me glad through thy work.” I know this is just a reminder for you. But I hear Momma saying,” I love the Lord, because he Heard my cry! It is a good thing to sing to the Lord because if I have lost my way, “I can sing Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on and Let me stand.” It is a good thing to sing to the Lord because when I am sad I can sing that song, ”I get joy when I think about what he done for me.” When I think about what the Lord has done for me, I can sing that song, “At the Cross at the Cross where I first saw the light and the burdens of my heart rolled away, it was there by faith I received my sight, and now I am happy all the days.” When I think about the goodness of the Lord, I can sing that song, “Jesus went to Calvary, to save the wretch like you and me. That’s love!” They hung Him high. They stretched Him wide, He hung His head for me He died. That’s love! But that’s now how the story ends three days later He rose again. That’s love! It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and sing praises. Everywhere I go, everywhere I be, I’ll tell the world, I’ve found a Savior and He is sweet I know!
