Serving God means above all that we thank, praise, and worship Him for the Lord Jesus and for His finished work on Calvary's cross. That is what God values most! Then we do what we have been called and sanctified by God, namely to be "priests".
Take the Psalms, for example. That collection of songs in the middle of the Bible is quite special. One of the things you actually notice immediately is that the praise in the Psalms is constantly and directly connected to daily life. A daily life in which difficulties and struggles frequently occur and one can feel alone. Then still to praise God for His wonderful deeds, that is something we may learn from David and the other psalm poets. Daily to praise our God and Father for the Lord Jesus and to thank and honor the Lord Jesus for Who He is and what He did on the cross - and for what He is still doing for us in heaven today! For all His wonderful deeds!
Perhaps it would be a good idea to read through the Psalms with these glasses in the near future. It may encourage us to become "better Godlovers.
Recently I read Psalm 22; therefore, a few thoughts on this Psalm.
“But you are holy
You are enthroned in the praises of Israel.
Our fathers trusted in you,
they trusted and You set them free.
To you they have cried and they are saved,
in You they have trusted, and they are not ashamed.”.
(Psalm 22:4-6)
The image of the holy God enthroned on Israel's hymns is very special. It shows something of the value that the hymns of praise have for God. He rests, as it were, on them; they are His throne. With reverence, without hymns of praise God cannot rest. Moreover, it exalts Him above others; it is not a throne for nothing. It glorifies Him, His glory is increased by it.
The psalmist then links the hymn to the trust God's people have in the Lord and how they have not been ashamed of it. Here we see the combination of praise with faith and God's deliverance in daily life.
It is remarkable that the Psalmist says these things after he himself has found in his great distress that God does not hear him and has abandoned him. It strengthens his lament: You leave me alone, while You have always heard and saved Your people!
Yet he can finally say it in verse 22: "You have heard me." That's the turning point. Then he speaks (or sings?) of the praise that is brought to God in the congregation of those who fear the Lord. He speaks of God finally reaching His goal: His praise!
“In the midst of the church I will praise You.
You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
all the descendants of Jacob, worship Him;
…
Yours shall be my praise in a great congregation
…
those who seek the Lord will praise Him.”
(Psalm 22:23-27)
How close we come to the cross of Golgotha when we hear the Lord Jesus cry there at about the ninth hour, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"(Matthew 27:46). How prophetic the other words about what people did to Him and the suffering He had to accept from God's hand.
“You put me in the dust of death” (verse 16)
It is no wonder that what comes next in the Psalm is also applied to the Lord Jesus in the New Testament.
“For it became Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, that, in order to bring many children to glory, He should sanctify the ruler of their salvation through suffering.
For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of one. Therefore he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
for he saith, I will declare thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will sing praises to you“.
(Hebrews 2:10-12)
The Lord Jesus had to suffer so that He Himself could sing praise in the midst of a praising congregation. That was what was in God's heart and for which He gave His Son.
If we look to the Lord Jesus, we may already sing the praises with Him now and soon we will do that for all eternity!
“(…) because he did itt”
(Psalm 22:32 King James Version)
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