ئەپەکە بەدەست بهێنەDaily Encouragementنموونە
We need to hear this exhortation because very often gladness is conspicuous by its absence in our worship. Such gladness is like the sunshine - how do we let it in? The Psalm has the answer:
By recognizing who we worship: “Know that the Lord is God.” - the One who we worship, revealed in Scripture and supremely in Christ, is the only true and living God. “[T]he Lord is good”; the gods of men are not like him - they are not good. “God is love” - his love is a vast as eternity. And he is faithful - “his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
By remembering who we are: We are his creatures - “It is he who made us” (verse 3). We belong to him - “We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” We are his by right of creation and redemption.
By being thankful: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (verse 4). Gladness must be two-thirds praise! Thanksgiving is a characteristic of Paul’s epistles as gladness is of his worship and service.
Some translate verse 2, “Serve the Lord with gladness.” The distinction between worship and service is a narrow one in both Testaments. If the sunshine of gladness is evident in our worship, its radiance will inevitably reach our service too.
By recognizing who we worship: “Know that the Lord is God.” - the One who we worship, revealed in Scripture and supremely in Christ, is the only true and living God. “[T]he Lord is good”; the gods of men are not like him - they are not good. “God is love” - his love is a vast as eternity. And he is faithful - “his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
By remembering who we are: We are his creatures - “It is he who made us” (verse 3). We belong to him - “We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” We are his by right of creation and redemption.
By being thankful: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (verse 4). Gladness must be two-thirds praise! Thanksgiving is a characteristic of Paul’s epistles as gladness is of his worship and service.
Some translate verse 2, “Serve the Lord with gladness.” The distinction between worship and service is a narrow one in both Testaments. If the sunshine of gladness is evident in our worship, its radiance will inevitably reach our service too.
Scripture
About this Plan
Daily Encouragement is a year-long, daily devotional written by a life-long missionary. It offers readers a source of strength, direction and joy from the Scriptures as it chronologically unfolds highlighting key passages from Genesis to Revelation.
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We would like to thank, David Evans (author), Dan King and Parksville Baptist Church for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: http://pfbc.ca
