Psalm 33:1-5
At our charge conference I was able to see a contrast in worship attitudes. The event started with some praise songs – the first being a song about singing, clapping, dancing and jumping in celebration of God. The concluding ceremony was a somber, silent parade of pastors bringing their statistical reports forward. I suppose we all celebrated God in all that we did, but I prefer the jumping and dancing.
What type of attitude is presented in Psalm 33? What instruments are listed? What attitude and approach is suggested? What reasons are given?
Five simple verses sum up our approach to appreciating God. We are called to praise God. We are called to give thanks. And why is this? Because it is fitting for the faithful to do so. The word of the Lord is right and true. In other words, God can be trusted to give us good things, so we should thank Him for His generosity.
Our praise and gratitude should not be a narrow, limited thing, but something that encompasses all things. We should praise with harp and lyre. We should shout our praises. And, I find it interesting, we should “play skillfully.” God deserves our heartfelt and intentional praise, praise that requires a little effort on our part.
So many give thanks to God on a limited scale – only when reminded or when the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays roll around. But our praise should not be something we forget, neglect or overlook. It should be heartfelt and constant. It should be something we invest ourselves in.
We should be joyful in our gratitude, not grudging. We should be skilled in our praise, and not second-rate. We have so much to thank God for that we should never forget all of His blessings. After all “he is faithful in all he does,” and “the earth is full of his unfailing love.”
DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you praise and thank God “skillfully?”
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