November 4

Worshipping with Steadfast Faith

“My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” (Psalms 108:1-4)

When is the last time you tried to assemble something without using the enclosed instructions? It is true that sometimes the instructions leave things out or don’t make much sense, but I have learned that it is wise to use them as the primary guide for assembly. My friends helped me put together my captain’s bed, with shelves at the head and drawers at the foot. It took us about three hours, and there was a point when the directions just weren’t enough. We stopped, studied the parts and the picture of the completed bed, trying to decide what to do next, and how to do it. We finally did figure it out.

Unlike instructions for a bed or other item, God’s Word gives us perfectly written directions about how to worship him. One example is our passage above, which opens with the exclamation, “My heart is steadfast!” I am struck by the strength of David’s opening, by his confidence in his heart, and his enthusiasm for worshipping his God. How did his heart become so firm, so resolute, and unwavering? The answer is in verse 4; he has experienced God’s firm, resolute, unwavering love, and faithfulness toward him and his people. God has worked in David, to align David’s heart with his, as he learned to depend upon him for victory against Israel’s enemies. “With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.” (v. 13)

David’s confidence is not in his ability to fight Israel’s foes in his own power or to expect the Lord to do the fighting without David’s involvement. Beds don’t assemble themselves. David must insert himself into the battle in a significant way, but desires to do so with a steadfast heart and with all his “being.” The Hebrew phrase “all my being” here is the same verbiage as “with all my glory” in Psalm 57:8. (1) “[‘My glory’] being the most honorable, glorious, and excellent part of man; is the breath of God, of his immediate production; is a spirit incorporeal and immortal; is possessed of glorious powers and faculties; had the image of God stamped upon it, which made man the glory of God.” (2)

Because of what God has done in and for David and Israel, David’s heart is fixed on praising God in song publicly with thanksgiving. He calls on all creation to wake up to worship the Lord. How much more reason do we have to do the same this Sabbath, having our hearts and spirits aligned with Jesus Christ through the power of his Spirit indwelling us. Is your heart awakened to praise God today, in his power, having his glory working in you? I pray that mine is, having heard God’s glorious instructions for worship, with a steadfast heart.

(1) ESV Study Bible Notes, Psalm 108:1, (digital edition), Crossway, 2008.

(2) John Gill’s Exposition on the Whole Bible, Psalm 57:8 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/psalms-57.html