It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to
sing praises unto thy name, O most High (Ps. 92:1).
As the psalm’s inscription bears, upon the Sabbath-day, and
it is apparent, from different passages, that other psalms were applied to this
use. As the words may be read literally in the Hebrew, it is good for giving
thanks unto the Lord. Understand the Psalmist to mean that it was good to
have a certain day set apart for singing the praises of God—that it was a
useful arrangement by which one day had been chosen to be occupied by the
Lord’s people in celebrating his works.
The reason why the Psalmist appropriated this psalm to the
Sabbath is sufficiently obvious. That day is not to be holy, in the sense of
being devoted to idleness, as if this could be an acceptable worship to God,
but in the sense of our separating ourselves from all other occupations, to
engage in meditating upon the Divine works. As our minds are inconstant, we are
apt, when exposed to various distractions, to wander from God.
We need to be disentangled from all cares if we would
seriously apply ourselves to the praises of God.
The Psalmist then would teach us that the right observance
of the Sabbath does not consist in idleness, as some absurdly imagine, but in
the celebration of the Divine name. The argument which he adduces is drawn from
the profitableness of the service, for nothing is more encouraging than to know
that our labor is not in vain, and that what we engage in meets with the Divine
approbation. (Commentaries)
No comments:
Post a Comment