Thursday: A Psalm for the Sabbath
Read Psalm 92.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
What does this tell us, at least in part, about what the experience of Sabbath keeping should be like? Why, when thinking about the Lord, should we express the kind of joy expressed in this psalm?
The psalmist obviously knew the Lord, knew what the Lord was like, knew what the Lord had done, and knew what the Lord was going to do one day. And it is for these reasons that he expresses the joy that he does.
Look, too, at the rich themes expressed in this, a “psalm for the Sabbath day.”
First and foremost, there is praise and thankfulness to God for His loving-kindness and faithfulness. Plus, any “psalm for the Sabbath” would, of course, include acknowledgment of God as Creator, which we see here, as well.
Also, look at the theme of judgment here. In the Bible, God’s judgment is not just against the wicked but also in favor of the righteous (see Dan. 7:20-28). These two aspects of judgment are revealed here in the psalm, as well. Even if we don’t see these promises fulfilled now, we have the promise that this judgment ultimately will come at the end of time, when God creates all things new (Rev. 21:5).
If we get nothing else out of this psalm, we should see that the Sabbath, however sacred, is a time to delight in the Lord, to rejoice in Him and in all that He has done for us and has promised to do. The whole tone of the psalm is that of praise, joy, and happiness, not because of anything that the psalmist had done but only because of all that the Lord had done and promised to do.
What a gift to be given: one-seventh of our lives set apart every week to rest and to be able—free from the busyness and stress of mundane existence—to rejoice in the works of the Lord for us.
How can you learn to rejoice in the Sabbath as does the psalmist here in this psalm? If you are not having that experience, why not?
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What a great privilege to rejoice in the Lord! Phil 4v6 makes it so plain that we are to rejoice always and in the light of today's part of the lesson we are to rejoice even more on the Sabbath day. It must not be just some show we put on on God's holy day. We are not to have a face for the week and then one for the sabbath but we are to rejoice always and again I say rejoice! So help us God! Amen! This is what the sabbath is really about. Am truly grateful for this lesson.
For us to rejoice on the Sabbath, it must be that all the week long we rejoice in the Lord, knowing that, we are not of our own. Our very existence is due to His sustaining power. The fruits if our labors are because of His abundant resources He has endowed us with. Our Life, because of His Breath of life in us.In short, we are empty without Him, like a sheep without a shepherd.
The rich rejoicing on the sabbath therefore, should come with a realization that the Lord our God is a Creator, Redeemer,sanctifier...His Lord of our lives.May we follow and trust Him by faith.
We should praise God. David thanked God for lots of things. In case you didn't notice,here's the text:Psalm 92. This Psalm teaches us to praise and give thanks to God. God bless you,and I say again rejoice!!
I don't know if the writer of the lessons was in a hurray to complete the lessons or not, but it seems to me that other psalms would be more suitable for the thought being conveyed such as Psalm 111:1-10. Psalm 92: has good thoughts, but does not harmonize with the message being given.
I see both chapters in Psalms connecting; more so Psalms111:1-10 and then Psalms 92:1-5.
it is a great privilege to be a creature held at high esteem by God even to the extent of giving Christ's life for our redemption our joy aught to be complete on the sabbath to acknowledge the Infinite One.
I am called "Sabbath." A day which God blessed during creation.God made me (Sabbath) superior among the other days.I am the last born of my siblings(days). God loves me and he blessed me. Rejoice in the Lord those who worship on me(Sabbath)for your toil shall never be in vain.
I urge you Dennis to read the titles of the lessons and then relate with the scriptures very well. The whole of this week we are learning about the Sabbath, and if the lesson writer brings out a psalm for the sabbath, I see no problem there. Perhaps actually you are the one who was in the hurry that you failed to understand the writer's message. There are many psalms in the Bible but we are learning about a "Sabbath Psalm". and how do you say, it doesn't harmonize with the message being given? In the NIV Psalm 111 has no title while Psalm 92 has one which is 'A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day', so Dennis which of the two psalms according to what I have written here harmonize with the message being given?
God bless.
Sabbath Rest and Enemies
Not only does the Psalm for the Sabbath meditate on creation and the creator, including some kind of intelligent design (Psalm 92:4-5; cf. Isaiah 55:8-9), but he is also considering the enemies of God to be destroyed for ever (verse 7). Evil is not going on and on for ever. This is the blessed hope of rest in eternity that the sabbath rest here and now is aiming at and ponting to. The psalmist knows: One day the enemies are going to be destroyed and scattered (verse 9). He is looking foreward to be planted in the house of the Lord to florish like a palm tree (verse 12-13), expecting eternal communion with the creator and redeemer in all eternity with no enemies present there.
David was surrounded by enemies, but he enjoyed communion at the present time already. The Lord is preparing a table of communion for David in the presence of the enemies looking on (Psalm 32:5). The Sabbath is a sign of that present rest the enemies cannot spoil nor take away. It is also a sign of the eternal rest with no enemies present there.
The Sabbath also is a sign of resting in Gods grace our High Priest is offering in the heavently sanctuary on the throne of grace, inviting all to be partakers of that grace (Hebres 4:4.10. 14-16). We are sure that no enemy can separate us from that rest, be it now or in eternity. That is good news.
Winfried Stolpmann
Winfried,
Thank you for your comments: "David was surrounded by enemies, but he enjoyed communion at the present time. The Lord is preparing a table of communion for David in the presence of the enemies looking on (Psalm 32:5). The Sabbath is a sign of that present rest the enemies cannot spoil nor take away."
It is a wonderful reminder that we live in a world of enemies but God's presence is always with us. I am also grateful that you pointed out that the enemy can't spoil our rest in God. Nor can the enemy take away our joy. I hadn't thought of it like that before.
Please is it only those who worship on the sabbath shall go to heaven?.I have been wondering about this since this week sabbath school is concern
"Please is it only those who worship on the sabbath shall go to heaven?" That is not the simple question it first appears to be so my immediate simplistic answer is yes and no. Now for the more involved answer.
The question can be expanded into will those who break any of God's laws go to Heaven. The answer unfortunately is still yes and no, depending. We have all broken God's laws (Rom 3:23) further even the righteous are not where they should be (Rom 3:10-12; Isa 64:6). But as Paul said, "thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57 NKJV) because our salvation is not dependant on performance but on a free gift from God (Eph 2:8-9) which He offers to everyone (1 Jn 2:2). Does that then mean that everyone will be saved? Absolutely not, the scriptures are clear on that.
So then we might ask what makes the difference. I would say whether we are safe to save or not. As Paul stated:
That is new covenant language (Heb 8:10) that happens to people who choose to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. For instance are we going to say that all the reformers of the middle ages will not be in Heaven because they didn't keep the Sabbath? What about those that do not have the opportunity to hear the Gospel, will they be lost? To me, maybe not, it depends!
Of course, this raises a serious question concerning the commission given to us to be witnesses and teachers to the world (Mat 28:19-20) and certainly we have the Gospel and the three angels messages to proclaim (Rev 14:6-11). To this I would say that it gives people an advantage over those that don't have that knowledge. The devil would dearly love to keep everyone in the dark and totally ignorant because he can then lead in ways that will cause people to be unsafe to save. That is why our missionary activities are so important.
Now back to the original question. If a person is going to stubbornly refuse to keep the Sabbath after knowing the truth then, "to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" (James. 4:17 NKJV). If that decision persists to the point that it becomes permanent then he will have committed the unpardonable sin and then Heb 10:26 comes into play. Under that state of things there is no hope and he will be lost but where that has not yet happened there is still hope of salvation.
So, whether a person is lost or saved depends on his/her attitude toward God's government and leading. That in turn determines whether or not that person is safe to save and receives the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of the promised inheritance (Eph 1:13-14) thereby coming under the new covenant promises.
It is not within human power to know if non Adventist will go to heaven or not but that everyman will be judged according to the light he received so they too also have equal chances of going to heaven depending on their level of obedience to God.
Dennis,
I do see why you like Psalms 111 on the Sabbath, but I like Psalm 119 on the Sabbath. Verse 2 says blessed are those who keep the 'Sabbath', seek and inquire of Him with all there heart. Verse 4 says, You have commanded us to keep your 'Sabbath' that we should observe 'it' diligently. In verse 8 we are making a promise to God. I will keep your 'Sabbath'. Verse 12 and 26 we ask the Lord to teach us of Your 'Sabbath'. In verse 27 we ask the Lord to help us understand the 'Sabbath' and in verse 28 we ask the Lord to raise us and strengthen us 'on the Sabbath' On and on through out the verses of Psalms 119 we can apply the Sabbath. Isn't Gods Word wonderful?
David simply tells us its good to give thanks to God,to sing praises to the Most High....(Psalm 92:1-6).
Sometimes people who are in the know dwell so much on the rights and wrongs...making us who may not know much get lost further and even fail to appreciate the sighnificance of this beatiful psalm.
I got blessed by this scripture:John chapter 9.This guy did not know much about Jesus...but one thing he knew was ....He now could see on account of Jesus...and for this he was thankful..read verses 10-12,15,17,25,27,30-33,35-41.
When asked ,where is he now..the man answered I dont know...what kept this man going?..His trust..
Paul says .."now we know but in part..."
1st John 3:2 tells us "....but we do know that we will be like him for we will see him as he really is."
John 9:37-38 says.."you have seen him,"Jesus said,"and he is speaking to you!"
"Yes Lord,I believe!"the man said.And he worshiped Jesus.
Every Sabbath let us not miss out our blessings on account of neglecting the basics....which are praise and worship of our God.
Amen.