Mensa Otabil - Worshipping God Willingly
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Welcome to a brand new week, and all too soon, we find ourselves at the end of the first month of the year 2022. Time flies quickly, and January has come to an end. We have 11 more months to go, and may the Lord who has brought you to the end of this month see you through every month throughout this year.
So, we return to our study of the Psalms. As you know, we’ve been examining the Psalms from Psalm 1 onwards, and today we will focus on selected verses from Psalm 9. We start with verses 1 and 2:
«I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.»
Psalm 9 is a Psalm of David, interspersing thanksgiving with hope for deliverance. As is usual in David’s encounters with God, he sees God in the midst of his enemies and the challenges he faces. In the midst of that, he speaks to us about God.
One of the things we learn from the opening verses of this Psalm is how David employs the phrase «I will.» There are four «I wills» in this passage that we’ll examine.
The first one begins with, «I will praise you.» This is a statement of intention and choice. Praising God is something we choose to do. David does not describe the situation he is in, but he declares that regardless of his circumstances, he will praise God. It’s by our will and our choice that we praise God. The second «I will» states, «I will tell of your marvelous works.» David teaches us how to praise God: when we praise Him, we recount His marvelous works, remembering what He has done. We rehearse or speak of them. The songwriter says, «You count your blessings and name them one by one.» When you forget what God has done, you can only complain about where you are. But when you recall His past deeds-what He did last year or yesterday-you can praise Him, even if you’re not in the best conditions.
The third «I will» says, «I will be glad and rejoice in you.» It’s important to note that David chooses to be glad and rejoice. This implies that he may not be in a joyful place at the moment, that life may not be going well for him, yet he chooses to rejoice and be glad. We can choose to complain, murmur, feel sad, or be defeated by our struggles, or we can praise God even when we’re not in a favorable situation.
Many things may surround us that aren’t good, and life can throw all kinds of challenges at us. Yet, we can choose to rejoice and be glad. I encourage you to choose joy, to choose to remember what God has done for you, as that is how we win our battles.
Finally, David says, «I will sing of your name.» In all this praise, he is proclaiming who the Lord is. He will magnify Him, remember His works, and praise His holy name.
So that’s how we start our week. Choose to praise the Lord this week. Thank Him for your life and for what He has done for you. We’ve reached the end of January; that’s something to be thankful for. Choose to be glad, even amidst some pain in your life. Rejoice in the Lord. Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, thank you for your marvelous works in my life. I choose to praise you continually. In Jesus' name, Amen.» Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom-peace and life to you.