Psalm 92:1-4 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 92:1-4 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
Verse 2to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,
Verse 3to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
Verse 4For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
Devotion
Why do Christians gather for worship? We have been doing so for centuries—sometimes in houses, sometimes in churches and cathedrals, sometimes skirting the local laws and meeting wherever the Spirit leads us. We gather for Word and Sacrament. We gather to pray and to support one another. We gather to render an offering. We gather to be strengthened for and reminded of the call to mission.
We gather, as the psalmist reminds us, to celebrate Sabbath—a day set aside to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to God's name, to declare God's steadfast love and faithfulness from morning to night.
We enhance and supplement worship with as many instruments as we can muster—lute and harp and lyre—and sometimes with pipe organ, piano, bell or vocal choir, drum kit, synthesizer or bass; didgeridoo, bagpipes, rainstick or whatnot—to lift up the name of the most high.
Our salvation was won through the work of God’s pierced hands. Now we are sent into the world to be God’s hands and feet to do the work of the kingdom. For all of these things we are filled with joy and cannot help but sing.
Prayer
God, thank you for the communities you have called into being throughout the world. Help us take our place in ours and to make room there for others, too. Fill us with joy as we work, for this community is not really ours; it belongs to you. Amen.