The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 134,
"Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion."
Here is this psalm in its entirety. Three short verses. Although
short, and seemingly innocuous, there is something here that strikes
me as very important. At least for me.
This psalm is yet another call to worship in the book of Psalms, an
invitation to the "servants of the Lord." From one perspective it
might be somewhat surprising that a call is being made for worship, a
call in the form of encouragement. It is to the Lord's servants. If
they are his servants, what is the need for the call to be made? Why
would any encouragement be required of "the Lord's servants" to praise
him? Should they not be doing that already, with full voice, with full
enthusiasm, with zeal and excitement? Are not the Lord's servants
observant of the magnificent perfections and lofty position of the One
they claim to serve? Are they not mindful of the wonderful and awesome
deeds he has done? Why could there possibly be any need whatsoever for
a call of encouragement to the servants of the Lord to worship him?
As one of the "songs of ascents" it quite likely was sung by Jews
returning to Jerusalem for one of the religious feasts on the calendar
given them from the Lord that required their return to Jerusalem to
observe. It is thought that as the worshipers returned to Jerusalem, a
city set in high elevation, they sang these "songs of ascents" as they
ascended to Jerusalem for the observation of the feast.
As I think of the possible setting of this psalm and of these
"servants of the Lord" I am reminded of the Lord's servants today...
especially me. What is my disposition relative to the worship of my
Lord? Do I need encouragement to do so? If so, why? Am I failing to
recognize the pristine beauty of the Lord's matchless qualities? Have
I forgotten or failed to appreciate all he has done for me? I am
reminded of the Lord's admonition at the last supper, "do this in
remembrance of me". How astonishing to think I would need anything for
remembrance of him! And, yet, I have to confess there are times I do
forget. There are times I am not mindful of him. There are times I
fail in appreciation for all he has done for me.
These must be times when I take my eyes off him. Times, possibly, when
the challenges and cares of this world draw my attention from him.
What is it I need at times like this? Although there is no legitimate
grounds for loosing sight of the Lord who loves me, who has died on a
cross for me and has invited me to his family, I need encouragement, I
need a reminder. I suspect many of us do. I know I do.
I am reminded of Paul's exhortation, "Never be lacking in zeal, but
keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Romans 12:11. Here it
is in a nutshell. Servants of the Lord are to keep their "spiritual
fervor", their zeal for the Lord. How do we do that? Hebrews 3:13
says, "Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so
that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." In 10:25 he
says, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit
of doing, but let us encourage one another —and all the more as you
see the Day approaching." The exhortation here is not to simply meet,
but meet to encourage one another.
As Paul said in Romans 12:11, we are to maintain an ardent zeal for
the Lord, keeping our spiritual "fervor". I liken that "fervor" as a
"fever": something I should be checking on a regular basis, such that
I never find myself wanting for a call to worship the One I should be
worshiping already.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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