“Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the Lord with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.” [1]
David’s aim as a song leader and musician was to foster a desire for God and for God’s glory. His lyrics focus our rejoicing... our celebrating... on God.
Who are righteous and upright? They are the chosen of God. God has been gracious to them, and they are being gracious to others. As Paul remarked to the Corinthians, “And what do you have that you did not receive?” [2] Our Lord Jesus took our sins away and gave us His Holy Spirit so that we may serve God rightly and with uprightness.
Worship is about ascribing worth to God. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “To rejoice in temporal comforts is dangerous, to rejoice in self is foolish, to rejoice in sin is fatal, but to rejoice in God is heavenly.” [3]
Worshipping God is beautiful. It pleases Him and creates the sense of appreciation for beauty.
“Praise the Lord with the harp; make melody with an instrument of ten strings.” Here, the Lord calls out musicians to offer their skills to help His people praise and worship Him.
Musician, have you ever offered your skill to idols? The idol of self-worship? The idol of self-pleasure? In this Psalm, the Lord provides an opportunity to be freed from self-serving motives to receive a higher calling... namely, to serve Him and others with the gifts and talents that you have received from God. To lead people to God instead of astray from Him!
“Sing to Him a new song.” God is the Creator of creativity. As we offer our voices and musical talents to Him, we should not be surprised when creative ideas for new songs to praise Him come to us.
“Play skillfully with a shout of joy.” Do learn! Do rehearse! Don’t be bashful when it comes to praising God with song and music! Turn up the volume. Skillful musicianship and joy to sing for God is good. It pleases God and it pleases those who love to worship Him.
[1] Psalm 33:1-3
[2] 1 Corinthians 4:7
[3] Enduring Word Commentary
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