August 3, 2025
If we are to love the Lord with all that is within us, it makes sense that our worship of the One True and Holy God would involve our wills at the highest level. This is demonstrated in the words of David from Psalm 9.
Psalm 9:1–2 (ESV) — 1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. 2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Notice the four times, “I will” is used in David’s summons to worship as David stirs up his will in each case then adds a finishing touch to each directive.
First, a call for gratitude. “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart.” Often, praise and giving thanks are interchanged because as you praise God you are giving thanks for His attributes, His actions, His faithfulness, His word and promises, etc. Likewise, when you are giving thanks to God, you are praising God.
Psalm 136:1–5 (ESV) — 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. 2 Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. 3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; 4 to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; 5 to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever;
Psalm 136 is not in the cannon of Scripture to take space. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable.” You will profit from Psalm 136 by reading and meditating upon it, considering the many things about God that is worthy of thanksgiving, but since the line is repeated, every consideration of His steadfast love, also translated His mercy that endures forever, is worthy of our utmost gratitude. What if it didn’t endure forever? God would be like any pagan god that changes constantly. God’s enduring steadfast love or His mercy is forever because God never changes.
Malachi 3:6 (ESV) — 6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
For David, summoning His will in the worship of God calls upon himself to give thanks to the Lord but adds “with my whole heart.” No half-hearted worship for David. He is all in. Therefore, as we follow this pattern of preparing for worship, the only way to come to God and express gratitude and praise is to be “all in.”
Secondly, David says, “I will recount all of Your wonderful deeds.” Have you ever tried this? You can begin by trying to recount as many wonderful deeds as possible from Scripture, but don’t stop there. How about all the wonderful deeds you can think of that He has done for you and your family? Don’t stop there. Think of what wonderful deeds He has done in history. And those prompts could just get you started. What a wonderful way to prepare for worship and bring your will into a worshipful attitude. It’s not brain surgery and it’s not meant to be an added burden, rather it’s meant for us to see how David prepared himself for worship so that as we desire to worship with the same enthusiasm and sense of God’s presence as David, we would follow his personal instructions. To which there is more.
Thirdly, David says, “I will be glad and exult You.” Have you ever gone into a worship service upset? Many people do after experiencing the pains of life and circumstances that the evil one seems to bring to distract us. It takes focus to avoid the trap of taking our mind off the person we are worshipping. David expresses determination to be glad and exult God. This is one reason why we often find David seemingly talking to himself as if to call himself out of his state of doldrum to the joy of the presence of God.
Psalm 43:5 (ESV) — 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Psalm 103:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
Psalm 92:4–5 (ESV) — 4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. 5 How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep!
Fourthly, David says, “I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” It’s one thing to sing praise to the name of God but another when you grasp the fact that you are singing praise, expressing thanks, and bowing before the One True and Living God, who is “MOST HIGH.” There is no other god before Him. He is above everything. This is why He is described as HOLY, HOLY, HOLY.
Isaiah 6:3 (ESV) — 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Worshipping God is meant to be the highlight of our week because it answers the desire of our hearts placed there by God Himself to exult Him, give thanks to Him, recall His works, praise Him, and serve Him. In Psalm 9, David is expressing a way to prepare for worshipping God. What would your Lord’s Day be like if you gave thought to this passage through the week and prayed that God would help you to follow this simple direction to bring your will in line with worship?
Watch out! This can be very addicting, in a good way. Because when you prepare for worship, you are in tune with the Holy Spirit, who not only is pleased with such an attitude but is the One who ignites the worship of God’s people to make it appealing to the One Who is seeking our worship.
John 4:23 (ESV) — 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
Godspeed,
Bob Brubaker, Pastor
