I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
(Psalm 9:1–2 ESV)
Exhortation
Notice a couple of things:
- The repetitive phrase “I will…” Worship is not passive. It involves deliberate intention. Just as you deliberately made the effort to gather here today or are at home having gathered the family, put away the breakfast dishes, setting aside distractions… worship involves the will—the deliberate act of doing something. And what does the Psalmist do?
- “I will give thanks and recount…” He gives thanks and recounts the works of God. That’s an exercise of the mind. In worship, we recount the works of the Lord and rehearse his attributes. Like a musician who rehearses a piece of music over and over again until she can play it correctly, recounting the deeds of the Lord in worship trains our minds to think correctly about God. And as we think rightly about God, we begin to feel rightly towards God. Notice what David says next:
- “I will be glad and exult in you…” That’s a state of emotions. He’s deliberately steering his emotions to rejoice in the Lord by giving thanks and rehearsing his wonderful deeds. Right thinking about God leads to right feeling towards him.
- And finally, “I will sing praise to your name…” Singing is a way of joining together the thoughts of our minds and the joys of the hearts. This is why singing plays such a central role in Biblical worship.
As we begin worship today, let’s imitate the Psalmist in the intentionality that we bring to this hour. Let’s imitate him by engaging our minds with thanksgiving and remembrance, and allowing the Spirit of God to use our minds to stir our emotions. And finally, let’s imitate the Psalmist by expressing these things together in song. Let’s stand and sing now.