Spiritual Motivation

The assembly should highlight the week of every faithful child of God. This period of worship, study, and devotion provides the much-needed focus and spiritual context for life that the world attacks as dull or meaningless. Every gathering offers yet another opportunity to remind ourselves of the extent of God’s interest, the depth of God’s love, and the might of God’s power—all exercised throughout millennia for our personal and eternal benefit. However, even many Christians fail to appreciate this blessing. Some consider it onerous drudgery; some treat it as ritualistic sacrament. Some attend out of duty and obligation; some cannot even seem to manage that. But those who understand the LORD and think about the LORD will always take time to unite and join their hearts together in worship to the LORD. “Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation” (Psa. 111:1). Nevertheless, even those who diligently gather can have trouble concentrating and focusing on their purpose. Dinner plans, the score of the game, relationship problems, and worries of day to day life tend to intrude because people rarely plan and prepare their minds for worship even when their bodies are in attendance. This makes the remainder of Psalm 111 even more relevant. An acrostic psalm, the author weaves through the Hebrew alphabet while offering numerous allusions to the proven character of God, with special attention to the Pentateuch. Thus, pointing to the past, the psalmist pictures the steadfastness of the God of the present, giving all readers a series of recommendations that provide motivation to assemble together and worship the LORD and that offer focus as we bow before His throne. Therefore, in preparing yourself for the assembly, give attention to the message of this brief psalm.

1. Contemplate the power the LORD displayed in creation (Psa. 111:2). Never view the beauty of creation without seeing beyond the physical majesty to the spiritual majesty of the Creator (Psa. 19:1).
2. Consider how the work of the LORD through His providence contributes positively to life (Psa. 111:3). Whether working through Joseph or Esther, God accomplished great things by using the faithfulness of ordinary people. This should be our goal as those belonging to Him (Phil. 1:21).
3. Think about how the LORD put His grace and mercy on display in making salvation possible in a way worthy to be remembered. Every day should include thanksgiving for God’s grace displayed in the cross of Jesus Christ, and every remembrance of that love should bring us back together to remember Him as His people (1 Cor. 11:23-29).
4. Reflect on God’s faithfulness in caring for us (Psa. 111:5). Whether physical or spiritual, the Lord has provided what we need the most (Jas. 1:17; Eph. 1:3; Matt. 6:33).
5. Ponder how much God did to make a people HIS people (Psa. 111:6). The LORD took a people enslaved in Egypt and made them the nation of Israel. In Christianity He has taken a mass of unrelated individuals and made them His family (1 Pet. 2:9-10).
6. Study the inspired truth God has revealed (Psa. 111:7-8). The more attention we give God’s Word, the more guidance it offers, the more it unites us, and the greater our reward (2 Tim. 2:15; 2 Pet. 3:18).
7. Meditate on His majesty and holiness that have made redemption possible (Psa. 111:9). Regardless of all the evil that goes on in this world, God’s plan will prevail; therefore, His will deserves our greatest attention and His Son our every allegiance (Rom. 8:35-39).

If these truths do not motivate us to gather in the assembly and do not help us focus on our Lord while there, we have lost sight of everything God has done. In the end, our motivation to worship should find root in something greater—our motivation to serve and obey the LORD every moment of every day. Therefore, all this reflection should serve as both motivation and means to translate our reverence for God and a knowledge of His will into humble obedience (Psa. 111:10). Many attempt to worship with a passive heart, learn with a passive interest, and live with a passive faith. But a real relationship with God requires more, and that is why God is right to expect more.

The Noise of Many Waters

The catastrophic destruction left behind in the wake of Hurricane Harvey’s wrath has provoked a renewed appreciation for the force of wind, the power of the ocean, and the accumulative effects of rain. However, the profound revelation of the hearts of people reaching out to help those in need has proven wonderful medicine for a heartsick society. The same people that ignored each other at Walmart a week earlier, the same people that had nothing to say to each other not long ago, found unity and strength together in the midst of tragedy. More than that, this historic storm has provoked Christian hearts to action, to reach out in love to their fellow man and to bind congregations together in bearing the burden of feeding and housing those in need, cleaning and repairing those areas hardest hit, and giving to relieve the burden on those most affected. As noted in Psalm 93, all this is completely appropriate for a people who know the LORD.

The LORD created this world and still reigns over it. Every aspect of creation declares this still. Indeed, creation acts as evidence of His grandeur and His rule. The power and beauty of creation are far more glorious than the ornamentation of Versailles or the throne room of Buckingham Palace. By these things the LORD wears a robe of majesty that shows the power of His rule by the unmoving, unyielding nature of creation itself (Psa. 93:1). Indeed, despite how nature’s destructive forces can wreak havoc on the works of men, they do nothing but confirm the power of God as His creation goes on, seemingly unaffected by the worst that man can handle. In this there is confirmation once more to confess to God, “Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting” (Psa. 93:2). Therefore, no matter what may happen upon this earth, no matter how great the destruction or how great the tragedy, our God still reigns. He is still our King! As such, every word He has spoken is proven true and worth our attention. He is distinct and holy in every way, and everything shows it. He is Yahweh, the One who is and must be, the One who is there for us (Psa. 93:5).

This remains true in the midst of hardship and tragedy as much as it does in times of goodness and plenty. When destruction, famine, or pestilence strike, when disease or misfortune fall upon you, you have a God who is there for you, who cares for you, and who reigns over you and all that you face. The psalmist knew this; he saw it; he felt it. And his words reveal the heart that we ought to share. “The floods have lifted up, O LORD, The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their waves. The LORD on high is mightier Than the noise of many waters, Than the mighty waves of the sea” (Psa. 93:3-4). And let all the church say, “Amen!”

Precious Lovingkindness

To want to be loved is a universal longing and common condition of all mankind. We crave it deeply—more than we typically are willing to admit. We long for approval, for acceptance, and a sense of belonging. We want someone to care what happens to us—good or bad. We want someone who feels for us during difficult times and rejoices with us during our victories, however small they might be. We want to feel valued and included and therefore to enjoy a sense of self-worth. This is why the hate and wickedness of men can take such a toll on us. A man who exalts himself over God will often do so at the expense of others as well. He does not care whom he may hurt along the way because he has no standard other than himself to follow. People like this put others down, walk over people, and spew hatred as part of the normal course of their lives. They fill the air with negativity and wickedness in an attempt to rise above all others to capture their heart’s desire—even if it means piercing the hearts of others in the process. For many this is every day practice—hurting others by their words and actions without even realizing that they are putting their own hurt on display in the process.

David spoke of “the transgression of the wicked” in terms such as these (Psa. 36:1-4), but he followed it with a praise of the precious lovingkindness of the LORD that deserves all the attention our heart can muster. “Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings” (Psa. 36:5-7). When the LORD asks you to have faith in Him, He does so only after showing you just how much He loves you. David’s description of God’s love, offered in these glimpses of various attributes, show the immeasurable character of the love of God. He can be trusted above all others because He loves as no one else has loved. No matter what any man may do and no matter how much evil men may commit, the love of God still surpasses (Psa. 36:8-12). We should never let the sins of others cause us to doubt the love of God.

In the course of this life you will inevitably face a number of trials—trials of your patience, trials of your character, and trials of your faith. Satan will attack you through wicked men. He will attack you by attacking those whom you love. He will attack you by causing you to doubt yourself, doubt others, and doubt even God. And when these trials come, there is but one thought to consider: God is love (1 Jn. 4:8). He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us (Jn. 3:16). He loved us enough to make salvation for us possible even while we remained in the midst of our sin (Rom. 5:8). He loved us enough to sustain us in life and suffer long with us during our rebellion so that we could repent and return to Him once more (2 Pet. 3:9). The precious lovingkindness of the LORD surpasses the heights of heaven and the depths of the deep. It is indeed a great God who can love us this much. And this kind of love should motivate us to love Him and trust Him like no one else, for He is like no one else. He is our God, and He is love.