A song of praise for God’s Creating, and our Keeping(?) His Sabbath Holy. Psalm 92

Psalm 92 Complete Jewish Bible

92 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm. A song for Shabbat:

^2 (1) It is good to give thanks to Adonai
and sing praises to your name, ‘Elyon,
^3 (2) to tell in the morning about your grace
and at night about your faithfulness,
^4 (3) to the music of a ten-stringed [harp] and a lute,
with the melody sounding on a lyre.

^5 (4) For, Adonai, what you do makes me happy;
I take joy in what your hands have made.
^6 (5) How great are your deeds, Adonai!
How very deep your thoughts!

^7 (6) Stupid people can’t know,
fools don’t understand,
^8 (7) that when the wicked sprout like grass,
and all who do evil prosper,
it is so that they can be eternally destroyed,
^9 (8) while you, Adonai, are exalted forever.

^10 (9) For your enemies, Adonai,
your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
^11 (10) But you have given me
the strength of a wild bull;
you anoint me with fresh olive oil.
^12 (11) My eyes have gazed with pleasure on my enemies’ ruin,
my ears have delighted in the fall of my foes.

^13 (12) The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar in the L’vanon.
^14 (13) Planted in the house of Adonai,
they will flourish in the courtyards of our God.
^15 (14) Even in old age they will be vigorous,
still full of sap, still bearing fruit,
^16 (15) proclaiming that Adonai is upright,
my Rock, in whom there is no wrong.

The Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Today we pause from our regular Category 5 rhythms of our stormy daily lives to strictly focus on the God of the universe. And so he now calls us to worship!

This day, as we measure the gap between chaos and God, as we solemnly reflect on what it means to be Jesus’ witnesses wherever we go, it can be tempting to think that this work is on our shoulders. If we don’t do it, who will? So God’s gift of Sabbath helps us remember that ultimately this is God’s work, not ours.

Psalm 92 expresses very similar feelings toward God. “You make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts!” What a relief it is to know that this world sits firmly in God’s capable, good hands. He has not stopped working; rather, has prepared good works for us to do in his kingdom (Ephesians 2:10).

Sabbath gives us an opportunity to step away from Category 5 days, join with our fellow brothers and sisters to praise and honor the One who has already done it all for us. We have a God who has already modeled Sabbath. We have a Savior who walks with us on mission, wherever God has called us! Hallelujah!

When I was involved in full-time or part-time church ministry, Sunday was usually my busiest and most stressful day of the week.

By Sunday night, I was whipped. Unfortunately, I gave myself no rest. I often got up on 0500Monday morning and hit the bible hard again. Sound familiar?

Granted, I took a week off in the summer and after Christmas, but not much else. I ran on adrenaline and two-liter bottles of Diet Coke.

About five years later, I’d got burned out and have to hit the “reset” button.

All work and no time for myself put me on the Coronary Care Unit in desperate need of a Triple Bypass Open Heart Surgery to save my life – 1% from a grave.

People admired my passion and applauded my high tenacity for my spiritual discipline – but the Heart Surgeon later admonished me for working too hard.

But looking back, working 24/7 wasn’t healthy…and it isn’t .01% scriptural.

The Lord commanded His people to observe a weekly Sabbath without work to commemorate that He created then rested (Genesis 1) and when He gave to Moses his mission and liberated the Hebrews from bondage, led them through the waters to His Mountain, then gave His 10 Commandments. (Exodus 20:8).

In Old Testament days, Sabbath-keeping, along with circumcision and other rituals, helped to distinguish Israel from the surrounding nations.

But Jesus makes it clear that “God made the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Our Heavenly Father ordained the gift of rest because our wellbeing, our “obedience to his commandments” gives Him delight and brings Him glory and gives us a disciplined pattern of taking care of ourselves.

Resting on the seventh day is therefore a blessing–not a burden. It’s not a measure of spiritual superiority; rather, it’s an admission that every single one of us needs rest, reflection and restoration…and we need it every week.

So how can people in ministry and mission–whether clergy or laity, especially worship ministry-finally come to discipline themselves to experience Sabbath?

Here are three suggestions:

• Set Your Sabbath. Schedule a specific day (or consecutive half-days over a 24 hour period) as your “seventh day.” The Jews observed Saturday as their Sabbath and first century believers celebrated resurrection Sunday as “The Lord’s Day.” That makes me think God is not as concerned with which seventh day we observe as long as we set one aside.
  
  What day is your Sabbath? Write it on your calendar.
   
• Keep Your Sabbath. Let’s not be legalistic about this, but “not working” seems to be the operational phrase in Fourth Commandment. For me, “work” means earning my livelihood. Keeping my Sabbath means I consciously choose to defer my job to another day. It means I resist checking my office email or working on that spreadsheet.
  
  What specific boundaries would you set to help you keep your Sabbath?
  Share these with a close friend or family member.
   
• Celebrate Your Sabbath. Saying “no” to work for one day a week means I can say “yes” to things that working might otherwise prevent me from doing: spiritual enrichment, enjoying my family, friends, recreation at the beach or mountains, tending my lawn and garden, playing with my dog or napping on the couch. My Sabbath (which happens to be Sunday) is now my favorite day.

What can you do to make your Sabbath especially meaningful and restorative?

 Commit to doing these things for the next four weeks and see what happens!

It wasn’t till later in my life that I really learned how invaluable a Sabbath could be. If I went seven straight days without a break, I got fried…and the next seven days were even worse. So I “religiously” began to observe a Sabbath, and the discipline of “not working” made the other 6 days more productive than ever.

Work is good. After all, we are created for good works (Ephesians 2:10).

But we are better workers–and worshippers–when we are disciplined, re-energized through the blessing of a weekly Sabbath.

So as God long ago commanded, give it a rest!

Set, keep and celebrate your Sabbath—and I sincerely believe you will soon be a significantly healthier person and a more effective ministry and mission leader.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 Complete Jewish Bible

23 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of David:

⁽¹⁾ Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing.
² He has me lie down in grassy pastures,
he leads me by quiet water,
³ he restores my inner person.
He guides me in right paths
for the sake of his own name.
⁴ Even if I pass through death-dark ravines,
I will fear no disaster; for you are with me;
your rod and staff reassure me.

⁵ You prepare a table for me,
even as my enemies watch;
you anoint my head with oil
from an overflowing cup.

⁶ Goodness and grace will pursue me
every day of my life;
and I will live in the house of Adonai
for years and years to come.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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