Psalm 135:1-3 Praise the LORD.
Praise the name of the LORD;
praise him, you servants of the LORD,
you who minister in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.

This Psalm appears to be something of a compilation of bits and pieces from other Psalms, but whoever wrote it certainly chose some good bits! I like this first part a little better, if anything, than the very similar, and slightly more famous, passage in Psalm 134, because that specifies those who minister at night, whereas this one doesn’t limit it to that. Verse three here gives the motivation for praising God, though the English translation lends itself to misunderstanding. God is to be praised, not simply for what He has done, but because He is good. The Japanese breaks that down a little more to say that He is “of deep compassion.” Those who have never encountered difficulty have very little grasp of this, which is one reason the Lord allows us to get ourselves into fixes. He doesn’t pick on us, but He wants us to understand that we really do need Him! It’s the second half of verse three that is most misunderstood. The NIV gives it as “Sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.” That puts the emphasis on “It feels good, so do it.” That is very contemporary, but it’s the wrong motivation! The Japanese says, “Sing praise to His name. His name is beautiful/lovely.” That’s more like it! Like the first part of the verse, it puts the emphasis on God, and not us. Far too many people go to church just because they enjoy it, which means they go only when they feel like it. Church should be enjoyable, but that attitude is hardly discipleship!

As a pastor, this is a constant issue for me. I want those who come to church to have a good time, but I don’t want the good time to be their major motivation. I cannot force anyone to commit to discipleship, as much as I would like to! However, I need to remember how much of my own life has been spent as a lukewarm believer, and have compassion on others. I need to pray for them, and let the Holy Spirit speak and act through me to encourage them to growing commitment. God is more than able to do the job, so I must not feel I have to do it on my own! I really empathize with Paul, when he said that he was “in labor” for his spiritual children, that Christ might be born in them. (Galatians 4:19)

Father, thank You yet again for Your patience with me. Help me extend that patience toward all around me, while speaking Your truth in love. Thank You for the privilege of speaking Your Gospel in the meeting yesterday. I pray that all present would have been impacted by Your Spirit, with the few believers stimulated to greater devotion and the many non-believers drawn to seek You for themselves. May all that I do be worthy of the calling You have given me, because You are indeed more than worthy of my total love and devotion. Thank You. Hallelujah!