I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was a delight!

I would like to draw your attention to the four special announcements from our bulletin, in case you glossed over them.

Next Sunday, December 2nd is the deadline for receiving our Missionary Christmas offering. In the evening service at 6:00 PM, Donna Rigsby will present her annual Organ Recital (with Pastor Rigsby reading the selected Scriptures). I’m not sure just what they have planned (if others will be participating as well). The organ was recently repaired and tuned. It is in better condition than previous years, which could add to the blessing of the evening. Each year is special and truly honors our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

December 9th, the Rigsbys are expecting you for the Open House beginning around 4:00 PM. There are more details in the bulletin. They would be delighted to have you come be part of the festivities!

Thank you for remembering us, staying connected, and praying for God’s work here.

Sunday morning we read Psalm 92:1-8 as our Call to Worship.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
    And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
    And Your faithfulness every night,
On an instrument of ten strings,
    On the lute,
    And on the harp,
    With harmonious sound.
For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work;
    I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

O LORD, how great are Your works!
    Your thoughts are very deep.
A senseless man does not know,
    Nor does a fool understand this.
When the wicked spring up like grass,
    And when all the workers of iniquity flourish,
    It is that they may be destroyed forever.

But You, LORD, are on high forevermore.

The very first word from the Hebrew text is “good.” “It,” “is,” “a,” and “thing” are supplied to help make sense in English.

The word “good” reminded me of Creation when God called His acts, “good.” “Good” in Psalm 92 and Genesis 1 are the same Hebrew word. Did the Psalmist have Creation in mind when he composed his thoughts? The included inscription just before verse 1 might suggest so, “A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath day.” The Sabbath is the day God “rested” or ceased creating. The last recorded word God spoke as He finished His creation is, “Very good.”

What was the psalmist calling “good:” the act of “giving thanks” or the character and work of God? The question is difficult to answer since we know that both possibilities are true. Maybe this is where those supplied words in English help us make sense of the psalmist’s intent. Using God’s final spoken word as a prompt, the psalmist seeks to cause a response of praise from men directed to the Lord (the One Who causes all things to be the way they are) because of His mighty acts.

In three stanzas (1-4, 5-9, 10-15), the remainder of the psalm revolves around giving thanks to the One who has promised a Sabbath rest for His creation at a time yet to come (remember, when this psalm was written, even the completion of salvation in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection was still future).

Then, how should we respond today? Warren Wiersbe offers excellent application for here and now. Based on 92:1-4, “it is good to thank the Lord for ever day He gives you.” Based on 92:5-9, “it is good to thank the Lord that you are part of what is eternal.”

And, this is “good.”

Jim Covington

This week I read Psalm 37 with much interest. Do you remember how David began this acrostic song?

“Do not fret because of evildoers,
    Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.”

The word “fret” intrigued me and I discovered that “worry” is not a synonym. Instead, “fret” is more closely associated with anger. “Do not become furious.” “Don’t burn with envy.” “Don’t heat oneself in vexation.” In verse 8, David concludes his thought.

“Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
    Do not fret—it only causes harm.”

I wondered why David found it necessary to discourage this kind of response until I asked “what (or who) is he fretting about?” Immediately I wanted to say David was “fretting” about the “evildoers” (after all, that is what the verse says).

Once again, I was wrong. David gave this instruction to help us see that a wrong response directed to “the workers of iniquity” was actually an indication that we are [angry toward, furious, burning with envy] fretting against God when “life” isn’t going the way we think it should go.

Maybe this is why David offered several easily remembered (and difficult to put into practice) maxims. Each proverb is packed with significant meaning that needs to be expanded for understanding and applied.

    ”Trust in the Lord” (v. 3)
    ”Delight yourself in the Lord” (v. 4)
    ”Commit your way to the Lord” (v. 5)
    ”Rest in the Lord” (v. 7)
    ”Wait on the Lord” (v. 34)

What is David’s conclusion? Verses 39 and 40 tell us that Lord is the Salvation (deliverance, rescuer) and Stronghold (strength, place of refuge) for those who trust Him.

Fret not!