It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. (Psalm 92:1-3, NIV)
Because I grew up around the game, golf taught me many lessons that I have been able to carry through life, no matter the arena.
On the positive side, I often reflect on my learned ability to rebound quickly from bad incidents and move on to what’s next. This is what is required from golfers every time they have an ugly hole. They must reset for the requirements of the shot now in front of them.
More negatively, however, I might say that golf conditioned me never to get too excited about the good. You know, a double bogey could be right around the corner. And the last thing I want is to have my adrenaline contribute to my mistakes.
What a lousy way to think—on the golf course and in the place of worship!
Psalm 92 was written as a song to be sung on the Sabbath. It might well have been a sermon to be preached to those of who set aside a day for worship each week, to instruct us in how to praise the Lord.
It begins with a declaration of the goodness of worship, especially with musical accompaniment. Not every church has the luxury (or the tradition) of a full complement of instrumentalists, but the idea is the same: Make music. And make your music about the Lord.
More than a victor deserves the exuberant applause of a crowd, God deserves the active, vibrant praise of his people.Then the psalmist moves to what he experiences in worship: Gladness and joy. When we praise God, the reward is ours, for we are reminded in the words we sing that God is worthy of such expression. More than a victor deserves the exuberant applause of a crowd—and we sure don’t hold back with that—God deserves the active, vibrant praise of his people.
Going on, we read in the psalmist’s words about the way God sustains those who are his. Their enemies are defeated, they flourish in the courts of God, and they “will still bear fruit in old age.” What pictures of promise and reasons for praise!
Finally, it is these old yet “fresh and green” saints proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock and there is no wickedness in him.”
So let’s draw one more lesson from golf. Though I learned the game as a young man, it truly has been the game of a lifetime for me. Perhaps it’s the same for you. But no matter when you took up the game, you can play it even as you grow old. You may even play it far more.
And so it is with worship. Indeed, our praises should not be growing quieter as we age, but louder. We know so much more of our Savior, so much more of his love and care for us. How silly to hold back now!
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Jeff Hopper
October 23, 2019
Copyright 2019 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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