Christ: The Treasure of Our HeartsSample

The psalm explodes with a series of commands: “Shout praise to the LORD!” (v. 1), “Serve the LORD joyfully!” (v. 2a), “Enter before Him exultantly!” (v. 2b), “Know that the LORD is God!” (v. 3), “Enter His gates with thanksgiving!” (v. 4a), “[Enter] His courts with praise” (v. 4b), “Give thanks to Him!” (v. 4c), and “Bless His name!” (v. 4d).

But why should we follow the psalmist’s exhortations? Why bless God’s name? Is the mere urgency of the psalmist’s tone sufficient to rouse a sensation of praise in our hearts? Let’s hope not—the psalmist would not dare ground his ministry of praise in the superficialities of tone, atmosphere, or a model of worship statistically guaranteed to generate the best crowd results. No—there’s no generic hype here; rather, the psalmist grounds his orders theologically in the reality of who God is, a reality made known to us through what God has done. In other words, the people must shout for, serve, enter before (x 3), know, give to, and bless the LORD based on this theological truth: “Because the LORD is good” (v. 5a).

But what does it mean that God is “good?” Thankfully, the psalmist is ready with an answer for how we should define His goodness: “His steadfast love endures forever!” The answer is love—His love is chief among reasons why we should see Him as “good”; and lest we think of this as a fleeting kind of love, the term is further defined as “everlasting,” marked by a “faithfulness that endures from generation to generation.”

It is not without reason, then, that the Scriptures call us to bless the LORD. His track record is one marked by eternal, faithful love. It is this attribute of God above all others that stirs our hearts to treasure Him. At Christmas, we recall how the divine Agent of His love, Jesus Christ, was manifested among us through the incarnation. As we treasure Christ, we do so by the power of the Holy Spirit and from a place of deep sincerity, one grounded in the theological reality of the Father’s love fully revealed through the gospel.

Prayer

Lord God, you are good. Your goodness is known to us through Your love, and Your love is made manifest to us through Christ. Because of this love, we praise You, serve You, draw near to You, know You, thank You, and bless Your Holy Name. In the name of Christ, we pray, Amen.

Jordan Jones, Ph.D., serves as an assistant professor for the Regent University School of Divinity.