“A Song for the Sabbath”

We see a clear pattern of “morning and evening” in the Scripture, starting from the creation week in Genesis 1, “And there was evening and there was morning” on the first six days. This natural rhythm is also used in the daily morning and evening (twilight) sacrifices in the tabernacle (Num 28:4)

Psalm 92 (text); Hebrews 4:9-10 • Download this sermon (PDF)

Pasig Covenant Reformed Church • June 8, 2014, For our first Evening Service

Introduction

Congregation of Christ: Today, we begin our two-service Lord’s Days, and this is our first Evening Worship. In most Reformed churches, the two services are usually called Morning and Evening Worship. On the Lord’s Day, they usually have a worship service and Sunday classes in the morning, and then another worship service in the evening. Since we do not have our own place of worship and are only renting, we hold all our activities on the Lord’s Day in the afternoon: an Afternoon Worship Service, a Fellowship Time, Sunday classes, and then an Evening Worship Service.

Nevertheless, it is a great privilege and blessing that we are able to draw near to God’s throne of grace with confidence only because of our Mediator and Lord Jesus Christ. And it is more practical for us to have them all in sequence, so that we do not have to go home in between services.

We begin our Second Worship Service with a study, an introduction of sorts, of why this service is important. Is one service not enough? Our text, Psalm 92, has a title, “A Song for the Sabbath.” Indeed, it begins with praise to God’s mighty works and goodness, exhorting the people to thank him in the morning and evening worship services on the Sabbath.

The rest of the psalm points to a contrast between what awaits two kinds of people: curses against the wicked, and blessings given to the righteous, with allusions to their destinations on the eternal Sabbath.

So this evening, we study this “Song for the Sabbath” under three headings: (1) Morning and Evening Worship on the Sabbath; (2) The Wicked Perish on the Sabbath; and (3) The Righteous Flourish on the Sabbath.

Morning and Evening Worship on the Sabbath

Based on its title, “A Song for the Sabbath,” we do not doubt that Psalm 92 is a psalm sung by Israel during their weekly Sabbath services. So in verses 1-5a, we find some features of a corporate worship service in the Old Testament.

First, there is thanksgiving and praise, “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High” (verse 1). The covenant LORD is the Most High God of Israel, and Israel uses the words “give thanks,” “sing praises,” “declare,” and “sing for joy” to enjoin the people to praise him. Second, there is the use of stringed instruments approved for temple worship (1 Chr 16:4-6).

But why praise the LORD? Most praise choruses end with praising God, without mentioning the reasons why he is praised. But the Psalms of praise usually have a two-part structure: first, there is adoration of the LORD; second, why the LORD is adored. In verses 3-5, we read these reasons. His creation, “the work of your hands,” is a delight and the psalmist is glad when he sees the wisdom, beauty, majesty and greatness of his handiwork. His works are “studied by all who delight in them” (Psa 111:2).

Not only is he praised for his wondrous works. He is praised for his “deep thoughts.” What are these “deep thoughts”? They are none other than his Word, his commandments. These are for the benefit of his beloved people, as the psalmist sings, “You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us” (Psa 40:5). His thoughts cannot be numbered or measured, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!” (Psa 139:17).

From eternity past, the LORD has given thought towards his people, who are rebellious and sinful and therefore are under his wrath. He thought of an immeasurable plan to save them from sin and eternal destruction. His love and mercy for his people is so unsearchable that he sent his only-begotten Beloved Son to suffer and die for their sin. For the sin of his enemies! This is why the psalmist praises the LORD in the presence of God’s people, “that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation” (Psa 9:14).

Psalms for the gathered worship on the Sabbath are sung in both morning and evening worship services. The assembly declares the LORD’s “steadfast love in the morning,” and his “faithfulness by night” (verse 2), referring to God’s love, grace and mercy in saving them from sin, leading them into paths of righteousness, and providing for all their needs. So the psalmist declares, “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Psa 86:15).

But why did Israel have worship assemblies in the morning and evening every Sabbath? We know that in the Old Testament, they had morning and evening services. But in the New Testament, we only read about the gatherings of the church on the first day of the week. However, In Acts 20:7-12, the only evening service recorded in the New Testament had an almost tragic ending. While Paul was preaching past midnight, a young man named Eutychus died after falling asleep and falling from the third floor But Paul broke bread with the congregation, and continued teaching them till daybreak.

But we see a clear pattern of “morning and evening” in the Scripture, starting from the creation week in Genesis 1, “And there was evening and there was morning” on the first six days. This natural rhythm is also used in the daily morning and evening (twilight) sacrifices in the tabernacle (Num 28:4).

Is the hearing of one preaching of the Word not sufficient to strengthen us for the rest of the week? The answer is another question, Being forgetful people, don’t we need to hear the preaching of the Word as often as we can? As we start our two services, we are reminded of the benefit of hearing the Word of God expounded in the Afternoon Service, and then the doctrines of Scriptures explained with the support of our creeds, confessions and catechisms. Obviously, the proverbial “two is better than one” is most true in this context.

But wouldn’t our children be so bored with a long Lord’s Day with two services? I’m sure they would, at first. But since our children participate in our worship services, this pattern on the Lord’s Day would soon be the norm for their Sundays. My own family was raised in this two-service pattern on Sundays. The whole day was full: 9 am Sunday school, morning service, lunch, youth meeting, visitation, choir practice, and to cap it all off, a 7 pm evening service. When we miss the evening service, or even the other activities, our Lord’s Day seems to lack something. And when we moved on to college and adult life, we carried this normal Sunday pattern, until we also trained our own children in this tradition.

This tradition is not a bad one, having started from the Old and New Testaments, and into the first few centuries of the early church. During the medieval age, the church had morning worship services called “Lauds” (Latin for “praise”) and evening services called “Vespers” (Latin for “evening”). When the Reformation came, this two-service pattern continued, with the emphasis on catechetical and doctrinal preaching in the evening services to further the faith and knowledge of Reformed believers.

Today, the evening service is in disrepute, with only a handful of churches holding evening services. It has lost favor with the present culture of entertainment over preaching, experience over sacraments, and malls over prayer.

This is to be expected because the unrepentant, wicked world receives no benefits from the Lord’s Day gathered worship.

The Wicked Perish on the Sabbath

The rest of Psalm 92, from verses 6b-15, draws a contrast between the ways and destination of the wicked and the righteous. The first part, verses 6b-11 calls the unfaithful members of the covenant people of God “stupid, fool, wicked, God’s enemies, and evildoers.”

The stupid and the fool are unable and unwilling to know and understand God’s works and thoughts (1 Cor 2:14). And even if it happens that they do, they suppress the truth that God is the only Almighty Creator and Merciful Savior (Rom 1:18-21). So the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ—his perfect obedience to God, pleasing sacrifice, and glorious resurrection and ascension—do not reach their hearts and minds. The Holy Spirit does not convict them of sin; rather, they become even more rebellious against God. This is why Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 84 says that in the preaching of the gospel “to all unbelievers and hypocrites… the wrath of God and eternal condemnation abide on them so long as they are not converted.”

And though the wicked prosper and evildoers flourish, be not troubled, Christian friends. They may have all the power, riches and fame today, but soon, when their wickedness are exposed in this life, they waste away in prison. Or much worse, when Judgment Day comes, “they are doomed to destruction forever” (verse 7). They are like grass that sprouts in the morning, but dies in the evening. David encourages God’s faithful people when they see the prosperity of the wicked, “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb” (Psa 37:1-2). Do not let the wicked’s prosperity in this fleeting world eat into and gnaw your hearts, because those who mock, deceive, murder and plunder will have their terrible day in God’s eternal court.

The wicked are God’s enemies, who like a defeated army, perish in battle or are scattered by God who pursues them until they are overtaken and destroyed. Again, David says of the defeat of God’s enemies, “God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him!” (Psa 68:1) When Christ returns from heaven on Judgment Day, his Word will “strike down the nations” and he “will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” against his enemies (Rev 19:15). So fearful is his wrathful judgment that all the rich and powerful in the world will call to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev 6:15-17).

But before that great and terrible day comes, what are you going to do when you see the wicked prosper amidst your own troubles?

The Righteous Flourish on the Sabbath

Not only will the wicked perish and be scattered, the psalmist answers that the LORD will “exalt his horn like the wild ox” and will “pour over him fresh oil” (verse 10). Since the wild ox is a very strong animal and its horn symbolizes power, the psalmist is confident that God will exalt and make him strong above his enemies. His travel-weary pilgrim body will be comforted by the LORD as the LORD pours fragrant oil over his head and feet, like an honored guest. He will even be vindicated when he sees his enemies’ doom (verse 11).

Psalm 37 has a series of injunctions for the righteous as he watches the wicked prosper in this life: trust in the LORD, and do good; be faithful; delight in the LORD; commit your way to the LORD; be still and wait patiently for him; refrain from anger; turn away from evil and do good; utter wisdom and speak justice; keep the way of the LORD; take refuge in the LORD. In short, do not let the prosperity of the wicked fester in your hearts. Instead, dwell on the goodness of God.

While the wicked will be judged and suffer God’s wrath forever, the righteous will enjoy eternal glory and blessings. They will be like the palm and cedar trees that produce plenty of fruits, like the tree in Psalm 1:3, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” They dwell in God’s house forever, and like evergreen trees, they never grow old, always green, summer and winter.

Because of this eternal blessedness, the psalmist declares, “the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him” (Psa 92:15). The righteous look forward with confidence to eternity. And not only to eternity, but to every Sabbath morning and evening worship, when they will sing praises and thanksgiving to God together with all the gathered worshipers. They look forward to hearing the Word of God “proclaimed and openly witnessed to believers, one and all, that as often as they accept with true faith the promise of the Gospel, all their sins are really forgiven them of God for the sake of Christ’s merits” (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 84).

Dearly Beloved in Christ: You do not have to wait for the eternal Sabbath to enjoy the benefits that God gives us in Christ. For even now, you have received forgiveness of all your sins, redemption, adoption as God’s children, Christ’s righteousness, and assurance.

Even in this weary world, Christ has also given you this one Lord’s Day every seven days, so you may rest your weary pilgrim body and soul from the worries, sufferings and temptations of this world. At the end of your pilgrim journey, you will enter the “Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” (Heb 4:9-10).

So the writer of Hebrews exhorts you in your wilderness wanderings, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest” (Heb 4:11). What better way to cap off every Lord’s Day rest than by gathering together a second time with God’s people to hear the Word preached, fellowship with the community, partake of the sacraments, and pray the prayers of Scripture?