Read Psalm 104:30-35. 30When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. 31May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, 32who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! 33I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 34May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. 35Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!
Man stands separate from the rest of creation in that we have a choice. Nature praises God simply by being. It can’t help but glorify God. Every rock, tree, and creature declares God’s manifold works.
But you? You can ignore God, reject God, grieve God. The psalmist knows this about himself and about us. That’s why he declares I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
What about you? Is this your commitment to God as well? To image God’s rejoicing. The Lord rejoices in his works, will we?
Rejoicing in God is not just some nice thing we do as good little Christians. Turn on Christian radio in the background, attend the testimony service at church, keep a gratitude journal (all good things btw). Rejoicing is much, much more. It is spiritual warfare. The opposite of the heart that rejoices in the works of God is the sinner who is consumed from the earth, the wicked who is no more. This may seem like quite a leap for our psalmist to make, but it is not. He knows what we must know – that as soon as we stop rejoicing in the Lord we will begin to rejoice in something else. Likely ourselves.
Christ in us protects us from this destruction. Union with Christ keeps our hearts rejoicing in the works, and THE WORK of Christ, for as long as we live, and as long as we have being, which in Christ is forever.
Life without end. Joy without end. That’s to live is Christ.
You: What do you rejoice in the most? Is it God/Christ?
You in Christ: How does your union with Christ cause you to rejoice?
Christ in you: Spend time rejoicing in the Lord and his cross.
Prayer. Jesus, you rejoice at your works and so will I. Your work is happening even now inside of me. Keep me from the sin of rejoicing in anything other than you. Amen.
To Live is Christ 