Praise before the gods. That doesn’t sound quite right, but that’s what David said. Man hasn’t changed that much. We’re living in a modern, advanced day as far as knowledge and technology, but man is still prone to follow after his own gods. It’s an insatiable pursuit of something to bring satisfaction and peace.
David was vexed by the gods of other nations. The Philistines worshiped Dagon; he had the body of a man and the face of a fish. The Romans had their gods as did the Egyptians. It seems silly to us that they worshiped things that they carved out of stone or wood or gold or silver. How could people worship something like that? It’s barbaric to us. Look at the world today. Look at what is worshiped. It is simple—people worship things. One major thing is something we carry around with us—money. It is the center of attention for many people. It tops the list of goals and pursuits. They love and seek after it sacrificing their own being, character and morality for it. Yes. People still pursue their gods.
David, in the presence of the gods all around him, praised the true and living God. Nothing happened when the people around him worshiped their gods. David chose to worship the invisible God that the Bible tells us about. This God answers. One example of that is when Elijah prayed a short prayer after the prophets of Baal had prayed most of the day. He asked that the Lord prove he was the living God. Fire came down from heaven and consumed the altar. David faced his battles with the Lord AND won. He saw the godless all around him worship their idols, but he praised the Lord with his heart.
Psalm 138: 1I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. 2I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. 3In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
What a blessing to know we can be thankful and praise God! Thanksgiving holiday is almost an abomination these days. All many are after are the shopping deals, and some will go to extremes and forfeit their values to get them. The Bible reminds us that life doesn’t consist in the abundance of things we possess. We’re told to seek God first and his righteousness. We’ll get what we need. Things work out when we put the Lord first.
The Pilgrims left England in search of true and complete liberty. In the midst of a wild land that was not at all as civilized as the country they left, they ate what little they had and thanked God for it. If we’re not careful we’ll put ourselves and our things in front of God making gods of them. God has allowed us to have what we do through his grace and kindness. We may have things to complain about, but we have far more to be thankful for. Don’t get caught thanking yourself or others so much. Don’t congratulate yourself too fast. Praise God! Worship God! David didn’t worship toward his job or his money. He worshiped toward the holy temple of God. If you have to, “kill the holiday” part of this time of year and bring Jesus back. Determine to stop putting so much emphasis in the little gods of this world. Don’t be ashamed to worship and praise the true God with your whole heart. It can be done even before the gods of this world. Put Jesus first. You’ll enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas a lot more.
The second commandment is “thou shalt have no other gods before me.” David didn’t care what the others thought about it. Before all the people and their gods—despite the people and their gods—David worshiped God. You can too.
When we worship God as we should, the things of the world become secondary. We become thankful for what we have. Our worship will be acknowledged by answered prayer. When we worship the true and living God, it makes us happy with ourselves and life around us.
Let’s worship!
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 