“And blessed be His glorious name for ever:
and let the whole earth be filled with His glory; Amen, and Amen.”
(Psalm 72:19)
The Lord is infinitely blessed in Himself for He is the fountain of all being and blessedness. He rejoices in His own perfection and in the works that perfectly express His wisdom, goodness, holiness, truth, and power. His glorious name therefore deserves everlasting praise, and the whole earth to be filled with His glory.
God also rejoices in the work of grace among His people. He chose them in love, adopts them in Christ, places His Spirit within them, and renews them after His image. He delights in the grace He produces in them, in the prayers and praises of His saints, in their communion with Him, and in every sincere act of obedience that springs from faith.
He rejoices also in the pardon and justification of His people. Their forgiveness displays His mercy, and their acceptance the righteousness provided in Christ. He receives them, hears their prayers, and gives them joy in Himself. His grace not only rescues them from ruin; it brings them into fellowship with the God of all blessedness.
Moreover, the Lord’s love remains the same through both comforts and crosses. He may chasten, refine, and humble those whom He loves, yet His faithfulness does not fail. Difficult providences remain part of His perfect work. He purifies His people through affliction and brings them forth as gold. In truth, the darkness of a providence does not imply a defect in the One who appoints it.[1]
All the works of God are therefore perfect in their own order; His works of nature, providence, redemption, and sanctification bear the character of the God from whom they proceed. Nothing in Him is defective, and nothing He does contradicts His own perfection.
Man was made to know, love, praise, and delight in His Creator, to recognize His worth, admire His works, remember His mercies, and find satisfaction in His glory because such a God deserves the gladness, admiration, praise, and love of the whole heart.
Contemplations:
- Seeing How Little I Rejoice in You. I can receive Your mercies, speak of Your works, and even confess Your greatness without truly delighting in You. This shows how disordered my affections are. You are the fountain of all blessedness, yet I often seek joy and satisfaction elsewhere. Help me realize, Lord, that You alone deserve my highest admiration, affection, and praise.
- Considering How Poorly I Observe Your Works. You have surrounded me with works of nature, providence, and grace that declare Your wisdom and goodness, yet I often pass by them carelessly. I tend to forget Your mercies quickly and notice problems more readily than blessings. Forgive my spiritual dullness that overlooks displays of Your power, holiness, faithfulness, and grace. Your works are worthy of remembrance, and I have too often treated them as ordinary.
- Confessing My Resistance to Difficult Providences. You remain good and faithful in both comforts and crosses, yet I do not always receive painful providences as part of Your perfect work. When You chasten, humble, or refine me, I am tempted to question Your kindness rather than trust Your wisdom. You know how to purify Your people and bring them forth as gold, but I often resist the very means You appoint. Forgive my murmuring, impatience, and suspicion. And help me remember that Your faithfulness does not fail when the providence is dark.
- Mourning My Failure to Bless Your Glorious Name. Your glorious name is to be blessed forever, and the whole earth ought to be filled with Your glory. Yet I have not praised You with the constancy and joy that belong to You. I have spoken words of praise while my affections were focused elsewhere. This grieves me, because You are worthy of far more than I have rendered. Let this confession deepen my sense of how glorious You truly are.
Prayer (Confession):
Blessed and glorious God, I confess how poorly I have answered the glory You reveal. You are infinitely worthy of praise, delight, admiration, and love, yet my heart has often been cold toward You. I have spoken of Your greatness while allowing my affections to remain dull. I have received Your mercies without sufficient gratitude and passed over Your works without the careful attention they deserve.
I confess that I have not rejoiced in Your providence as I should. When You have given comfort, I have grown accustomed to it. When You have sent affliction, I have sometimes questioned Your goodness rather than trusting Your wisdom. I have forgotten that Your love does not change when Your hand chastens.
Forgive me also for the weakness of my praise. Your glorious name is worthy to be blessed forever, yet my worship has often been distracted and my thanksgiving small. I have not lived with the gladness that should belong to one who knows You.
Cleanse me from my disordered affection. Through Jesus Christ, forgive my failures and turn my heart again toward You. Let me see more clearly the perfection of Your works, the riches of Your grace, and the blessedness of Your own glorious being.
Make me more ready to rejoice in You, to remember Your works, to receive Your providence with submission, and to bless Your name with sincerity and joy.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Further Scripture References:
Num. 14:21; Psalm 41:3; Neh. 9:5; Psalm 89:52
[1] Benjamin Colman, The Lord Shall Rejoice in His Works. Early American Imprints, 1639-1800; No. 4695 (Boston: J. Draper, printer to His Excellency the governor and Council, 1741), 16-19.
