Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
This very brief Psalm calls people to sing praises to the Lord, even at night in God’s house. The Psalmist assumes a worshiper in the temple of God in Jerusalem, the place designated by God for sacrifice and for receiving forgiveness. What’s odd about it? The servants of God are in the Lord’s house at night, the time when, culturally, everyone should be at home in bed. These servants of the Lord are workers who are stationed in God’s temple. They care for the building, they guard it from intruders or theft, they prepare the space for the morning sacrifice, even as they clean up from the evening sacrifice.
It is entirely possible that those at night in the Lord’s house are not there for worship, but for work. What is their attitude to be? They are to bless the Lord who also blesses them. The person who comes to the temple by day may never see those present at night. But their worship, their forgiveness, depends, in part, on this other team.
Many of our daily tasks receive no thanks from others, even though they are vital to our community. We can do it all with a heart of thanksgiving before the Lord, who blesses his people, often using our own works to bless others.
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