Blessed
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
they exult in your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,
and by your favor you exalt our horn.
18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Once you spoke in a vision,
to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
I have exalted a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David my servant;
with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
surely my arm will strengthen him.
22 No enemy will subject him to tribute;
no wicked man will oppress him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down his adversaries.
24 My faithful love will be with him,
and through my name his horn will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, the Rock my Savior.’
Psalm 89:15-26

The psalmist begins Psalm 89 with the words “I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations” (verse 1). In verse 15, he continues by saying that the people “who have learned to acclaim you are blessed.” (NIV) Other translations of the Bible have “How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!” (NASB)
There is a joy in knowing the Lord that goes past anything the world has to offer. But it is something that we learn, something that we come to know. It is something that we learn together, but also something that we learn individually within our hearts.
We learn in the same way that David did. We learn by looking at the world that God created as David learned when he was in the pastures with his father’s sheep. We learn when we experience God’s provision as David did and as the psalmist writes about in verse 21: “ My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.” We learn by experiencing God’s protection, especially in times of hardship.
But most of all we learn such joy when we come to know that the psalm does not simply point to David. Instead it points to Jesus, the descendant of David. Through Him, we can call out in our hearts and with our voices the words of verse 26: “You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.”

Prayer:
• Do you look at the world and see God’s creation?
• Do you know God’s provision and protection?
• Do you know the joyful sound of acclaiming the Lord?
Give thanks to God for everything He has done for you and everything He offers you.