This worshipper wanted something that would mark the Sabbath Day appropriately. And, though it was called ‘day’, the Sabbath (known as the Shabbat in Hebrew) actually began on Friday at sunset (a sunset at this blogger’s address was captured on 26 September 2025, shown here), perhaps a time marked in a quiet and yet sublime majesty in color that declared the Creator’s hand was still at work, like that shown in the photo here. That would have been reason enough to begin the praise hymn as this anonymous psalmist did on that occasion, as one of the opening lines of the hymn spoke of His artistry in the sky above. “It Is Good to Sing Your Praises”, he said, as he reflected on the various ways that Yahweh had blessed those he had made, and especially those whom He had chosen as His cherished possession. Think about that for a few moments…can the blessedness of you be diminished when you look at the sky and realize that the universe’s composer is the same One who has selected you?
Perhaps that was the thought process of this nameless songwriter, that he wanted to acknowledge God’s goodness and almighty nature in one breath. That would be a rather daunting proposition, would it not? But that rather impossible task did not stop this psalmist perhaps as long as 3,000 years ago from jotting down something that was meant to be used on the Sabbath, according to biblical scholars. In fact, Psalm 92, from which ‘It Is Good…’ draws its verses in a close paraphrase, is the only psalm with the superscription ‘For the Sabbath Day’ associated with it. So, it seems likely that this psalm would have been uttered-sung by faithful Jews every 7th Day, a day dedicated to the Lord as He directed them in the 4th Commandment (see Exodus 20:8 and Deuteronomy 5:12). To laud Him for His creativity in what one could see in nature was one theme in the psalmist’s poetry, interspersed throughout the verses and recalled in the paraphrase of ‘It Is Good…’, when the 1912 version with three musical verses was first published. That 20th Century writer used phrases ‘…morning lights the sky’, and ‘…good when night is falling’ (v.1), ‘…works Thy hands have wrought’ (v.2), and ‘…planted…fruitful trees and ever verdant’ (v.3) to echo what the original psalmist penned. A second theme is how God had made the psalmist a blessed person indeed – ‘…my life victorious’ (v.2), and ‘…His goodness to the righteous’, and ‘…my rock, my strength and refuge’(v.3). This carried with it an acknowledgement of God’s omnipotence and sovereignty -- ‘…(He is) on high exalted, reignest evermore in might’ (v.2) -- and of necessity, His justice for those engaged in wrongdoing – ‘…enemies shall perish, sin banished (v.2), and ‘…just and true are His ways’ (v.3).
It never grows old or irrelevant, does it? The facets of God that the psalmist saw are the same ones that still endure today. There are other songs that speak of God in the same way as does ‘It Is Good…’, and yet this Psalm 92 retranslation (now over a century old itself, since its inception in 1912) has a distinctiveness that is useful for us who aspire to devotion. As the only psalm specifically written for the Sabbath Day, the songwriter was intent on making sure that he didn’t sing just anything randomly, but constructed something that would remind himself and the worshippers of how they related to God in the most fundamental ways. He’s a creative being, which we humans cannot ignore, and so much of what we see from His hand speaks of His basic goodness. He’s good, and draws to Himself, and protects and nourishes those who want to be His. Do you and I have a better option than Him who has such a nature? You’re in no better hands than in Him whose hands the ancient psalmist saw draw the morning and evening skies. Take a look outside in the morning and evening, and see if you agree.
Read about the Sabbath here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbath
Read some details of the hymn here, including when a 20th Century version of the psalm was first published: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/i/t/i/s/itisgood.htm
See the NIV Study Bible and the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible for information on Psalm 92.
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