Today’s Scripture brings us to our weekly psalm. The Book of Psalms has often been called the Bible’s hymnal. Just as many hymns are ones of praise, so too are many of the psalms. Today’s psalm is one that calls on all of God’s people to proclaim their praises to Him.
Truly praising the Lord requires us to concentrate on His character. It would be rather difficult for us to praise someone that we don’t know anything about. We have to get to know someone before we are able to say anything accurate and honest about them. When we meet someone that we begin to become very fond of, we want to learn everything we can about that person. As we learn more and more about the Lord God, we see that every aspect of His character is worthy of all of our praise - His love, His mercy, justice, truth. The list would be endless. As we look out upon God’s majestic creation, we cannot fail to give Him praise.
What are some of the many ways that we can show forth our praise to the Lord God? One way is to sing our praises to Him. We often do that during church services when we sing the hymns and worship songs. Of course this doesn’t have to be limited to just our time at church. We can sing praise hymns wherever we are, and can even make up our own. Another way is during our time of prayer to the Lord. Prayer includes intercession, or prayers for the needs of others and ourselves, confession of our sins, thanking the Lord for what He’s done for us, and then also prayers of praise and worship. None of us would be happy if the only conversation someone had with us was when they came to ask favors from us. If the only time our children spoke with us was when they wanted or needed something, we might feel hurt or even annoyed. In the same way it is good and proper to speak words of praise and worship to the Lord when we pray.
Another form of praising the Lord is by repenting from what is wrong in our lives, giving up all of the self-sufficiency we cling to, and also forsaking all of the fears we hold in our hearts. Living a life that honors the Lord is a type of praise to Him. Most people would not want to do anything that would bring shame or dishonor to their family, or the family name. Some people even feel that same way about bringing shame to their university, or even their high school. Instead, we wish our actions to bring a sense of pride to our family. This should be even more evident for the Lord. When we live godly, Christ-honoring lives, that brings a type of praise to the Savior.
There is an additional way that we can show our praise to the Lord, and that is by telling others about Him. Frequently young people who are in love, and even older folks too, can’t stop talking about their sweetheart. All those around are soon told everything wonderful about their loved one. There is no escaping all the tales of this spectacular, one-of-a-kind love. As great as this person may seem to be, they are only human, and do have some flaws. However, we have a Savior who has no fault in Him. He even gave His life for us at Calvary. Yet so often Christians are silent about their faith and their love for the Savior. The Psalmist today is overwhelmed by all that God has done in his life and the lives of others. When we see how great God is, we need to tell others about Him.
Genuine praise includes a testimony to others of God’s plan of redemption. Twice in his psalm, the author tells us to tell “the nations” about the Lord God (vs. 3, 10). That doesn’t mean that we have to go and become foreign missionaries. We don’t have to travel around the world in order to tell others about Jesus. However, we should tell our family, our friends, our neighbors, and anyone we come into contact with. We are instructed to tell others of the good news of God’s salvation each day (vs. 2). God has chosen us to declare His wonders among all people (vs. 3).
The psalmist closes with a reminder that one day soon the Lord will come (vs. 10-13). He will reign over the world then, judging the people with righteousness. All of creation awaits that day, and that is something that we, too, can sing praises to Him for.
No comments:
Post a Comment