Today we wrap up the year 2024, and what better way than by taking a look at one psalm that proclaims the praises of God for His loving care over not only us, His Blood-bought children, but over all of His creation. The unknown author of this psalm gives us a beautiful, descriptive picture of how the Lord cares for all that He created, and several good reasons to praise and thank Him. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons that he saw to praise God.
The first thing that our psalmist gives to praise God for is that He builds up Jerusalem and gathers together His people (vs. 2). God will always watch over His children, those who have come to Him through His Son, Jesus. The world may cast them out and have no use for them, but God will gather them together as His chosen ones.
Next is a reason that should bring comfort to the hearts of many, and that is that the Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (vs. 3). Many of us at one time or another have been heart-broken, sorrowful, or depressed. During these times we may feel that there is no one we can turn to, no one who understands or cares, and in some cases that may be true as far as actual people are concerned. However, as we read here, there is Someone who we can turn to, Someone who will heal the wounds of our broken hearts and depression (Luke 4:18). The Hebrew word for “heal” that is used here is “rapa”, which can mean “mend”. When someone mends a torn garment, they hold it right in their hands closely so they can see what to sew up. God does not hold at arm's length what is broken. Instead He draws close and puts in His hands what has been torn apart. Knowing this from first-hand experience, I know that this is a tremendous reason to praise the Lord!
Many of us enjoy looking at the stars at night. It is estimated that there are one septillion stars in the universe. That is the number 1 with 24 zeros behind it. That is just a guess, though, as there is no possible way to actually count them. However, God knows. As a matter of fact, God has given each and every one of them a name (vs. 4). We have given names to a few hundred stars, and astronomers have given alphanumeric “names” to several thousand more, but certainly nowhere near all of the stars. God has, though, and He doesn’t forget or get them mixed up, either. God does not forget even one bird, as He knows when even a single sparrow dies. He knows exactly how many hairs are on your head each day (Matthew 10:29-31).
We’ll skip down to verse 9, where we see that God provides food for all creatures. There are no ravens around where I live, but there are plenty of their cousins, the crows. Last summer I moved out of the Chicago area, moving several hundred miles south, to an area that is surrounded by multiple thousands of acres of cornfields. Crows do love corn, so I see dozens every day, and hear their cries. Who provides for their food? God does, as He does for every creature on earth. We read in this psalm how He makes the clouds that bring the rain, which waters the earth, making the crops grow (vs. 8).
Dropping down a few more verses, we read how God provides the changes of seasons (vs. 16-18). Our psalmist particularly highlights the winter season in these verses. In another day we enter the month of January, the coldest month in my part of the country. I will readily admit that I do not like winter or the cold, but we’ll look at these verses anyway! They do proclaim the majesty of God and His creation. After a night of snow fall, we can look outside and see the snow cover the ground like a large white woolen blanket. He scatters the frost. I have to admit that the frost on a window can look beautiful. When it gets cold here in the Midwest, it really gets cold, and as our psalmist said, “who can stand before His cold?”
In my part of the country, hail (vs. 17) doesn’t happen in the winter, but usually in the late spring or summer, and is an indication of severe storms coming, but still a sign of God’s majesty. When spring comes, God sends His Word, and the snow and ice melts (vs. 18). The weather warms, the ice jams on the rivers melt, and the water flows. There is nothing that I enjoy seeing more than the signs of spring coming, the departing cold and coming warmth!
These are just a few of the highlights from this psalm, just a few of the reasons we have to praise the Lord. Like our psalmist did, we can look around our own life and find numerous reasons for which to praise Him. Yes, it is good to sing praises to our God!
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