There is nothing more important in our lives than God. Have we been blessed by God? Do we see God’s hand providing for our every need? The truth may startle us when we realize that whether we acknowledge God or not He is still the one who is upholding our lives. “Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness.” Psalm 150:1,2 We are without excuse for our condition in life but by the grace of God we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 150:6 Will you praise the Lord? Continue Reading…
Tag Archive - Praise
You are without excuse, yet restored, will you praise the Lord: Psalm 150
God is sovereign, sinless, and pure: Psalm 149
How can worship and wrath coexist? In Psalm 149 we are given two pictures by the Psalmist; verses one through 4 speak of worshiping God with a new song while verses 5 through 9 speak of wrath falling upon God’s enemies. Can we make a connection between worship and wrath? “Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of the godly ones… Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand…” Psalm 149:1,5 The key to remember as we seek to understand how worship and wrath can coexist is God alone. If we focus on ourselves we will never reconcile seemingly polar opposite ideas but once we remember and acknowledge that it is God who is sovereign, sinless, and pure we can know that in this sin tainted world the things that are at odds with each other are actually in harmony. Continue Reading…
Will you join creation in praising God: Psalm 148
Have you become consumed and overwhelmed by all of the prohibitions of life? We are told consistently to not do this thing, never think about these other things, and to never place a toe out of line. All the rules, regulations, and laws that we are told to follow are for our best and the collective best of society but there is a drain to our lives when we live in consistent negativity. How often are we told to wholeheartedly without limit do something? The psalmist in Psalm 148 is exhorting creation as a collective whole to praise God, “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. And He has lifted up a horn for His people, praise for all His godly ones; even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 148:13,14 Will you join in the praise of creation as you seek to praise the God of heaven and earth? Continue Reading…
Is God worthy of your praise for all eternity: Psalm 145
Why would we want to praise God for all eternity? There are moments when praising God continually seems like it could be a tiring endeavor but in those moments we supersede our will and expectations upon our eternal relationship with God and we easily find our selfish desires fighting aggressively against the authority of God in our lives. “I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Everyday I will bless You, and I will praise your name forever and ever.” Psalm 145:1,2 David is encouraging us in Psalm 145 to desire to praise God above everything else we could and do desire. It is easy enough to talk about praising God forever and ever but we often are left desiring a reason for our desires and actions. Continue Reading…
Turn aside from the Idols of the world: Psalm 135
Will you join me in praising God, the Lord of heaven and earth and creator of all things? The situation you find yourself in today will not change the truth that God is worthy of your praise and adoration. Do you praise God and wholeheartedly adore Him? Do you find yourself wondering why God should be praised? As we face life’s monotony and a varying array of trouble there hope for us found in praising God. What is the basis of praise? In Psalm 135 we are exhorted by the psalmist to praise the Lord but along with this exhortation we are given a reason to praise Him. “For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods.” Psalm 135:5 The foundation of praise is built upon the deeds of God and intrinsically found in His nature. Continue Reading…
What is worthy of your praise and adoration: Psalm 113
“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people. He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 113:7-9 Has the weight of this world caused you to lose hope? Do you feel worthless? Are you a child of God? Everyone that has placed their hope and trust in Jesus Christ is living in a state of continual blessing. God looks upon us and lifts us out of the muck and mire of the world and places us in His wonderful family. We are fruitful because God enables us to grow and flourish. Praise Him with great praise! Continue Reading…
It is all about God and not about us: Psalm 112
What does it mean to fear the Lord? How do we reconcile the idea that we will feel delight and a desire to praise God while we fear Him? “Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments.” Psalm 112:1 Should the fear of the Lord bring a negative connotation our mind? This fear of God should not be equated with the sin tainted fear that is all too common throughout the world. To fear the Lord is to look upon Him as the creator God who creates, upholds, and judges all things. We need to see the great awe and wonder of God that compels us to fall on our knees and worship Him. Out of this fear, awe and wonder we will be compelled to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength because of His nature expressed towards us. This wholehearted love expression will also manifest itself to the people around us as we delight in God. We delight in God and praise His name because of who He is and what He has done. Continue Reading…
Embrace God’s design for your life: Psalm 93
How does creation bring praise, honor and glory to God? Instinctively we think of mankind as brining praise to God as we seek to follow Him. As we look upon God’s creation we are amazed and the awe that ensues honors the creator God. In Psalm 93 God is proclaimed as the mighty ruler of all who will not be moved, “The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.” Psalm 93:1 God is holy and worthy of all praise, honor and glory. Do you give God the honor that is due Him? Do you praise Him every moment of every day? Do you glorify Him through your actions? Continue Reading…
Be thankful, sing praises, and declare to the world: Psalm 92
Giving thanks to God, singing praises to Him and declaring His abounding lovingkindness are all good. Have we lost the true meaning and concept of the word ‘good’? In many ways we have brought down the meaning of the word ‘good’ to mean a mediocre or less than perfect feeling or outcome that we are willing to think positively about and live with. Can we rebuild our broken and crumbling perspective of what is ‘good’? When we read in Psalm 92:1, “It is good to…”, we should make sure that we do not interpret this phrase as anything less than the most excellent and worthy goal that we can and should strive to attain. Continue Reading…
Sing your song of praise for all God has done: Psalm 47
What does it mean to praise God? In Psalm 47 the sons of Korah proclaim the power, might and deeds of God. “O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy. For the Lord Most High is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.” Psalm 47:1,2 In praising God we are calling those around us to join us in acknowledgement of all that God has done. What has God done in your life? Do you openly share His work with those around you so the name of the Lord might be praised? Each and every deed of God is worthy of our awe, praise and adoration. “Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a skillful psalm.” Psalm 47:6,7 Will you sing praise to God? Will you proclaim the goodness of God? Continue Reading…
