For you, O LORD, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth. Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you. Psalm 71: 5, 6, NRSV.
Gracious Creator, we bow before You today, as the host of heaven, and cry “Holy, holy, holy, O LORD; You alone are holy!” And our desire is to worship You, for who You are, and what You are. You are our all in all! Please guide our study. In Your name we pray. Amen.
Isn’t our God a great God? Who can deny this fact? The same yesterday, today, and tomorrow; yet His mercies are new every morning! Who would not praise You O LORD? It is with this spirit of praise, I believe, that heaven is filled. These perfect beings, who have not known what it means to be healed from a terminal illness. These celestial beings who have never been spared from an accident. These pure souls who have not been rescued from the depths of Sheol, cry,
“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was, and is and is to come!”
While the others take up the strain:
You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created”
(Revelation 4: 8, 11, NKJV)
Can you see where I am taking this thought? We, who have so much to give God praise for; we, who can truly say, “If it had not been for the goodness of the LORD, I would not be here today!” We, who are living, and enjoying, enough, in a time of scarcity! We, who have had our bills paid, almost as miraculously as when Peter took the coins out of the fish’s mouth. Should our praises not fill the air, continually?
There is something wonderful about the act of praising! It is a many-sided blessing. It blesses the one who praises. As you share with others what the Lord has done for you, you relive the moment. The rush of gratitude and joy, the moment of awe and amazement are re-lived! Oftentimes, the tears of joy flow down your cheeks and you are blessed a second time, and a third time, and as many times, as you share your story.
It blesses the listener. We may not know what a person is going through. Many are going through some hard, and trying times; and as you share your praise report with them, they are encouraged, and lifted, to a higher plane. They may suddenly become aware of evidences of God’s love and mercy that they had been overlooking due to their pain. Then the Holy Spirit takes something you said, and He anoints their understanding. Now they are lifted to heights of gratitude, they had never experienced before!
It is a blessing to God. Psalm 22: 3 reads: “But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel” (NRSV, Emphasis provided). Yes, dear friends! God inhabits, He sits enthroned in, the praises of His people! He is worthy of our praise! I have decided, by His grace, that my praise, will always be of Him! Will you join me in praising Him today?