Praise

My thoughts take me today to the subject of the praise of God. True to form, let’s begin with defining the word praise.

Praise – To tell, proclaim, or commend the worth, excellence, or merits of.

Whenever we say or sing about how great God is or what great things He does, we are praising God by definition.

Since God’s greatness is unsearchable, we will never be able to give God all the praise that He deserves. The Psalmist asks:

Psalms 106:2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise?

Of course, no one can show forth all God’s praise because it is so much greater than we are. But we can at least show forth some of His praise.

God’s reason for saving your soul was that you might show forth His praises. Praising the Lord is an effect of God’s saving grace in our lives.

Ephesians 1: 11-12 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

That being the case, one of the surest ways you can know you are saved is to proclaim the praises of your God. Then you can reason from the effect, showing forth God’s praises, to the cause, the salvation of your soul.

Praising God is a blessing itself. We can only do it, if God lets us. That is why we read prayers like this in the Bible.

Psalms 67:3 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

Psalm 67:5 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

Psalms 71: 8 Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.

I am sure you have asked God to let you do many things. Have you ever asked Him to let you praise Him? That is a good prayer to take to church.

How sad it is that we spend more time whining and complaining than we do praising our wonderful God. We would do well to imitate the Psalmist David, who said:

Psalms 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Instead of always complaining about how bad you feel and about how bad your life is, try talking more about how great and good God is. You will be surprised what that will do for you. In fact, consider this verse:

Psalms 147:1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

Praising God is good. It is just plain a good thing to do and we all feel better when we do something good. Praising God is pleasant. Something that is pleasant has the quality of giving pleasure. Praise will bring you pleasure and that will offset your misery. It is also comely. The word comely means suitable or beautiful. Praise will make you a more beautiful person. Now who of us would not welcome being better, having more pleasure, and being more becoming? It is no wonder that “the garment of praise” is placed in contrast to “the spirit of heaviness” in Isaiah 61:3. If you are feeling heavy today, start telling your God how great and how good He is. Start singing songs like “How Great Thou Art,” “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” “Holy, Holy, Holy, or “The Lord Is My Light.” Watch how that will lift your mood and make you a lovelier person to be around.

If you have not been praising God as you should, ask God to forgive you and then ask Him to let you praise Him. Then just set your heart to do it.

Psalms 57:7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

If you are truly praising God, you have God in your life because He inhabits the praises of His people.

PSA 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

So begin praising the Lord today. Keep it up everyday. If you are a child of God, it is what you will be doing for all eternity.

Psalms 145:2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.