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Psalm 146:1-2, 5-9 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, oh my soul! As long as I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being…. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. the Lord gives freedom to the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord raises those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow ….
Thought for the day: Remember the sequence we've been talking about; first preaching, second pointed preaching, third penitence, fourth prayer, fifth pardon, sixth peace, and now, seventh - praise. Makes sense doesn't it? Let's go back to the prodigal son again.
He's come home, broken and defeated from trying to make his way on his own. He's utterly failed and has finally come to that realization. Too often it takes us getting to the end of our rope before we realize how much we need the Lord to make us right. Anyway, his father has taken him back, forgiven him and restored him to the family. Where there was animosity, there is now peace; where there was a broken relationship, there is now harmony within the family. The father threw a huge party to welcome the wandering one home. Can you imagine how the boy must have felt?
I can almost imagine him going among his friends (after the shame had somewhat worn off) telling everyone who would listen what his father had done for him. He must have gotten up every morning with a new song of praise on his lips - he'd been rescued! He'd been forgiven! He'd been restored!
There are some key indicators of the condition of our relationship to God. One of them is, I believe, the ability to praise Him. If I can't praise Him from my heart and truly mean it, I ought to reexamine my relationship with Him. Is there something missing? Have I done something to damage that relationship? Have I allowed some temptation or trial to come between us and steal my joy? Praise ought to be as natural as breathing for the one who's been forgiven. After all, if He had never done a single thing to bless my life after forgiving my sins, I would still have reason to praise Him for all eternity. Remember, some of David’s greatest psalms of praise were written at the lowest point of his life, while he was being hounded by Saul and living in caves with his few devoted followers. He had no hope of rescue, no assurance of a victorious outcome. He had only his faith in a God who keeps his promises. He’d been anointed the next king of Israel and clung to the faithfulness of his God.
I don't have to jump around and shout or laugh out loud, though there's nothing wrong with that in and of itself. I may just smile and sing with a tear in my eye. Either way, praise comes from the heart and is a reflection of how deeply I understand the magnitude of what God has done for me in forgiving me and welcoming me back into the family. The Bible says, "Whoever offers praise glorifies Me" and "The Lord inhabits the praise of His people."
Sometimes I feel as if I can't praise Him enough – and now that I think of it, I can't.
Now go take on your world – Bill