God Speaking

“I will exalt you, my God, the King; I will praise your name forever and ever.” (Psalm 145:1)

A few years ago my sister gave me a book entitled, “Shout Whisper and Sing”, which is a collection of a 101 well-known poems which the author encouraged one to read out aloud. I was surprised to find tucked in between poems of Wordsworth and Longfellow and other famous poets, Psalm 121. It made me think immediately that I had another book in my possession, written by a far more famous writer, which fitted in to the same title.

In the Psalter, or Psalms, can be found a range of every emotion known and experienced by mankind. The emotions stretch from raw and wounded, rage, fear, bitterness, to love, joy and worship. Truly some of them need to be shouted in terror while others are whispered to a loving Father and some sung to his glory, but strangely enough often beside and dispersed between is a common theme that sometimes appears out of place; Praise. As I started to track this theme, I saw a recurring pattern emerge. When individuals or groups of people stopped in the midst of whatever life was hurling at them and praised their Heavenly Father, transformation took place, sometimes in the circumstance causing the problem, sometimes in the person who was crying out.

David is a wonderful example of this. In Psalm 34 we find David in big trouble. Saul wants to kill him and he has run off to Gath, Israel‘s enemy, and pretends to be insane. (1 Samuel 21:10 – 15) Things look ugly for David, but he stops in all the turmoil and cries out this prayer, beginning by praising God;

“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips” (Psalm 34:1)

After praising and remembering the Mighty One he serves, David is able to conclude his prayer, with complete confidence.

“The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34:22)

Time and time again we read that praising God brings us back to the realisation of who we worship and how powerful he is. Suddenly our circumstances are viewed in the right perspective. We see the problem through the mighty eyes of our Saviour. We are no longer struggling to keep afloat by ourselves; help is at hand. The Psalmists experienced this over and over again and their praise and how it affected their lives has been preserved in God’s word for us to read and to practise. After praising him this is what they discovered,

“..he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted..” (Psalm 9:12)

“…the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down..” (Psalm 146:8)

“ He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:5)

There are many more examples of how praising brings about a change of attitude, a lifting of our spirits, a feeling of security, a remembering and acknowledging who we are serving. When we practise the power of praise in our lives we develop a whole new way of looking at life and blessings flow into our lives which steady us even though our path may seem rocky and uneven.

But one of the most precious gifts we receive in praising our Lord is that he tells us it brings him great delight and in return he delights in us.

“For the Lord takes delight in his people..” (Psalm 149:4)

Personal Favorite related articles:

• Don’t Just Thank God, but Praise Him Also (mujrdblog.wordpress.com)
• Wednesday, December 28, 2011 @ Psalms 149-150 (phyllisbenigas.wordpress.com)
• How To Begin Praising The Lord (applesofgoldministries.net)

Other related articles that are well worth reading:

• Worship Practice Starts Now: Psalms 150 (psalmslife.com)
• Praying and praising with the psalmists (nelima.wordpress.com)
• Good Evening/1-8-12 (simpleme2.wordpress.com)
• Simply Praising God with Psalm 100 (countingmyblessings.typepad.com)
• Attributes Of God. (pinkforpeace.wordpress.com)
• God’s Principles Never Change – Psalm 89:1-18 (thisdaywithgod.wordpress.com)