Psalm 9:1-2 A Psalm of David: "I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."
I was struck this morning when I read this psalm at how each of these 4 phrases begins with the words, "I will". When I get up in the morning, I'm usually thinking, "I will go to the supermarket. I will make an appointment to get my hair cut. I will go on line to find a Vacation Bible School project. I will spend time with my daughter. I will. . . . . . . " My "I wills" don't always include praising God.
The fact is, I don't always feel like praising God. Sometimes I'm just too busy. Sometimes my mind wanders and I can't concentrate on praise. Sometimes I'm just plain lazy. Sometimes I fall asleep right in the middle of praise. But these verses remind me, "praise is a choice". Why is it a choice worth making? Read on. . .
"I will praise you LORD with all my heart"
Praise keeps my life's "stuff" in perspective. Praise isn't about me, it's about God. It reminds me of who He is. He is Jehovah, the LORD, the covenant making and covenant keeping God of Israel. I'm to worship Him with ALL my heart. The Hebrew translation of the word heart encompasses so much more than what we think of when we read that word.
In the Hebrew, the heart isn't only the seat of our emotions, it includes our will, and our intellect. All of these are involved in worship. My mind needs to focus on who God is, my emotions need to be God centered, my will needs to be directed to harmony with God's will for me. I can't allow myself to get so busy that I cannot give God's praise my all.
"I will tell of all your wonders"
God is a wonder worker. From the story of creation, to the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, to the coming of Messiah Jesus, to Pentecost, and on and on, God's Word testifies to His power and mercy and grace and strength, and wisdom. But God's wonders aren't only obvious when we look back or when our hope is focused on future wonders. God continues to work wonders now.
I was speaking to a lady yesterday who shared with me the story of how the Lord had worked in so many obvious and wonderful ways to bring her to this part of the country that she KNEW this was exactly where He wanted her. Every testimony of how God worked to bring someone to Himself through His Son Jesus is a wonder! Telling others about the wonders the Lord has wrought, in His Word and in my life, is also worship.
God has done so many wonders in my own life. Have I told YOU? Ask me! Have you told ME? Tell me!
"I will be glad and rejoice in you."
We Christians have a great God. Belonging to Him gives us such good reason to be glad and rejoice - not necessarily in our circumstances - but certainly in our God. And our joy and gladness should reach our faces. What difference would it make in our lives if we would choose to be glad and rejoice and worship THE LORD, even when our circumstances are hard? Praise is a choice, even when I don't feel like praising.
"I will sing praise to your name O Most High"
Probably one of our favorite forms of worship and praise to God involves singing. Singing is just singing unless it is focused on the greatness of God - then it becomes praise. David speaks specifically of praising God's name. God's name involves His honor and a recognition of His authority AS God. God's name encompasses every aspect of His multi-faceted character - because He is the Most High - the lofty One, the Supreme One True and Living God, our praise is for His renown.
When I first got engaged, like every other young woman, I spent hours looking at my ring. I could be in the middle of a teacher's meeting in a crowded classroom, but my eyes and mind were focused on the way the light caught on the diamond facets when I moved my hand. It was enthralling.
God's character reminds me of diamonds, multi-faceted, brilliant, revealing first one aspect and then another depending on how we look at Him. How could we not choose to praise the One who is perfect in holiness, purity, love, faithfulness, justice, peace, mercy, long suffering, sovereignty, might, power, etc., etc.?
I can always choose NOT to praise. I do it a lot, and when I do I always, always get caught up in ME and my "stuff". Why do I do that when there is a God who is worthy of praise, who has redeemed me at the cost of His Son from a life that is only and always about me.
Tomorrow I'm going to get up and be faced with the same choice I face every day. Am I going to rush through my day because I'm busy? Am I going to choose to read a book instead of worship? Am I going to choose a human friendship over a worshipful relationship with God? Or will I choose to stop and employ all of my heart - my emotions, my will, my intellect, my words, my singing voice - to praise the One who is worthy?
Beautiful!
ReplyDelete